NRIs Corner

An Indian-origin man has been charged with the murder of his two sons, who were found dead in the boot of his car in Ireland. Sanjeev Chada, 43, was brought before a special sitting of Swinford District Court in County Mayo on Thursday after being accused of killing his sons Eoghan and Ruairi.

According to Sky News, the boys had gone with Chada after leaving the family home on Sunday evening. The bodies of the 10-and-five-year olds were discovered the next day in the boot of Chada”s crashed car. Chada was arrested after being treated in hospital for injuries from the crash.

Chennai-born Indian American Suja Lowenthal has announced her bid to run for Mayor of Long Beach, which is the second largest city in Los Angeles County of California in US.

Currently serving her second term as City Council, Suja is pitted against five other candidates.

Suja Lowenthal holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from UCLA, a Master’s in Business Administration from California State University, Los Angeles and a Doctorate in Policy, Planning and Development from USC.

A Sikh gang of four has been convicted of slashing the throat of Lieutenant-General Kuldeep Singh Brar in a revenge attack on 30 September last year.

According to the BBC, Mandeep Singh Sandhu, Dilbag Singh, Barjinder Singh Sangha and Harjit Kaur of London were convicted at Southwark Crown Court on charges of wounding with intent.

Lt Gen Brar and his wife Meena were on their way to their hotel on Old Quebec Street in central London when the group attacked.

Brar had suffered a 12-inch cut running across his neck and jaw and another three-inch cut to the jaw, the report further added.

Internet Corporation Yahoo, continuing with its acquisition spree has reportedly bought e-commerce platform founded by one of its ex-employee.

According to Stuff.co.nz, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer purchased four-year-old start-up Lexity, founded by Amit Kumar for an undisclosed amount.

The company specializes in software applications that help small businesses attract and service customers and boasts of boasts tens of thousands of clients spread across 114 countries.

The influential Indian American doctor’s community today announced to hold their “Global Healthcare Summit” in Ahmedabad next January for bringing affordable world class healthcare for Indians.

“The Association of American Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) would like to make a positive and meaningful impact on the healthcare in India,” said the AAPI president, Dr Jayesh Shah, on his return from India along with other members of the organisation.

Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Dr. Girija Vyas, who met Indian Diaspora in St Petersburg, Russia, yesterday, discussed various issues concerning real estate sector.

She briefed them about various initiatives taken by the Indian Government concerning this sector.

Dr. Vyas, who is on a three-day visit to Russia to participate in the 13th National Convention of Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India (CREDAI) in Moscow, today attended the meeting on “Social Housing” with officials of Russia, followed by visit to Pushkin Palace. (ANI)

President Barack Obama has nominated yet another Indian American legal luminary, Vince Girdhari Chhabria, to a key judicial post in California.

Nominated to be US District Judge for the Northern District of California, Chhabria is currently deputy city attorney for government litigation at the San Francisco city attorney’s office, where he has worked since 2005.

Announcing Chhabria’s nomination along with five other judicial posts, Obama said: “These men and women have had distinguished legal careers and I am honoured to ask them to continue their work as judges on the federal bench.”

A Historic Hindu temple is celebrating its remarkable Silver Jubilee in Willesden, London, this week.

The shrine was the first of its kind to be built in Europe.

Devotees from all over the world, including Australia, India and America, have travelled to the UK to mark the 25th anniversary of the landmark Shree Swaminarayan Temple, the Daily Express reported.

The festivities included a street festival, which was attended by thousands, a live music concert and an opening ceremony choreographed by the youngsters of the temple.

Four Indian American professors are among the 13 mathematicians, theoretical physicists and theoretical computer scientists who have won 2013 Simons Investigators awards.

Currently working at Stanford University, Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Pennsylvania University, they will each receive $100,000 a year for five years for their long-term research with the possibility of renewal for five additional years.

Closure of another bogus American university has left hundreds of students, many of them from India’s Andhra Pradesh state, scrambling for options for continuing their studies.

The University of Northern Virginia was ordered to cease operations and close immediately July 16, after the State Council for Higher Education in Virginia revoked the college’s license to operate.

Indian-American legal luminary Vince Girdhari Chhabria has been nominated by US President Barack Obama to a key judiciary post in California.

Chhabria, nominated to be US District Judge for the Northern District of California, is currently Deputy City Attorney for Government Litigation and as the Co-Chief of Appellate Litigation at the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office, where he has worked since 2005.

Obama announced his nominated along with five other judicial posts, all of which requires Senate confirmation.

The University of Northern Virginia has been ordered to shut down with immediate effect, leaving a large number of Indian students stranded and jeopardising their academic career.

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia in an order dated July 16, which was made public last week, said that the University of Northern Virginia, which calls itself the most popular American university for students from India, “must cease operations immediately” as a post-secondary institution.

