NRIs Corner

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin on Monday reconfirmed that Indian nationals in Iraq are safe and unharmed, and added that the government is making all efforts to bring them back.

“The safety and security of Indian nationals in Iraq continues to be a matter of priority for the government. Our initiatives are gaining impetus. We are proceeding systematically and carefully. Various doors are opening now,” said Akbaruddin.

He also said that information flow has improved providing the government channels to obtain corroborate and confirm information.

An Indian expatriate Monday denied charges that he had molested a woman on a Dubai Metro station escalator, a media report said.

The Indian, identified only as J.K., 26, has been accused of groping a 40-year-old Indian woman when he drew his body close to hers from the back on an escalator in a Dubai Metro station in Jebel Ali area in March, Gulf News reported.

The defendant entered a not guilty plea before the Dubai Court of First Instance Monday.

An Indian-origin man in Australia, who sexually assaulted women on trains, was Monday sentenced to 21 months in jail, media reported.

County Court judge Gerard Mullaly, while sentencing Ajay Chopra, said stern punishment awaited the men who put their own “perverse sexual pleasure” above the rights of women, The Age reported.

“The sexual assault of fellow female passengers on public transport is shameful and dishonourable. Decent men do not do this,” Mullaly said.

Five Indians were detained for smuggling 36 gold bars weighing around 4.4 kg in a bus in Bangladesh, media reported Monday.

Bijoy Chandra, Ruhith Ashok, Komal Otharar, Raj Kumar of Nagpur, and Rakesh of Ahmedabad were arrested by the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) during a search in Bangladesh’s state-run bus in Jessore district in south-western Bangladesh bordering India Sunday. They were found to have hidden 36 gold bars inside their rectum, The Daily Star reported.

An Indian national found guilty of obstructing a policeman during the December riots here was Monday sentenced to five months in jail, the media reported.

Mahalingam Thavamani, 27, was found guilty of obstructing Deputy Superintendent of Police N. Subramaniam from dispersing a crowd near the scene of the riots, Channel News Asia reported.

He could have been jailed up to eight years.

The riots in Little India erupted Dec 8 night when a private bus knocked down and killed an Indian construction worker.

An Indian-origin British MP who had lodged an official complaint with the BBC over its “one-sided” coverage of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has now taken the matter to higher authorities in the UK.

Priti Patel, appointed “Indian Diaspora Champion” by Prime Minister David Cameron, had written to BBC director general Tony Hall last month expressing her concerns over a “Newsnight” programme aired on May 16, the day India’s general election results were declared.

Indian missions in the US have turned to social media like Facebook and Twitter as they scrambled to clear up a visa mess in the wake of a change of contractors for processing consular services.

Following complaints galore against the previous service provider BLS International, the Indian embassy here awarded the new contract for providing visa and other consular services to Cox & Kings Global Services from May 21.

The switch, however, made the ordeal of travellers to India, particularly from the West Coast, worse in the initial days.

promised a good life in rich havens like Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Kuwait and Jordan, hordes of gullible youth from Punjab and Haryana are allowing themselves to be trapped by travel agents in the state and their links in these countries and to work in miserable conditions in conflict-torn Iraq.

With the number of people from Punjab and Haryana stuck in Iraq after the recent sectarian flare-up going up to nearly 700, the old story of failed “phoren (foreign) dreams” and lost big bucks is being retold.

India born British millionaire Shrien Dewani, who is accused of plotting the murder of his wife on their honeymoon, will stand trial in South Africa in October if he is declared fit by mental health experts.

According to Daily Star, the Western Cape High Court expects the British businessman to answer claims that he paid three hitmen to kill his new wife in Cape Town in November 2010.

The businessman was extradited to South Africa from the UK in April.

Anni was shot dead as the couple travelled in a taxi on the outskirts of Cape Town in November 2010. (ANI)

The experiments of an eleven-year-old Indian student in the UAE would be launched into space under a Nasa programme, a media report said.

Prerna Pai, a seventh grade student in Sharjah, has got two of her experiments approved for launch into space June 26 under Nasa’s Cubes in Space (CIS) programme for budding young scientists, Gulf News reported Friday.

Pai, an aspiring scientist, has been regularly participating in Nasa student activities such as studying the solar flare last year. She also features in the space agency’s mailing list, the report said.

“It’s been two days since we feel we are in jail. Every time the phone rings, we wish it’s one with good news, but so far that has not come,” a carpenter from Kerala working in Iraq’s Basrah told IANS over the phone.

“Fifty-seven of us from various parts of India are packed to return. We have stopped our work and are eagerly waiting to return. Today morning (Saturday), Indian ambassador in Iraq, Ajay Kumar – a Malayalee – called us, but did not say anything on when we will be able to return,” said the carpenter who did not wish to be identified.

The Punjab government submitted a detailed report on Friday that more than 200 Punjabis stranded in strife torn Iraq to the external affairs ministry.

Till Friday evening, more than 200 families had contacted the control room for giving details about their relatives. On Thursday, around 50 Punjabi families had approached the control room, NRI affairs minister Tota Singh said in a statement here.

Punjabis in Iraq are safe but the central government should arrange for their safe exit as soon as possible because conditions in Iraq are worsening day by day, he added.

