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University for children of Non-Resident Indians
New
Delhi: The Union Government of India Centre has given the
go-ahead for establishing a NRI/PIO University in a Special
Economic Zone (SEZ) as a Deemed University under Section 3 of
the UGC Act as an Institution of Excellence for the benefit
of the children of Non-Resident Indians.
The university will be set up by an Overseas Indian Trust or
Society with credible standing and experience in the field of
education under the overall supervision of the Ministry of Overseas
Indian Affairs. The decision follows Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh's promise to the Indian Diaspora to meet the aspirations
of the overseas Indians for availing higher education opportunities
in India. It will also help in developing comprehensive bilateral
links with India through the active association of the Diaspora.
In the US and UK, higher education is expensive and increasingly
overseas Indians look to their country of origin for meeting
the educational needs of their children.
Setting
up of NRI/PIO University in India will cater for the needs of
the NRIs/PIOs in sought after disciplines as well as impart
educational standards at part with the best Universities in
the world in one campus. March 22, 2007
How
self-promoting Anand Jon cheated young girls
New
York: India-born designer Anand Jon, who is currently behind
bars on multiple charges of sexual assault, cultivated his celeb
image by making sure that an entourage followed him wherever
he went. A source close to the designer said that Jon led a
his 'life like a cult', with his associates clinging on to him,
and that he was always accompanied by a photographer, his sister,
who assisted him, and his publicist. "He runs his life like
a cult. He has four people following him around at all times,
including a publicist, a photographer, and his assistant, who
is his sister," The New York Post quoted the source, as saying.
The source added that the 33-year-old, who was arrested on March
13, was often seen with girls seemingly 18 years of age. "He
always had young girls around. They may have been over 18, but
they didn't look it," the source added.
Chris
Hulbert, one of Jon's former publicists revealed that his former
client had made advances to his 19-year-old date. "He put his
hand around her neck and said 'You have a very comfortable neck',
asking her to accompany. She was really creeped out," he said.
A source said that the designer, who dressed up celebs like
Paula Abdul and Paris Hilton, used to lure girls by telling
them he will make them famous, but never fulfilled his claims.
"He will tell girls, 'I can take you places,' and the girls
see the photographers following him around, and they would believe
him because he was friends with Paris. But they were totally
duped," a source said.
A
former friend said that New York based Jon loved to flaunt his
press clippings to people in parties that he attended. "He would
carry around a press book with all his clippings and show it
to people at parties," the friend said. However, Ronald Richards,
Jon's lawyer, said that it is not unusual for a celebrity to
self-promote. "All up-and-coming celebrities try to promote
themselves. It's not inconsistent with other young up-and-coming
celebs to self- promote," Richards said.
- March 22, 2007
When
Goody's sari dream came crashing down
London:
Shilpa Shetty's tormentor on the British reality TV show
'Big Brother' Jade Goody wanted to pacify the anger of the Indian
people by posing in a sari for an interview to a leading British-Asian
mag. Goody, who was booted off the show following racist remarks
in which she called the Indian actress "Shilpa Poppadom", was
in India at the beginning of this month as part of her PR campaign
to smooth ruffled feathers.
Goody,
who was interviewed by Asiana , Britain 's biggest-selling Asian
women's magazine, also wanted to pose in a sari. However, the
move was vetoed by the mag, which felt that the stunt was not
suitable, revealed Shihab Salim, editor-in-chief of Asiana.
"The option of doing a photoshoot with her in a sari was flatly
rejected," the Daily Mail quoted Salim, as saying. And, if the
editors were a little bit unsure as to whether or not they should
run the story of Goody's trip to India , Salim revealed that
it was really Goody's ignorance about the country that decided
to make them go ahead, especially since a lot of other people
have the same notions as her. "But our decision to run the story
was sealed when she came back with priceless quotes such as
'I now know to tell my kids Pakistani people are not from India
,'" she said. As for why she went to India , well Goody told
the mag that she did so because she wanted to "give something
back". "I offended a lot of people in India . I wanted to give
something back. I didn't just want to send a cheque, I wanted
to find out about the work the charities do for myself," she
said.
- March 14, 2007
Professionals
to fight 'dowry' harassment by wives
Bangalore:
Over 200 Non-Resident Indian (NRI) software professionals
have come under the banner of "Save Indian Family" to fight
dowry harassment cases hoisted by their wives abroad. The highly
skilled and rich software professionals allege that their wives
harass them for money.
The
forum's founder and a software professional Kumar says many
NRI software engineers and professionals have been falsely implicated
in such cases and are embroiled in fighting legal battles in
India and abroad. The forum has helped in bringing such "harassed"
husbands together and provided them a platform to fight for
their rights. "There has been a lot of development in the work
we have been doing. Around 200 NRI cases we have got, of which
70 per cent are software engineers and the rest are doctors
and others," said Kumar. According to Kumar most of the NRIs
do not have faith in the Indian judicial system. "Most of the
time it is these NRIs who do not come to India, because as soon
as they land their passports are impounded. They don't have
faith in the justice system and thus it doesn't give them right
to fight their cases," he said. "We are demanding that as soon
as these NRIs land at Indian airports, their passports should
not be impounded. They should be given a chance to fight their
cases," he added.
