VOA Epaper 09-27-19

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Serving Harris, Fort Bend and Surrounding Counties for over 30 years

FRIDAY, September 27, 2019

FRIDAY, September 27, 2019 l Published Weekly From Houston Vol. 33 • No. 39 • 20 Pages (2 sections) • 50 cents • 713-774-5140 • www.voiceofasia.news • E-mail: voiceasia@aol.com

Modi,Trump: History Making Moment in Texas Forging stronger ties and trade relations between the US and India.

by Shobana Muratee

H

OUSTON, September 24, 2019 – Like everything in Texas, it was meant to be over the top. The September 22 rally in Houston with tagline “Howdy,

Modi!”, welcoming India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and joined by President Donald Trump, had a staggering audience of 50,000 Indian Americans here at the NRG Stadium.

The event hosted by the Texas India Forum was the largest

Community Summit ever held for a foreign leader in the US. People from 48 states come together to celebrate the spirit of ‘Shared Dreams, Bright Futures” between the world’s two great democracies.

Continued on Page 8

A section of 50,000 people who attended the Howdy, Modi!”event. Biyani Photo.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump made a joint appearance at the Howdy, Modi!”event held at the NRG Stadium on September 22, 2019. Biyani Photo

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FRIDAY, September 27, 2019

Second Front Page

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Tel: 713-774-5140

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Indian Prime Minister Modi highlights Modi becomes second world figure to back Gandhi Museum for Houston Gandhi’s relevance in today’s world India’s prime minister inaugurates Solar Park, Peace Garden at UN in New York

U

nited Nations:PTI September 25, 2019 Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with UN chief Antonio Guterres and other world leaders, inaugurated the Gandhi Solar Park and Gandhi Peace Garden at the headquarters of the global body, underlining that his principles act as a moral compass as the world grapples with challenges of climate change, terrorism and corruption.

Modi was also joined by South Korean President Moon Jae-in, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in remotely inaugurating the 50-kilowatt Gandhi Solar Park and the Gandhi Peace Garden at the UN Headquarters on Tuesday.

The special commemorative event ‘Leadership Matters: Relevance of Gandhi in the Contemporary World’ was hosted by Modi to mark Gandhi’s 150th birth anniversary.

H

OUSTON - India Prime Minister Nahendra Modi has become the second world figure to support the creation and operation of a privately funded Eternal Gandhi Museum planned for southwest Houston.

“The Eternal Gandhi museum will be a prized cultural landmark in Houston,” said Modi, leader of the world's most populous democracy, during his weekend visit to Houston. “I have been associated with this effort for a while.

It will surely make Gandhiji's thoughts popular among the youth."

His Holiness The Dalai Lama, world leader of Tibetan Buddhism and the Tibetan people, endorsed the museum project in January letter to its local backers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking at the inaugurations of ''Gandhi Solar Park'' on 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi On the occasion, a special UN Postage stamp on Gandhi’s 150 years was also released.

first of its kind symbolic Indian effort at the UN that highlights India’s willingness to go beyond the talk on climate

The Gandhi Solar Park is a

Continued on Page 8

Gandhi was the Indian leader whose non-violent resistance movement led India to independence from British Rule and inspired later civil rights movements in other nations.

After Modi's speech Sunday to about 50,000 people at NRG Stadium, Modi met with Indian-American business leaders and unveiled a plaque stating that he had symbolically participated in the ground-breaking for the museum, which will take place in southwest Houston. ANI News video of the unveiling is here.

Mayor Sylvester Turner visited Rajghat, the Gandhi Memorial in New Delhi, during the Greater Houston Partnership trade mission he led to India in November 2018.

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Mayor Turner rings a peace gong in New Delhi in November 2018 on the property where Mahatma Gandhi was killed.

PM Modi unveils Gandhi museum project conceived

by Porbandar NRG

The mayor related the Eternal Gandhi Museum project in Houston to his visit to Gandhi’s living quarters and the garden where Gandhi was assassinated in 1948.

“The kind words from Prime Minister Modi and Hos Holiness The Dalai Lama help us show that here in the nation’s most diverse city, we live the values of tolerance, inclusion and pluralism, which were among Gandhi’s most important teachings. We are a welcoming city, where one of every four residents is foreignborn and where we build relationships rather than walls," the mayor said.

To learn more about the Eternal Gandhi Museum in Houston and Mahatma Gandhi visit gandhilibrary.org

Atul Kothari with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi

O

n Sunday, when PM Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump said ‘howdy’ to the Indian diaspora in Houston a Porbandar man set a unique stage to introduce America to Mahatma Gandhi’s triumph in truth.

PM Modi unveiled a plaque proclaiming the ground-breaking ceremony of the first multimedia digital museum in the US dedicated to Gandhiji. The museum is the brainchild of Atul Kothari, who was born in Porbandar like the Mahatma. The museum — ‘Eternal Gandhi’ — is Kothari’s quest to reverse, albeit symbolically, the brain drain that India has recorded for decades. - TNN

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FRIDAY, September 27, 2019

Ayurveda, the science of life, is a recipe for health and happiness

by Sunita Tarkunde

A

long with sleep and lifestyle, the Ayurvedic Diet is a fundamental pillar of good health and longevity.

With a proper diet our body can develop new cells, tissues, hormones and enzymes which are essential for all physiological functions of the body.

Diet is also how we nourish our mind; if you eat a balanced diet at the proper times of the day and get a good night’s sleep, your physiology will be balanced and your mind and body will function at optimum level. When this happens, your body can digest your food properly, and your body can use the nutrients to build the different types of body tissue and replace worn out cells and tissues quickly.

We are always asked, what should I eat according to my Dosha? This is an understandable curiosity with so many different schools of thought on how to eat; keto, paleo, vegan, raw.... it is so overwhelming but don't get stressed about food or food will stress you out. We like to keep things simple.

The main rule of an Ayurvedic Diet is to eat warm, cooked, seasonal food. The only difficulty here is that we have access to so many fruits and vegetables year round that aren't actually in season, but you can always ask your local grocers produce department what they recommend!

We also recommend including all of the 6 tastes: sweet (honey), sour (yogurt), salty, pungent (garlic), astringent (cranberry) and bitter (mustard greens).

The thing we think is most overlooked is that it doesn't matter what you are eat-

ing as much as how you are eating it, so here are some guidelines: Lunch should be the largest meal of the day.