Brit-Indian businessman Shrien Dewani, who has been accused of plotting to kill his wife Anni during their honeymoon, will be extradited to South Africa to face trial for the murder. The family of Anni pledged to keep fighting for answers after her husband was told he will be extradited to South Africa.

Thousands of Indian students and skilled workers on 457 foreign worker visa scheme entered Australia on dodgy travel and work documents from 2008-10, according to a report.

The immigration department’s internal audits show fraud rates touching 50 per cent and reveal that it has struggled to properly identify people who were entering the country, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) said today.

A high-powered British parliamentary committee has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking if he was consulted over a controversial plan to introduce a hefty 3,000 pounds cash bond for ‘high-risk’ visitors from India.

Under the pilot scheme announced by British home secretary Theresa May last month, citizens of India, along with that of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Ghana and Sri Lanka could be asked to pay a 3,000 pounds cash bond in a bid to prevent them overstaying their visa.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has reportedly named Indian-origin businessman Haroon Lorgat as its new chief executive officer (CEO), after getting a positive nod from the powerful Indian cricket authorities. According to Sport24, the position had not been filled on a permanent basis, since former CEO Gerald Majola was suspended and eventually sacked in 2010 for his part in the long-running bonus scandal, which followed the 2009 Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament hosted by South Africa.

A recent survey has revealed that 78 percent Britons believe that non-English speaking immigrants should be barred from the welfare system to claim benefits.

The Daily Express reports that 80 percent people in UK think that the number of immigrants coming to Britain should be cut down in coming years.

Vision Critical poll has found out that 37 percent of those surveyed believe immigrants come to the UK to get state benefits, while 30 percent think they come to claim asylum.

James Bond actor Paul Bhattacharjee was declared bankrupt on July 9, in the days leading up to his suspected suicide.
A bankruptcy order, which was made under his full name – Gautam Paul Bhattacharjee, described him as an ‘actor’ on the Insolvency Register, the Mirror reported.
The petitioner is named as HM Revenue ‘n’ Customs.
Bhattacharjee, 53, went missing after leaving rehearsals for a new play at the Royal Court Theatre in central London, on July 10.
His body was discovered at the bottom of cliffs in Seaford, East Sussex, on July 12.

An Indian-American doctor, who owned weight loss clinics in the US, has been sentenced to two years in prison for illegally dispensing millions of pills containing amphetamine-based controlled substances to patients.

The court in Indiana also sentenced his wife for federal income tax evasion relating to their operation of the clinics.

Indian-Americans can play a valuable role in the India-US relationship as they bring unique perspective on issues of common concerns like business and trade, climate change and energy, US Vice President Joe Biden has said.

Biden made the remarks in a meeting with a group of Indian-Americans at the White House yesterday during which he discussed his upcoming trip to India.

“The Vice President emphasised the Administration’s ongoing commitment to the Asia-Pacific region and the importance of our bilateral relationship with India,” a White House official said.

US President Barack Obama has nominated an Indian-American woman for the key post of Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia.

Subject to confirmation by the Senate, Nisha Desai Biswal, who is currently the Assistant Administrator for Asia at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), will replace incumbent Robert Blake.

Biswal’s nomination by Obama yesterday came along with announcements for seven other senior administration level positions.

A 51-year-old Indian expatriate who was found unconscious at Sharjah International Airport, 15 hours after his flight took off, on July 3 is now reportedly under coma at Dubai’s Rashid Hospital.

The Gulf News reports that Sambandan Siva was waiting to board his flight to Chennai when he fell unconscious, but was discovered only the next morning.

Siva, who works with the UAE-based Al Huraiz Group, had taken a month’s leave to go to Chennai as he was not keeping well.

Muslim Aid a UK based International NGO has responded to the Uttarakhand catastrophe swiftly and around Rs 27,00,000 was sanctioned to distribute food packs, medicines, utensils and blankets.

A team a doctors and volunteers surveyed the affected areas before aid was released. This project funded by Muslim Aid was facilitated by MESCO a Hyderabad based national NGO led by Dr Mohammed Fakhruddin.

A couple has been jailed for nine months for a racially motivated attack on a Sikh driver in Darwin, Sydney. The couple ripped off Jagroop Singh’s turban in the ‘unprovoked’ and ‘malicious’ attack. According to news.com.au, in sentencing the couple, Justice Stephen Southwood said that the turban is the crowning glory of the Sikhs.

The White House has acknowledged the contributions of the Sikh community to the US as it celebrates 100 years of their achievements and the immigrant success story in America.

The occasion was an event last week to mark the centenary of the arrival in July 1913 of Bhagat Singh Thind from his home in Amritsar, Punjab, in pursuit of higher education while dreaming of a better life for himself and his family.

Thind became the first turbaned Sikh to fight in the American armed forces and led a life-long campaign to gain citizenship for him and many others.