Raj Shah, the highest ranking Indian-American in the Obama Administration, has decided to quit as Administrator of the country’s global development agency after serving for nearly six years.
“It was with mixed emotions that I informed President Barack Obama and Secretary of State (John) Kerry that I will step down as Administrator in mid-February 2015,” Shah, 41, said in a statement yesterday.
India-born US citizen Ahmed Kauser Mohammed has been sentenced to 15 years in jail by a US court for providing thousands of dollars in material support to Al Qaeda and other terrorist organisations.
Mohammed, 31, a resident of Saudi Arabia had pled guilty to an indictment charging him with conspiracy to provide money and recruits to al Qaeda, AI Nusrah Front in Syria, and Al Shabaab in Somalia.
Indian expats in the UAE have been asked to register with the Indian missions in the country to make a proper database of Indians living in the Gulf nation.
An official form is available on the website of Indian embassy which also provides a link to the registration form.
“All Indian resident in UAE are advised to register themselves with the Indian Embassy or Indian Consulate by filling in the requested details on our online form which will help us build a comprehensive database of Indians in the UAE,” Indian Consul General Anurag Bhushan said.
Nearly 34 Indian nurses are being evacuated from strife-torn Libya by the government and the first batch of 12 will arrive tomorrow in Kochi.
“A group of 12 Indian nurses are on their way from Tunisia and will arrive in Kochi tomorrow. Another batch of 22 nurses are also on their way from Tunisia and are likely to arrive in Kochi on 18th December,” Official Spokesperson in the External Affairs Ministry Syed Akbaruddin said.
The government has already evacuated nearly 3000 nationals from Libya after the second round of violence which started early this year.
Zahid Ali Khan Editor-In-Chief of The Siasat Urdu Daily, Hyderabad, Telangana, India, was felicitated by the Saudi businessmen at Dewaniah Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia here on Saturday night in recognition for his 50 years of yeoman service to Urdu Journalism, National Integration and Communal Harmony. He was extolled and appreciated at the well-attended function.
37-year-old Indian-American physician Vivek Hallegere Murthy has been confirmed as the 19th Surgeon General of America by US Senate.
He is youngest person and first person of Indian-origin to hold the post.
The upper house of US Congress confirmed Murthy’s nomination by 51 votes to 43 more than year after President Barack Obama had nominated him to this top administration post on public health issues in November 2013 which saw a strong opposition from the powerful pro-gun lobby National Rifle Association (NRA).
Australian authorities have told the wife of an Indian techie, who is among the hostages at a popular cafe in Sydney, that the operation to free them is likely to be completed in a day while his family members in Andhra Pradesh are praying for his safe release.
The father of Vishwakant Ankireddy (who is in his mid- 30s), currently employed with IT major Infosys, today said his son has been working in Australia for the past seven years.
In a gruesome incident, a jobless man has chopped off his Indian-origin wife’s hand and feet with a meat cleaver on suspicion of having an extra-marital affair before committing suicide in southern Malaysia.
K Menaga, 44-year-old mother of three, is fighting for her life in the intensive care unit in a hospital in Johor. After committing the barbaric act, the 47-year-old unemployed man drank poison and hanged himself, The Star newspaper reported yesterday.
Jealousy is believed to be the main reason for the brutal assault, police said.
A 32-year-old Indian died of heart attack while playing cricket here on his wedding anniversary.
Pramod Therayil, a native of Veliyankode in Malappuram district, Kerala, was working as an electrician in a
contracting firm in Madinat Khalifa North at Qatar’s capital, one of his friends said.
While playing the sport Friday morning, Therayil was fielding when he complained of chest pain. He collapsed
immediately and was rushed to a nearby hospital.
Therayil, however, died en route to the hospital, his friend was quoted as saying by Gulf Times.
Indian-origin German ex-MP Sebastian Edathy has admitted he had received a tip-off from a fellow Social Democrat (SPD) parliamentarian about an impending investigation against him on child pornography charges shortly before he stepped down in February.
Edathy said he was alerted by SPD MP Michael Hartmann about intelligence information that his name was traced on a list of German clients of a Canadian supplier of child pornography.
A 32-year-old Indian expatriate died of a heart attack while playing cricket at a school ground in the Madinat Khalifa North neighbourhood of Doha.
The deceased, Pramod Therayil, was working as an electrician in a contracting firm.
A resident of Veliyankode in Malappuram district of Kerala, Therayil was positioned on the outfield when he complained of chest pain Friday. He collapsed immediately and was rushed to a hospital. He died before reaching the hospital, a friend of the deceased told Gulf-times.
The death came on Therayil’s wedding anniversary, he said.
Shriti Vadera, an Indian-origin minister in former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s government, has been named by the Spanish banking group Santander to chair its British business.
Vadera was a minister in the British government during the days of the global financial crisis.
She will replace Terence Burns in March, who had announced his plan to leave the board of the company in January.
A 33-year-old Indian-Canadian has been charged with the murder of another Indian-origin man in Canada.