Dinner should be lighter than lunch and should be eaten before 8 PM. Be respectful to your food, it sacrificed its life. Turn off the screens and sounds. Have a seat.

Smell your food, really taste and chew it well.

We eat so often that we can forget how pleasing the smells and textures are if we don't take the time to really experience them.

Take a walk after each meal to facilitate digestion. The weather is going to be really nice for it soon!

Find joy in the food you eat and you will find more joy in your life!

Courtesy Houston Ayurveda

3222 Mercer St. | Houston, TX 77027 | (713) 623-0005

HEALING FOR YOUR PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL BODY

Visit us @ voiceofasia.news THE STORY OF MAHATMA GANDHI

G

andhi’s activities made the BriCongress leaders were thinking of participating in the Municipal and Provincial Councils which Gandhi had advised them to boycott. Gandhi was not dismayed or discouraged. He decided to leave politics for the time being and spend his time in bringing about Hindu-Muslim unity and the removal of untouchability.

So for nearly six years Gandhi had little to do with politics. But he wrote, he lectured, and he prayed. He travelled all over India. His influence among the people was steadily growing. Gandhi had not given up the idea of nonviolent resistance to British rule. He was merely waiting for the right moment.

Jawaharlal Nehru joined Gandhi in many of his travels. Everywhere they were

greeted with great enthusiasm.

Nehru was the hope of the younger generation. In 1928 the Viceroy invited Gandhi to see him. He informed Gandhi of the appointment of an official British Commission, led by Sir John Simon, which would study Indian conditions and recommend political reforms.

Everybody then realized that England was still marking time and was not really willing to part with power. A new determination to force the government to act filled the minds of the people.

“Will there be any Indians on the Commission?” asked Gandhi. “No,” replied the Viceroy. “That is absurd,” said Gandhi.

“We must boycott it.” Gandhi advised the people to boycott the Simon Commission, and when it arrived in Bombay a hartal (strike) was observed all over India. On its tour through the Indian cities the Commission was greeted with black-flag demonstrations.

The people shouted, “Simon, go back!”

At many places there were cane charges and shooting. The same year the peasants of Bardoli, in Gujarat, were agitated by the enhancement of land taxes. Gandhi studied their grievances and advised them to resort to satyagraha and not pay taxes. But they must be nonviolent, he insisted. Vallabhbhai Patel took charge of organizing the resistance.

Houston Ayurveda Center | www.houstonayurveda.com | info@houstonayurveda.com

The Viceroy called a meeting of the Indian leaders. He made the announcement that India would get dominion status, similar to that of Canada.

Gandhi wanted an immediate plan for the framing of the Constitution. “Gentlemen,” the Viceroy said, “I have no power to promise such things.”

Dandi Salt Satyagraha stirs nation In 1924, Gandhi fell ill. He was suffering from appendicitis and was in great pain. The government was alarmed.

What would happen if Gandhi died in prison?

An urgent operation was arranged, and Gandhi agreed. The operation was successful, but his recovery was very slow.

The government thought it best to release him, so he was set free. He went to Juhu, near Bombay, for recovery. Read on:

Ayurvedic Consultation, Herbal Treatments and Therapeutic Oil Massage

Mahatma Gandhi Week in Houston Call 713785-3900 or visit www. mahatmagandhilibrary.org The government tried all its usual measures to terrorize the people, but had to climb down.

An enquiry into the grievances was ordered. Vallabhbhai demanded certain concessions. Negotiations were going on when Gandhi arrived in Bardoli. Within a short period the government came to terms with the organizers and a settlement was reached.

Now political tension again gained momentum. People everywhere were preparing for a mass struggle.

Jawaharlal Nehru was elected President of the Congress at the instance of Gandhi. A Congress session was held in Lahore on December 31, 1929. A resolution announcing that full independence was India’s goal was passed at this session of the Congress. Disappointed at her failure to get dominion status, India now demanded full independence.

The whole country was excited. Everybody was waiting for the lead from Gandhi. After two months of suspense, a Salt Satyagraha was announced by Gandhi.

This would be the beginning of a civil disobedience campaign in which laws made by the State would be broken.

Civil disobedience would begin by breaking the salt law.

“Salt suddenly became a mysterious word, a word of power,” Nehru said.

The government had put an excise tax on salt which brought an enormous amount

of money to the treasury .

Moreover, the government had the monopoly of manufacturing salt. The salt tax was to be attacked and the salt laws were to be broken. The very simplicity of Gandhi’s choice made the issue more dramatic. On March 2, 1930, Gandhi wrote a long letter to the new Viceroy, Lord Irwin, about the deplorable condition of India under British rule. “British rule,” he said, has impoverished the dumb millions by a system of progressive exploitation, and by a ruinously expensive military and civil administration which the country can never afford.

It has reduced us politically to serfdom. It has sapped the foundations of our culture.”

He requested the Viceroy to see him and discuss the matter with him in person.

“But if you cannot see your way to deal with these evils,” he went on, “and my letter makes no appeal to your heart, on the eleventh day of this month I shall proceed, with such co-workers of the ashram as I can take, to disregard the provisions of the salt laws. “It is, I know, open to you to frustrate my design by arresting me. I hope there will be tens of thousands ready, in a disciplined manner, to take up the work after me.”

Lord Irwin did not answer Gandhi but sent a message through his secretary expressing regret that Gandhi had chosen a course which involved breaking the law of the land and which would be a danger to public peace.

The whole of India was agitated over Gandhi’s Salt Satyagraha. On March 12, at 6.30 in the morning, thousands of people watched as Gandhi started from his ashrama with 78 volunteers on a march to Dandi, a village on the sea coast 241 miles away.

There, it was announced, the salt law would be broken. Gandhi led the march through village after village, stopping at each place to talk to the peasants and advise them on the necessity of social reforms.

For twenty-four days the eyes of India and the world followed Gandhi as he marched towards the sea.

The government did not take the risk of arresting Gandhi.

With each passing day the campaign grew. Hundreds and thousands of people joined the procession. Men, women, and children lined the route, offering flowers and shouting slogans for the victory of the march.

Newspaper reporters from every corner of the world were there to report the progress of Gandhi’s march. The salt march ended on April 5 at Dandi village.