There was evidence that several hundreds of Indians were stranded in Najaf province of Iraq as their employer has refused to return their passports, Amnesty International said Saturday.

“With fighting between state forces and armed groups intensifying and affecting civilians across Iraq, the stranded Indian workers could be facing rising dangers,” Amnesty International India said in a press release.

It said it spoke over phone to some of the Indian workers, “who said they have not been paid salaries for the past five months” and their passports have been held.

A 27-year-old Indian woman in Bahrain has been accused of killing her husband by stabbing him 30 times in front of their five-year-old daughter.

The woman, who was not identified, appeared before a court here for killing 40-year-old Siraj Al Din Ebrahim on April 26.

She was arrested after her daughter told police her mother was behind the murder.

Three other people, including the victim’s brother, have been charged with aiding and abetting the crime.

All four appeared before a remand judge yesterday, where they pleaded not guilty.

Indian-origin student Asit Shah has been appointed by Texas governor Rick Perry as University of Houston’s new student regent to serve a one year term.

As Student Regent, Shah will serve on the Board’s Academic and Student Success Committee, and Facilities, Construction and Master Planning Committee.

Shah, replaces outgoing Student Regent Benjamin Wells, whose term recently expired.

“The University of Houston System is growing and continuously meeting new benchmarks,” Shah said.

The US embassy here Thursday organised a “student visa day” and around 800 applicants aspiring to study in America were interviewed.

Dressed in attires sporting US university logos, the embassy staff interviewed students applying for visas to pursue higher education in the US. Tips and information on academics and campus life were provided to the applicants.

An Indian-American dentist, whose license was suspended after a patient died while getting implants and 20 teeth extracted, is fighting get his license back.

Dr. Rashmi Patel of Enfield family dental, whose license was suspended in April after 64-year-old Judith Gan died and another almost died under his care, appeared before the State Dental Commission in Hartford Connecticut Wednesday.

Eminent Indian plant scientist, Dr. Sanjaya Rajaram, has been named winner of the 2014 World Food Prize in recognition of his outstanding work in the improvement of wheat crop.

Rajaram, who is now settled in Mexico, is credited with increasing world wheat production by more than 200 million tons in the years following the Green Revolution, which has had a far-reaching impact in alleviating world hunger.

World Food Prize Foundation President Kenneth M. Quinn announced the $250,000 World Food Prize winner at an event at the US State Department Wednesday.

A debit card belonging to an expatriate Indian in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was hacked into and used for unauthorised transactions in the US, media reported Wednesday.

Mohammed Anas, 34, was shocked to learn that the money was withdrawn from his debit card account thrice by an unknown hacker from Florida, who used precisely all of his account details efficiently, the Gulf News reported.

“A total of 2,700 dirhams was withdrawn in dollars from my account June 3 around 7 p.m. The amount was withdrawn from an ATM machine in Florida,” the news report quoted Anas as saying.

An Indian national has been shot dead in the Philippines by suspected motorcycle thieves.

Surinder Singh was on his way to collect money from his debtors at Kabacan of North Cotabato province Tuesday when he ws attacked, the Inquirer online reported Wednesday.

Singh was driving his motorcycle in Barangay Kayaga when he was flagged down by unidentified men.

Jordaine Maribojo, the Kabacan town police chief, said witnesses told investigators that one of the men without saying any word pumped bullets into Singh, using a .45 calibre pistol.

At the 14th Doha forum speakers were concerned about the stability of the MiddleEast and human rights. They argued West must give up double standards on democracy ­ It can wait till the region stabilizes.

By M Ajmal Khan

In view of growing tension in Iraq, the Ministry of External Affairs has set up a 24-hour ‘Control Room’ to provide information to all concerned people.

People can call on +91 11 2301 2113, +91 11 2301 7905 and +91 11 2301 4104 and can ask for related information.

In addition, the Indian Embassy in Baghdad has set up a 24-hour helpline which can be accessed for information or assistance.

People can call on +964 770 444 4899 and +964 770 484 3247 for information. (ANI)

Family members of Indians trapped in Mosul and Tikrit towns of Iraq have been praying for the rescue of their children. Family members of Silvy Varghese are among the worried parents who have been praying for the safe return of their only daughter, who is reportedly stranded in one of Iraq”s war zones.

Indian billionaires pumped in nearly 1 billion pounds into buying up luxury homes in the heart of London over last 18 months alone, becoming second only to Britain-based buyers, a new report said.

These Indian mega-rich are expected to spend another 500 pounds million on redevelopment in the next five years, said a report from UK luxury property agents Wetherell.

According to the analysis, Indian ultra high net worth (UNHW) individuals are buying up superflats, estates and hotels in London against the backdrop of a faltering real estate market back home in India.

As concern mounted for safety of Indians stranded in Iraq, government today decided to monitor the situation on an hourly basis and explored possibility of ground-level cooperation with Iraqi authorities to assist its citizens in violence-hit areas of the oil-rich Gulf nation.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj was “monitoring and reviewing” the situation in Iraq and issued directions to hold a “crisis management meeting” to review all aspects of the assistance that can be provided to the Indian nationals there.