Randeep Singh Match was charged yesterday for the murder of 35-year-old Tarsem Shane Dhaliwal, whose body was found in a vehicle in Surrey earlier this year, officials at the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) said.
Dhaliwal was reported missing January 19 and his body was found two days later in Surrey, Vancouver Sun reported.
Continuing the growth trajectory, a total of 2,968 foreign visitors availed the visa-on-arrival (VoA) scheme in Novemeber as compared to 1,824 during the same month last year, registering a growth of 62.7 per cent.
While maximum number of VoAs was availed by South Koreans (837), followed by those from Singapore (467) and New Zealand (427), only two visitors from Laos came to India using the scheme, according to Tourism Ministry data.
The VoA scheme was extended to 12 countries.
The Hinduja Group, in partnership with a Spanish industrial company, today acquired UK’s iconic Old War Office building that was once occupied by the country’s war-time Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
The historic building was acquired by the Hinduja Group, headed by NRI entrepreneurs S P Hinduja, Chairman, and G P Hinduja, Co-Chairman, in partnership with Obrascon Huarte Lain Desarrollos (OHLD).
The Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) has congratulated Congressmen Ami Bera and George Holding on their selections as the co-chairmen of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans for the 114th Congress.
“Congressman Bera has been an exceptional leader and role model for our community and with this new and distinguished position, he will have a heightened profile to advocate our interests,” AAHOA Chairman Pratik Patel said yesterday.
“We are very proud that an Indian American will guide the Caucus and represent us on Capitol Hill,” Patel said.
Delhi born Indian-American author Akhil Sharma’s second novel “Family Life” has been selected by The New York Times Book Review as one of the ten Best Books of 2014.
Published by W. W. Norton & Company, the Times describes Sharma’s novel as a “deeply unnerving and gorgeously tender” book.
“Sharma’s austere but moving novel tells the semi-autobiographical story of a family that immigrates from India to Queens, and has just begun to build a new life when the elder son suffers severe brain damage in a swimming pool accident,” it said.
Members of the Congressional Asia Pacific American Caucus today applauded the confirmation of Richard Verma as the next US Ambassador to India, noting that he would play an invaluable role in strengthening ties between the two countries.
“His historic confirmation is a wonderful step forward for the Asian American community and marks the first time in history that an Indian-American has held this post,” said Judy Chu, chairwoman of the Congressional Asia Pacific Caucus (CAPAC).
The top student leader of Maryland is visiting Hyderabad from January 12th to 18th 2015.
Raaheela Ahmed is a senior at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) studying Finance and Economics from the Robert H. Smith School of Business and the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, respectively. She is currently serving as the 2014-2015 Student Regent on the Board of Regents for the University System of Maryland, a representative position of over 160,000 students in 12 institutions and 2 regional centers.
A 37-year-old Indian man here has been sentenced to over five years in prison for running a USD 3.8 million ponzi scheme whose victims include several of his family friends.
Sachin Uppal was sentenced by US District Judge Nancy Edmunds in Detroit following his August guilty plea to the wire fraud charges (concoction of scheme to defraud or obtain money based on false representation or promises).
The house of British Indian businessman Shrien Dewani, who was acquitted Monday by a South African court of charges of ordering his wife’s murder, was vandalised after his return to Britain, a media report said.
White paint was thrown over the driveway of the businessman’s gated property in Bristol’s Westbury on Trym, Mirror Online reported Thursday.
It is not known if Dewani was home at the time of the attack, the report said.
British millionaire Shrien Dewani, declared not guilty for the murder of his wife, Anni, is finally ready to provide his version of events as he eyes a number of offers from publishers, film producers and broadcasters, willing to sign him up to exclusive deals, a source said.
The source said that the story of his battle was full of “twists and turns” and there were a lot of other questions that required addressing as he never had to get into the witness box. People who have followed the case never got the chance to hear his side of the story, the source said, reported The Daily Star.
A 32-year-old Indian man has been honoured by Dubai Police for foiling a daylight robbery by stopping a thief fleeing after stealing nearly Rs 55 lakhs.
Shahnawaz Khan was honoured by the Dubai Police for stopping the thief, pinning him to the ground and recovering the stolen money.
The theft took place when a representative of a private company was going to his office after withdrawing Dh 320,000 (Rs 5,434,696) from a bank in Al Qusais Industrial Area.
US Ambassador to India-designate Richard Verma would act as a “super bridge” between the two countries, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has said.
“We know his appointment comes at a crucial time in our bilateral relations with India, and I believe Rich will act as a superb bridge between our two nations,” she said in a statement, a day after Verma was confirmed by the US Senate by a voice vote.
India will organise a special event tomorrow to commemorate the centenary of World War I at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.
The event will be opened with a rendition of the ‘French Last Post’ followed by a welcome address by India’s Permanent Delegate to UNESCO Ruchira Khamboj.
The Permanent Delegations of Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom have also extended their support to the special programme, a release said today. Their ambassadors will also address the audience.