Gandhi and his selected followers went to the sea shore and broke the salt law by picking up salt left on the shore by the sea. Gandhi then gave a signal to all Indians to break the salt law and prepare to resist the police action in a nonviolent manner.

— To be Continued

Sponsored by Houston Arts Alliance in honor of Mahatma Gandhi Sesquicentennial Houston celebrations.

Great Summer Project For children! Enter Mahatma Gandhi Week 2019 citywide contests: Essay, I-Tribute, Poster and Speech contests.

Visit gandhilibrary.org for registration and more information. By participating in these contests not only will the children make good use of their vacation time, they will also learn universal values of Truth, Nonviolence, Love and Service by participating in these contests.

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FRIDAY, September 27, 2019

Fall of Thomas Cook creates 'tsunami' of losses for tourist resorts

Tel: 713-774-5140

Fiat Chrysler manager charged in US diesel emissions case

by Daniel Silva with Emmanuelle Michel in Madrid and AFP bureaux in Europe

P

ALMA, Spain | AFP | 9/24/2019 - The Mediterranean's leading tourist hotspots were bracing Tuesday for a "tsunami" of losses, which could amount to hundreds of millions of euros, following the devastating collapse of British tour operator Thomas Cook.

Beyond the urgent need to repatriate hundreds of thousands of tourists, industry professionals were agonising over the huge sum in unpaid bills.

The British package holiday giant had established a practice of paying a hotel's bills only 90 days after the departure of the guest, raising the question of the huge sums racked up over the busy summer period, several hotel sources said.

In Spain, where the company operated 55 hotels -- the highest number in any country -- the debt could reach as high as 200 million euros ($220 million), the Exceltur tourist association said.

And Italy's Confindustria Alberghi, one of the organisations representing the hotel industry, said the collapse of Thomas Cook could have a "very heavy" impact on the tourism sector.

Fellow industry body Federalberghi, which represents the sector, said many businesses would suffer "serious consequences".

"Within just a few hours, we have been contacted by many hotels telling us that the British tour operator owes them tens of thousands of euros, and sometimes hundreds of thousands," said its president Bernabo Bocca.

The collapse of Thomas Cook has left industry professionals agonising over the US authorities say Fiat Chrysler engineers calibrated software in Ram and Jeep huge sum in unpaid bills diesel vehicles to evade emissions test (AFP Photo/Bryan Thomas) In Greece and Spain, hotel industry representatives were on Tuesday holding urgent meetings with government representatives.

The impact on Spain's Canary islands could be even more devastating than elsewhere as the resort is very popular as a winter destination among tourists from northern Europe.

RyanAir is one of the few carriers that flies there but the budget airline is currently planning to close four of its bases in Spain, three of which are in the Canaries.

Efforts are now under way to convince Madrid to pressure RyanAir to keep these bases open, to ensure the accessibility of the resort in the longer term.

In Morocco, where Thomas Cook accounted for some 100,000 holidaymakers out of an overall total of 12 million, the outlook appeared less severe.

"The impact will be manageable," Lamia Boutaleb, the secretary of state for tourism, told AFP.

W

ASHINGTON | AFP | Tuesday 9/24/2019 - A senior manager at Fiat Chrysler has been charged with misleading US environmental regulators in the scandal over the automaker's use of "defeat devices" to evade emissions tests, the US Justice Department announced Tuesday.

The company in January agreed to pay more than $500 million to settle the charges it intentionally manipulated software to allow its vehicles to spew more pollutants than allowed by law, and recalled 100,000 diesel vehicles sold in the United

Won't allow driverless cars in India: Gadkari "I will not let the jobs of 1 crore people be snatched away," said Nitin Gadkari

In Tunisia, the hotel federation said the collapse of Thomas Cook had left it with "65 to 70 million euros" in unpaid bills.

Even in Bulgaria, where the operator brought up to 400,000 visitors every year, hoteliers at Sunny Beach, the biggest resort on the Black Sea, said they were expecting to see "bankruptcies" and losses amounting to 36 million euros.

- Legal action looms Faced with huge financial losses, which several industry figures referred to as a "tsunami", Italy's Federalberghi said it had made contact with counterparts across Europe to coordinate legal action.

In Spain, Thomas Cook was the second biggest tour operator, bringing in 7.3 million tourists in 2018 -around nine percent of the total visitors, according to an AFP calculation based on figures from national airport operator AENA. In the Canary Islands, one in four holidaymakers were flown in by the package holiday specialist, the local hotel federation said.

And in Greece, where tourism accounts for 27 percent of GDP, Thomas Cook brought in 8.5 percent of the overall visitors last year, Greek press reports said, while in Tunisia, five percent of tourists came via the firm.

Most industry experts were extremely concerned about the fallout, with Crete facing a loss of up 100,000 reservations between now and November.

"The collapse of Thomas Cook is having a domino effect on suppliers, tourist buses, car hire companies, etc," said Michalis Vlatakis, who heads Crete's tourist agencies association.

"We need time to have a clearer picture of the damage that has been caused."

Individual businesses also had their own concerns.

"We'll have trouble next year.. especially (if we lose) customers that are German, Swedish and British because that's the wealthiest customers that we have," said Althea Scaramucci, who runs a juice bar in Majorca's capital Palma.

- Carrier shortage in Canaries In many countries, hoteliers have already turned to their respective governments for help, with Turkey -- where Thomas Cook accounts for some three percent of tourists -mooting a package of support of up to 50 million euros.

States.

The Justice Department said in a statement that it charged Emanuele Palma, 40, an Italian citizen and resident of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, for "his alleged role in a conspiracy to mislead US regulators, customers and the public by making false and misleading statements."

Palma, resident of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, led a team of engineers in the United States responsible for developing and calibrating the 3.0-liter diesel engine used in certain FCA diesel vehicles, and adjusted the software to allow them to pass tests, the statement said.

US officials have said the FCA's EcoDiesel Ram 1500 and Jeep Grand Cherokee for model years 2014-2016 were built with software designed to operate differently during emissions tests compared with real-world conditions.

Palma "is alleged to have knowingly misled EPA regulators to cover up illegal emissions control software installed in certain Fiat Chrysler diesel vehicles," said Susan Bodine of the Environmental Protection Agency.

A spokesman for the group in Italy told AFP: "We're just learning about the details of the matter.... We will continue to collaborate fully with the authorities."

The emissions scandal which started with Volkswagen has engulfed many automakers, including Daimler and BMW.