The
forum helps the NRIs and their family members in resolving their
disputes. "Most of these NRIs' parents are here in India and
they are very old. So it is they who are running around the
lawyers and courts all the time. At such a time we help them
out. We council the parents of both the parties and sometime
before the case is filed, we get them to resolve their issues,"
Kumar said. This forum came to the rescue of Ritesh Saxena,
an NRI software engineer, who has been fighting a case for the
his child's possession. "The Save Indian Family foundation,
a forum for harassed husbands, is organising software professionals
and other professionals to fight against false cases hoisted
by their wives," said Saxena. "My child is five years old now
and it's been nine years of marriage. The case has been filed
in December 2006 and all I am fighting for is that I should
be allowed to see my child and that he should be brought up
in a good environment," he added.
- March 10, 2007
No
evidence in 'Dr Death' case
London:
The Queensland Police have reportedly said that there was
not enough evidence to charge the former director of medical
services at Bundaberg Hospital , Dr Darren Keating, who was
a key figure in the inquiry of India-born surgeon Dr Jayant
Patel, who was linked to nearly 17 deaths. Dr Keating was accused
of supplying "false or misleading information" to the Medical
Board of Queensland for two renewals of registration as a medical
practitioner for India-trained Patel. Dr Patel worked as director
of surgery at the hospital in southeast Queensland until April
1, 2005, before he fled to the US after being named in state
parliament and earned the sobriquet "Dr Death". He has since
been linked to the deaths of at least 17 patients, but has yet
to be extradited to Australia to face charges including manslaughter
and fraud offences.
Police
today said a 14-month investigation by the State Crime Operations
Command had found there was "insufficient evidence" to substantiate
the claims of supplying misleading information raised at a public
inquiry headed by retired judge Geoff Davies. The matter was
referred to police in December 2005, but the Police said that
now the matter had been referred back to the Queensland Medical
Board.
- March 8, 2007
Women
for sale at British airports
London:
British airports, bars and coffee shops are fast turning
into centres where women are sold openly, to be subsequently
forced into prostitution. These women are reportedly trafficked
into Britain from different poor countries on the false pretexts
of giving plum jobs. But, immediately after landing at the airports,
they are driven to the brothels, where they reportedly earn
up to 800 pounds a day for their "owner". In what is being dubbed
as "modern day slave auctions", these immigrants are sold to
the highest bidder for up to 8000 pounds a time. The chilling
reality of human trafficking was spelled out yesterday by senior
police officers at Scotland Yard, reported the Daily Mail. Detective
Superintendent Mark Ponting, of the Metropolitan Police, said
that young women from all over the world are trafficked into
Britain after being promised well-paid work in bars or cafes.
But, within hours of their arrival, they are sold to pimps.
The youngest known girl victim was just 14. In one notorious
case, women were openly sold outside a coffee shop at Gatwick
Airport . Officers believe women are frequently raped, locked
in flats and given no money to prevent them from running away
from their captors. Ponting said: "There is some intelligence
to suggest that individuals are sold at locations close to airports.
One woman could fetch between 6000 and 8000 pounds. She could
then earn her buyer 800 pounds a day. It is appalling. These
traffickers are making huge amounts of money from it and that
is what we are trying to break. It has become a market. You
have to remember the trauma and difficulties associated with
this crime. Many of these women are so traumatised that it is
just inconceivable they would give evidence in a trial. These
women have been held against their will, raped many times and
their lives have been ruined. That is why the courts treat this
offence so seriously." Commander Sue Wilkinson, also of the
Met, added: "This trafficking has been reported as modern day
slavery. I would not argue with that." As a crackdown on the
illegal trade, Scotland Yard yesterday launched a dedicated
human trafficking team. The 11-strong unit will be based in
the capital and will seek to smash the gangs who force immigrants
into brothels and sweatshops.
- March
8, 2007
Asian
women told to learn English
London:
The Leader of the House of the Commons and former Foreign
Secretary, Jack Straw has asked Asian women seeking emigration
to Britain to learn English. Straw said the ability to speak
English should be a prerequisite for Asian women wanting to
settle in Britain , adding that an immigration procedure that
necessitated speaking English was "one of the things we (the
government) should be looking at" to foster Asian women's integration
into wider society.
The
statement is significant as only last autumn Straw waded into
the debate over whether Muslim women should wear the veil. His
statement is also the second call from Government sources in
quick succession to abandon the seemingly discredited policy
of multiculturalism, whereby immigrant communities are encouraged
to pursue separate development. Last month, Communities Secretary
Ruth Kelly's Commission on Integration and Cohesion said that
men or women arriving in Britain as spouses of those already
here should be tested on their mastery of the language. Straw
told a conference in his Blackburn constituency: "One of the
things we should be looking at is the subject of Asian women
speaking English and whether we need to engage them and require
them to speak English before they are given a settlement visa."
He also singled out Muslims as a group isolated from the rest
of society compared with other immigrants. "There is a big cultural
divide between Muslims and the rest of us, more than, say, with
the Afro-Caribbean community," the Daily Mail quoted him as
saying.
Blackburn
councillor Yusuf Jan-Virmani while welcoming Straw's comments,
warned against singling out Asian women. "I support doing something
about it because it is important that people can speak the language
when they go to the doctor or go shopping. There is an issue
with people coming from India and Pakistan , but we also have
Poles not speaking English. They all should learn our language
before they come," he said. Anjum Anwar, of the Lancashire Council
of Mosques, added: "Of course Jack wants everyone to learn English,
but the Government is about to demolish funding for English
classes. It's all very well demanding something from the public
but not supporting them".
- March 7, 2007
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