India's Union Minister Nitin Gadkari NEW DELHI | PTI | 9/24/2019 - Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday said he will not allow driverless cars in India as these could take o away jobs of several lakh people in the country.

Kumhars," he said.

KVIC Chairman Vinai Kumar Sax-

ena, in his address, said that in the current financial year, KVIC would dis-

tribute another 70,000 leather tool kits among the trained artisans.

D You Dream of owning a multigenerational familY estate?

"Several big personalities from the country met me and said they want to bring driverless vehicles to India. I clearly told them that till I am there, I shall not allow driverless cars in India. I was asked whether I oppose new technology. I said not at all."

"There are 40 lakh drivers in the country and a shortage of 25 lakh drivers. I will not let the jobs of 1 crore people be snatched away," Gadkari said.

The Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and MSME was addressing an event to distribute leather tool kits at a function organised

by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).

Gadkari said that social and economic equality will not come from speeches but with real action. Distribution of tool kits to leather artisans is such an action.

It is a real dedication to Mahatma Gandhi's spirit, he added.

"We are working regularly for economically and socially backward sectors. Now Kulhads will be used for tea at 400 railway stations which will give employment to

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VOICE OF ASIA 6

Human Reality

by M. S. Tomar, Ph.D. (Katy, TX)

H

uman life is a wave to have experiences, to be creative, and to know one’s reality. Ignorance, ego, likes, dislikes, and the fear of unknown are called natural afflictions.

Unawareness of the reality is ignorance, and the nature of ignorance is to cover the mind, so that one does not distinguish right and wrong.

Ego manifests in the form of desire, anger, pride, greed and envy. Brain is one thing and the mind is another probably due to ego. However, one cannot escape the biology of brain. Current research on brain imaging has identified the cognitive neuron circuity of envy and delight, but the mechanism of feelings is unknown.

One tries to know others before knowing one’s own reality. Mind has the faculty of emotion, reason, discrimination and ego, and the potential of focused mind is unlimited. Well tested techniques to clear the mind is giving/helping others without ulterior motives, contemplation to calm the mind, and attain knowledge to eliminate ignorance, which may lead to wisdom. Activities of body, mind, and speech are called actions (deeds), and actions have consequences as the natural cause-effect law.

Pleasures come to humble us, but we indulge in distractions. Pains comes to awake us from ignorance, but we panic. If one could control the impulse of one’s desires, the result is equanimity. It is possible, but the requirement is untainted mind and the thirst to know one’s reality.

One works for living and desires for prosperity. Accepting pains for right cause and helping/giving without ulterior motives leads to discipline and clears the mind out of ignorance. What is

our reality and why should we know it? Based on observations, one can draw one’s conclusions using common sense. During the deep sleep (sleep without dreams), sense objects are absent, so the mind is at rest or ignorant. Who is the witness of mind during sleep mode, if not the pureconsciousness or soul? The feeling of total peace after deep sleep is the glimpse of soul, which could not be detected by the mind due to ignorance. However, under deep meditation while mind is fully awake, ego faces the soul and ego loses its grip on mind. Mind attains its original state – equanimity.

Since observer cannot observe itself as the law of Physics, ego cannot observe ego. Which is why souls is the witness of ego, and body is merely its vehicle, i.e. soul is our reality. To know it, is the birth right of every person and highest achievement in life. First result of this experience is selfcontentment and the lake of fear and anxiety – eternal peace. One knows soul after the removal of ignorance of mind, i.e. by removing the cover of ignorance one perceives soul. Some people awake after natural shakeup but uncovering the ignorance of mind is auspicious at any stage of life, because life is the journey in search of truth while one is alive and active. Metaphysics of soul seeking is unique and is based on three pillars for its validity: selfexperience, reason, and lack of doubt. It is not a belief. The faith with right understanding leads to solace. However, trust in God and not hurting others may be an option to avoid degradation. Looking at one’s virtues and other’s faults boost ego and malice, and one continues living in fear and anxiety.

Former Texas policewoman on trial for shooting neighbor in his home

W

ashington | AFP | Monday 9/23/2019 - A former Texas policewoman went on trial Monday for shooting dead a neighbor in his home last year in what her lawyer claimed was a "tragic mistake."

The case has inflamed racial tensions since former Dallas, Texas police officer Amber Guyger, 31, who is facing murder charges, is white, while the victim, Botham Jean, was black.

Guyger claimed after the September 6, 2018 shooting that she mistakenly believed she had returned to her own apartment and that the 26-year-old Jean was an intruder.

In fact, Guyger had entered Jean's unlocked apartment located in the same building but one floor above her own home.

Guyger, who was off-duty at the time after working a nearly 14-hour shift, lived in apartment 1378 on the third floor of the building, while Jean lived in apartment 1478 directly above her on the fourth floor.

"She knows she's made a tragic mistake, but it's not out of evil," Guyger's lawyer, Robert Rogers, told the court, describing it as "human error" and an act of "self-defense."

Guyger, who had been a police officer for four years and was fired following the shooting, "thought firmly and reasonably that she was in her apartment," Rogers said.

Prosecutor Jason Hermus countered that Jean, a native of the Caribbean island of St. Lucia who worked for an accounting firm, "paid the ultimate price" for her errors.

FRIDAY, September 27, 2019

Expanded Infusion Center for chemotherapy patients opens at Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital SUGAR LAND — (September 20, 2019) — Houston Methodist Cancer Center at Sugar Land recently expanded and upgraded its Infusion Center to better serve patients undergoing chemotherapy.

The new 7,450-square-foot Infusion Center – located on the second floor of the Houston Methodist Cancer Center at Sugar Land – is nearly twice the size of the old facility. It features 20 private rooms and a fast-track area with two chairs for patients who need a port flush or other quick procedure.

An expanded on-site oncology pharmacy will enable the center to provide much-needed treatments in a timely manner.

In addition, the Infusion Center offers a range of customized services and amenities to provide a supportive, caring environment, including music therapy, pet therapy, specialized, technology to prevent hair loss, beverages, light snacks and even full meals for patients who must remain onsite through the lunch hour.

“The opening of the expanded Infusion Center is a major benefit for our patients, both in terms of ease of scheduling and in comfort and convenience,” said Amy Sebastian-Deutsch, director of oncology and infusion therapy services. “Patients undergoing chemotherapy spend a lot of time here, so we’ve eliminated as many of the hassles and stresses of treatment as possible by creating an Infusion Center that provides a warm and welcoming environment. The new center also frees up chairs at our IV Therapy Center for patients who are undergoing infusion therapy for non-cancer treatments such as autoimmune disorders.”

The hospital enlisted help from current chemotherapy patients in elements of the center’s design.

“For some patients, an infusion session can be as long as six hours, which means a lot of sitting,” said SebastianDeutsch. “So we conducted a ‘chair fair’ and allowed patients to try out a variety of designs from different manu-

Members of the Houston Methodist Sugar Land Hospital Infusion Center team Left to right: Krystle Sanchez, PCA; Daniela Suarez, BSN, RN, OCN; Amy Sebastian-Deutsch, DNP, APRN, CNS, AOCNS, Director, Oncology & Infusion Services; Carmen Withers, BSN, RN; Joan Burnham, MSN, RN, OCN, RN-BC, Oncology Nurse Navigator; Jamie Ureste, BSN, RN, OCN, Charge Nurse, Infusion Services. Photo provided by HMSLH

facturers, to help us select the most comfortable model.”

The Infusion Center also expanded its staff to ensure better communication with patients.

A majority of the Infusion Center nurses are oncology certified.

“Our staff understands the challenges that chemotherapy patients face, and they are experienced at providing compassion and support,” Sebastian-Deutsch said. “These patients become like family to us and we want to make certain they are receiving the best possible care.”

Houston Methodist Cancer Center at Sugar Land is the only comprehensive cancer center in Fort Bend to earn accreditation from the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer. In addition to providing the full suite of oncology services and a slate of active clinical trials, the center offers a number of programs designed to help patients man-

Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees to host Listening Tour at Marshall High School, October 7

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ORT BEND ISD (September 24, 2019) – The Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees will host its Listening Tour at Marshall High School (1220 Buffalo Run, Missouri City, 77489) on Monday, October 7, 2019. This annual event is open to the public, and gives Board members a chance to hear directly from parents, community members and other FBISD stakeholders.

The Listening Tour begins at 5:30 and includes roundtable discussions, where parents and visitors can learn about Marshall’s Early College High

School program, college preparation and much more. The Board’s monthly workshop will begin at 6:30 p.m., and all attendees are invited to stay for the workshop.

The 2019-20 Literacy Tour will be held at Pecan Grove Elementary (3330 Old South Drive, Richmond, 77406) on February 10. Board members will spend the first half of the evening reading to students and sharing about their work.

The Board workshop will begin directly after and all attendees are welcome to stay for the workshop.

age the emotional, social, physical and spiritual demands of a cancer diagnosis, including: • A robust survivorship program that offers support groups and a variety of therapeutic classes, including music therapy, drama therapy, yoga and massage.

• A financial navigator who helps find grants, co-pay assistance and other financial support for patients who receive infusion treatments.

• Oncology nurse navigators who provide emotional support, education about diagnosis and treatments, help in expediting appointments, and assistance with connections to community resources.

• Specially trained oncology support personnel, including dieticians and chaplains, to ensure that patients are meeting their nutritional and spiritual needs.

“As our oncology program has grown over the years, the number of patients receiving infusion therapy has grown, as well,” said Sebastian-Deutsch.

“Today, we are conducting more than 400 individual treatment sessions each month.

Now, we have the space and chairs we need to continue to grow our program and better serve the community.”

To learn more about Houston Methodist Cancer Center at Sugar Land, visit houstonmethodist.org/cancer-sl or houstonmethodist.org/sugarland. Houston Methodist Cancer Center at Sugar Land welcomes all local cancer survivors and caregivers to participate in the survivorship series, including free monthly music therapy, yoga and drama therapy classes designed to promote healing, discussion and camaraderie among local survivors. For more information or to register, visit houstonmethodist.org/events and search for survivorship, or call 281.274.7500.

Brazos River ErosionA Regional Solution

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razos River Erosion has been an ongoing concern in Fort Bend County for years. With the recent flooding the County has experienced, the Brazos River erosion has magnified the impact it will have on its residents. The threats are very real and Flood Mitigation continues to take precedence in Commissioners Court.

A proactive approach led by Commissioner Ken R. DeMerchant at Commissioners Court this Tuesday will tackle this ongoing problem. The Brazos directly affects Precincts 4 and 1 Levees prompting Commissioner DeMerchant to invite Commissioner Morales in a collaborative effort, along with Chief Drainage Engineer Mark Vogler, to take action.

Commissioner DeMerchant will extend an invitation to all Fort Bend County Municipal Leaders, Levee Improvement

Districts, and neighboring counties to take a unified position in these efforts. Commissioner DeMerchant is also moving forward with an agreement for engineering services for improvements on Oyster Creek which feeds into the Brazos. This is a two part initiative with the USDA to design and install Emergency Watershed Protection Measures on Oyster Creek. Another Agenda item requesting authorization to allow Drainage Department to apply for grants for improvements of Flat Bank Creek was brought forth by the Commissioner.

Commissioner DeMerchant stated that “we dodged a bullet during last week’s tropical storm because the Brazos was so low. We must be prepared for high water events from now on. A Regional approach is necessary in our flood mitigation efforts”

City Earns Prestigious GFOA Budget Award for 31st Consecutive Year

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issouri City is once again among an “elite group” of U.S. cities honored for their exceptional fiscal stewardship.

In awarding the “Show Me City” its 31st consecutive Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada noted that the City succeeded in preparing and presenting a budget of the highest quality for Fiscal Year 2019.

GFOA’s

“Distinguished

Budget Presentation Award” is the only national awards program in governmental budgeting.

“Missouri City met stringent national guidelines for effective budget presentation in earning the award, and the procedures assess how well the City’s budget serves as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide and a communications device,” said City Manager Anthony J. Snipes. “We were rated ‘proficient’ in all categories.”

The GFOA services the

needs of nearly 19,000 appointed and elected local, state and provincial-level government officials and other finance practitioners. The Association produces publications, training programs, services and products designed to enhance the skills and performance of those responsible for government finance policy and management.

To learn more about the City’s commitment to fiscal transparency and quality oversight of public funds, visit: www.mctxfinance.com.

VOICE OF ASIA 7

COMMUNITY

FRIDAY, September 27, 2019

DIASPORA

VOICE OF ASIA 8

NRIs can now apply for Aadhaar on arrival without 182-day wait

FRIDAY, September 27, 2019

Modi,Trump: History Making Moment in Texas

NRIs with valid Indian passport can apply for Aadhaar on arrival, without the 182-day waiting period.

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EW DELHI - PTI | Updated: Sep 24, 2019 - Non-resident Indians (NRIs) with valid Indian passport can apply for Aadhaar on arrival, without the 182-day waiting period, with the government issuing a notification in this regard. Following the notification, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has also come out with a circular stating that "NRI after his arrival in India, shall be entitled to obtain Aadhaar number".

The modalities for application remain more or less unchanged, a UIDAI source said adding that NRIs with Indian passport can now apply for biometric ID on arrival or by scheduling a prior appointment, thus doing away with the requirement for a mandatory 182-day waiting period.

UIDAI circular said valid Indian passport will be accepted as proof of identity, proof of address (PoA) and date of birth document.

"In case NRI's passport does not have Indian address, he shall be allowed to submit any of the other UIDAI-approved PoA documents as proof of address," said the circular issued on It may be recalled that in her Budget speech on July 5, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said, "I propose to consider issuing Aadhaar card for non-resident Indians with Indian passports after their arrival in India," without the stipulated waiting period.

Phil Murphy Becomes First Sitting Governor of New Jersey to visit India and Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Delhi

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphywith delegation including First Lady Tammy Murphy, legislators, economic advisors, healthcare and technology officials and professorsvisit Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Delhi.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy visited Swaminarayan Akshardham in Delhi as part of the first official trip that a sitting governor of the state has ever taken to India. New Jersey is home to what will soon be the one of the three BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham complexes worldwide, as well as seven other BAPS Swaminarayan mandirs and a robust Hindu community.

Governor Murphy traveled with a large delegation including New Jersey’s First Lady Tammy Murphy legislators, economic advisors, healthcare and technology officials and professors. The delegation was greeted by Pujya Gnanmunidas Swami and other senior BAPS swamis on behalf of His Holiness Mahant Swami Maharaj, the sixth spiritual leader of BAPS. The delegation offered respects at the Swaminarayan Akshardham Mandir and performed abhishek, the ceremonial pouring of sanctified water from 151 holy bodies of water from across India on the murti of Shri Neelkanth Varni. They also toured the educational

Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey with Pujya Gnanmunidas Swami at Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Delhi Sanskruti Vihar, a cultural voyage that displays 10,000 years of India’s heritage and contributions to society and attended the weekly assembly of devotees, where the governor spoke to those in attendance.

of progress and opportunity in New Jersey, but also here in India, and in doing so, we will be able to have a very real, and very positive impact on the lives of countless people and their families,” he said.

Governor Murphy emphasized during his message to devotees that he hopes his work as leader of New Jersey will add to the rich history of friendship between New Jersey and India.

“Together, I firmly believe that we cannot just open the doors

Governor Murphy personally met with HH Mahant Swami Maharaj in Robbinsville, NJ in 2017 and noted during his visit that he looks forward to meeting him again during Mahant Swami Maharaj’s upcoming trip to the United States.

President Donald Trump and India's Prime Minister Modi taking a victory lap after the "Howdy, Modi!" event in Houston. Getty Images Continued from page 3

The two leaders were received by a rousing welcome and deafening chants of ‘Modi, Modi’ as they made their grand entrance with hands clasped.

Modi introduced Trump as "a very special person,” who "has left a deep and lasting impact everywhere.” “From CEO to Commander-in-Chief, from boardrooms to the Oval Office, from studios to global stage, from politics to the economy and to security.” “We have met a few times,” he said, “and every time he has been the same warm friendly, accessible, energetic and full of wit.” “I admire him for something more. His sense of leadership, a passion for America, a concern for every American, a belief in American future and a strong resolve to Make America Great Again,” Modi added.

Addressing Trump as “a friend of India” Modi recalled, “When I met him for the first time, he said to me, “India has a true friend in White House.”

“Your presence here today is great testimony to that,” Modi said to Trump. “Mr. President, this morning in Houston you can hear the heartbeat of this great partnership in this celebration of world’s two largest democracies. You can feel the strength and depth of human bonds between our two great nations.” People are at the heart of all relationships: From Houston to Hyderabad, from Boston to Bengaluru, from Chicago to Shimla, from Los Angeles to Ludhiana, from New Jersey to New Delhi. Hundreds of millions are glued to their TV even though it rather late on a Sunday night in India.” They are watching history in the making. “Mr. President, you had introduced me to your family in 2017 and today I have the honor to introduce you to my family, over a billion Indians and people of Indian heritage around the globe.”

It was reciprocal as Trump heaped praise on Modi calling him “American’s greatest, most devoted and most loyal friend.” He also congratulated Modi on his historic re-election this year when 600 million people went to the polls and voted overwhelmingly.

He took the opportunity to wish him a “Happy Birthday,” as well. Trump also thanked the Indian American community who he said are, "thriving, prospering, flourishing and hardworking."

"Prime Minister Modi and I have come to Houston to

Indian Prime Minister Modi highlights Gandhi’s relevance in today’s world Continued from page 3 change and climate action.

At a contribution of about $1 million (Dh3.67 million), India has gifted solar panels that have been installed on the roof of the UN Headquarters here, one panel each for every 193 UN member states.

The ‘Gandhi Peace Garden’ is an innovative initiative under which the Consulate General of India in New York, Long Island-based NGO Shanti Fund and the State University of New York — Old Westbury have entered into an agreement to plant 150 trees.

It is dedicated in the memory of Gandhi and is a crowdsourced project, with people adopting trees in the memory of their loved ones. The garden is in an open site within the 600-acre campus of the University.

The solar panels are powered up to reach the max of 50 KW of generation power. Energy generated in the park is equivalent to energy that would have been created through the use of 30,000 kilograms of coal. It also has a carbon sequestration of 1,000 seedlings which will grow into trees over 10 years.

In his keynote address at the event, Modi spoke about the contributions of the Father of the Nation to the cause of greater human freedom in the 20th century, his emphasis on the welfare of all (Sarvodaya), championing the cause of the downtrodden (Antyodaya) and prescient concern for environmental sustainability.

Modi stressed that Mahatma Gandhi’s faith in collective will, shared destiny, moral purpose, people’s movements and personal responsibility are extremely germane to contempo-

rary times.

He said violent conflict, terrorism, economic inequalities, socio-economic deprivation, pandemics and the looming existential threat of climate change are impacting people, states and societies.

Leadership is crucial to addressing any and every one of these issues and the values promoted by Gandhi serve as moral compass for enlightened leadership.

Modi recalled that when he met Britain’s Queen Elizabeth a few years ago, with great emotion, she showed him a small handkerchief made out of khadi which was gifted to her by Gandhi at the time of her wedding.

Addressing the event, Guterres said, “Gandhiji’s vision and philosophy are pillars of the work of the United Nations. Part of his genius lay

in his ability to see the interconnectedness and the unity between all things. His political achievements included leading the movement that ended colonial rule in India, using peace, love and integrity to prevail.

But his vision went far beyond politics to encompass human rights and sustainable development.”

The UN chief said Gandhi’s efforts on behalf of people of lower caste and those considered “untouchables”, whom he renamed “Harijan” or “Children of God”, should inspire us in our efforts to leave no one behind, and to help those farthest behind first.

“Gandhi looked at the world from the point of view of the lowliest and the most humble — but is acknowledged as one of the greatest leaders of all time. His values truly transcend borders,” he said.

celebrate everything that unites America and India -our shared dreams and bright futures," he said on Sunday.

Expressing his gratitude to the four million ‘amazing Indian Americans all across our country, he said, "You enrich our culture. You uphold our values. You uplift our communities. And you are truly proud to be Americans and we are proud to have you as Americans,” and was greeted with a standing ovation by the audience.

“If elected India would have true and great friend in the White House. I can tell you you’ve never had a better friend as president as President as President Donald Trump, that I can tell you. Trump said the relationship United States and India is stronger than ever before and pointed out the ‘common values’ and ‘shared commitment to democracy.’

The two countries are prospering, Trump said as “We are slashing bureaucracy and cutting job killing red tape”. Energy and Security is more important than any issue Trump said. Indian company has pledged to purchase 5 billion tons of LNG per year which would bring billions of dollars to US economy. The US defense sales to India have also reached 18 billion he said, and US is looking to “conclude several new defense deals” and is “working closely with India to enhance space cooperation,”. Trump announced.

“Every day the Indian American community is helping to strengthen our country and build our future. "Indian Americans are pioneering, groundbreaking medicines to save countless lives. They are developing revolutionary technology that is changing the world and they are founding new businesses that provide jobs to thousands to our fellow citizens.” Trump said along with Prime Minister Modi, he was looking forward to working with the IndianAmerican community to make the two countries even more prosperous than ever before.

On the issue of security, Trump said, “We are committed to protecting innocent civilians from radical Islamic terrorism,” to which he was greeted with cheers and a standing ovation by the crowd. “Both India and the U.S. understand that to keep our communities safe, we must protect our borders.

Border security is vital to the US. Border security is vital to India,” said Trump. “We are going to take care of our citizens first, we are going to care of our Indian-Americans before we take care of illegal immigrants who want to pour into our country," the President said.

India” and “We are not competing against anyone else but with ourselves. We are challenging ourselves. We are changing ourselves,” Modi said. “The mindset that nothing will change in India is being challenged today.” The fate of rural sanitation was at a stagnation with 38 percent for the last seven decades. In five years, 110 million toilets have been built achieving 99 percent of rural sanitation coverage. Another critical need that was covered was the supply of cooking gas connections which was raised from 55 percent to 95 percent within 5 years with 150 million new gas connections being added.

On the rural front, Modi said, “Rural road connections rose from 55 percent to 97 percent within 5 years with over 200,000 km of roads being built.

One hundred percent of families are now having a bank account. Nearly, 370 million in the last five years.

“Cheap data has redefined India,” Modi said. India’s Central and State governments provide 10,000 services online he mentioned. India now offers 1 GB of data costs only around 25 cents. Giving an example he said, “In one day, Aug. 31, (25 lakhs) five million people (double the population of Houston) filed their tax returns online.

Tax refunds are now received within days or within a week directly into their account.

“Data is a new oil today. Data is the new gold. The entire industry focus is on data. Do you know which country offers data at the lowest rate in the world? It is India. Today in India, 1 GB of data costs only around 25 to 30 cents. The global average price for 1 GB is 25 to 30 times that price,” Modi said.

On the issue of Art. 370, Modi said the matter was a well deliberated in both Houses of the Parliament of India before the withdrawal of special status extended by Art. 370 to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. and the proceedings were telecast across the world.

Although BJP did not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha, both the Houses passed the bill to rescind Art. 370 with a 2/3rd majority. On this he requested a standing ovation for from the audience the efforts. Now by law, the people of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh will have equal rights.

Women and children will not be oppressed anymore.

Houston Mayor, Slyvester Turner had earlier welcomed the leaders and presented Modi with the key to city.

Modi pointed out that India’s actions within its boundaries are causing discomfort to some people who are unable to balance their own.

These people have put their hatred of India at the center of their political agenda. They want unrest. They support and nurture terrorism. The whole word knows who they are.”

He did without mentioning names. “I want to emphasize that President trump is committed to fighting this battle against terrorism,” Modi said and once again asked the audience to give a standing ovation. And they did.

Modi started his address with a greeting, “Howdy my friends,” to the cheering thousands. He spoke in Hindi (which was translated to English on screen). In response to “Howdy Modi”, he said ““Everything is fine,” in the more than a dozen Indian languages which lightened the mood instantly. On a more serious note Modi spoke at length of the challenges that India is facing today. As much as India is welcoming new initiatives and “welfare schemes”, it is also bidding ‘farewell’ to many projects that are an hinderance to the nation’s development. India is focused on creating “a new

The “Howdy Modi” summit was truly a community event that was organized with the support of more than 1,000 volunteers and with the partnering of 650 Texas-based Indian American organizations across the US and Canada.

The 90 minute cultural extravaganza preceding the Prime Minister's address, was spectacular showcasing of IndianAmerican artists from Texas and elsewhere. “Woven: The Indian-American Story” was told through the art and talent of a total 400 artists, performing in 27 groups. Together, they portrayed how the community is woven into the larger tapestry of American life.

Earlier, referring to the recent floods in Houston, Trump assured saying “My administration will not rest until you have fully recovered, restored and rebuilt.”

SOUTH ASIA

VOICE OF ASIA 9

19 killed, dozens wounded as Pakistan jolted by shallow 5.2 quake

NITED NATIONS, United States | AFP | Tuesday 9/24/2019 - Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said Tuesday Donald Trump had asked him to mediate with Iran to defuse tensions, though the US president later suggested it was Khan who approached him and nothing was final.

Khan met Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on the sidelines of this week's United Nations General Assembly, before which he visited Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, whom he said had made the same request.

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IRPUR, Pakistan | AFP | Tuesday 9/24/2019 - At least 19 people have been killed and 300 injured after a shallow earthquake rattled northeastern Pakistan, tearing car-sized cracks into roads and heavily damaging infrastructure.

The quake sent people in Lahore and Islamabad running into the streets. With rescue operations expected to continue overnight, residents in the worst-hit areas described their horror as walls collapsed and houses fell.

On one of the district's two main roads, AFP reporters could see cracks at least four feet (1.2 meters) deep, some filling with water from a nearby canal (AFP Photo/AAMIR QURESHI)

On one of the district's two main roads, AFP reporters could see cracks at least four feet (1.2 metres) deep, some filling with water from a nearby canal. Television images showed cars wedged in to some cracks, while a bus and a truck lay by the side of the road.

Speculation has been rife about a possible face-to-face between Trump and Rouhani on the sidelines of the general assembly, with France's Emmanuel Macron trying to broker what

"I will never foreget the horrible sound" of the quake, another resident, Muhammad Ramzan, told AFP. "It looked like the entire village tossed and turned and spun around."

"At least 19 people have been killed and more than 300 wounded," Sardar Gulfaraz, deputy inspector general of po-

India auto giant Maruti cuts car prices amid economic woes

Pakistani mourners gather around the body of a victim, one of at least 19 killed in the earthquake that hit northeastern Pakistan (AFP Photo/AAMIR QURESHI) lice in Mirpur, said in televised comments.

A second Kashmiri official, minister for rehabilitation Ahmed Raza Qadri, put the death toll at 20.

However, the chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority gave a lower toll at a press conference in Islamabad.

"I can confirm 10 deaths and the number of wounded

is 100," its chairman Lieutenant General Mohammad Afzal said, adding that he had received reports of a higher toll.

"Things are under control," he said, adding that the nearby Mangla Dam, one of Pakistan's two main water reservoirs, was unaffected by the quake.

The prime minister of Pakistani Kashmir, Raja Farooq Haider Khan, told reporters

that infrastructure had been destroyed.

Roads, mobile phone towers, and electricity poles in the area were badly damaged, Naeem Chughtai, a Mirpur resident living near the city's main hospital, told AFP. The military deployed "aviation and medical support" teams along with troops to affected areas in Kashmir, according to its spokesman.

British royals' biggest Indian fan dies

Mumbai, India | AFP | Wednesday 9/25/2019 - India's biggest maker of passenger vehicles Maruti Suzuki cut prices of some car models Wednesday in a bid to boost sales as the auto sector struggles with weak demand amid a wider economic slowdown.

The lead-up to the festive season has sent shudders through the sector, with passenger car sales in India recording their 10th-straight month of falls in August.

Welcoming the tax cut, Maruti Suzuki said it would "share the benefits... with its customers" by cutting prices by 5,000 rupees ($70) immediately.

One of the basic models of the Swift Diesel usually retails for about 514,000 rupees.

The announcement came as Bloomberg reported that US auto giant Ford was set to transfer most of its Indian assets to a joint venture with local behemoth Mahindra & Mahindra.

A dream came true for Indian restaurateur Boman Kohinoor in 2016 when he met Prince William and his wife Kate during their week-long trip to India and Bhutan (AFP Photo/HO)

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UMBAI, India | AFP | Wednesday 9/25/2019 - Mumbai cafe owner Boman Kohinoor, arguably India's biggest fan of the British royal family, died on Wednesday, officials said.

The Indian Parsi restaurateur "was suffering from cardiac issues and passed away at 4:45 pm (1115 GMT)," an official from Parsee General Hospital told AFP. Kohinoor was the star of a social media campaign in 2016 when his dream came true. He met Prince William and his wife Kate during their

week-long trip to India and Bhutan.

"It is heartbreaking to report that the love of our life, Mr Boman Rashid Kohinoor, senior partner of Britannia & Co Restaurant, passed away at Parsee General Hospital," Mumbai-based blogger BombayWallah tweeted.

"He was 97 years old & Bombay's most beloved inhabitant."

Kohinoor's father opened Britannia & Co Restaurant in Mumbai in 1923 and Kohinoor worked there his whole life. The decor reflected his love of the British royals.

On the wall was a large, framed photograph of Queen Elizabeth II and next to it a portrait of Indian independence hero Mahatma Gandhi.

The restaurant also had a giant cardboard cut-out of a grinning William and Kate.

Kohinoor wrote regular letters to Queen Elizabeth over the years and even received a reply from one of her representatives at Windsor Castle, an official royal residence.

Kohinoor had a granddaughter named after William's late mother Princess Diana.

would be a historic meeting.

At a separate briefing to reporters where Trump spoke on Iran, he said: "They would like to negotiate. It certainly makes sense but we haven't agreed to that yet."

Asked about Macron's involvement, he responded: "He's also talking to us, a number of people are.

"So is Prime Minster Khan of Pakistan. A lot of people, Chancellor Merkel just now, Chancellor Merkel, and she's very much involved, we have a lot of people involved. A lot of people would like to get us to the table."

But pressed on whether he had asked Khan to get involved, Trump said: "Well, he'd like to do that and we have a very good relationship and there's a chance that that could happen.

"But no I haven't spoken -- he actually asked me, he thought it would be a good idea to meet and we're here, we're in New York together and we have the time to do it, although we've done a lot of bilats in the last two days."

Pakistan traditionally has strong relations with Saudi Arabia but also maintains ties with Iran, with Islamabad representing Tehran's consular interests in the United States in the absence of diplomatic relations.

The leaders of France, Germany and Japan were all also meeting Rouhani and Trump at the UN in hopes of reviving diplomacy.

Sri Lanka forces lending rate cuts on all banks

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OLOMBO, Sri Lanka | AFP | Tuesday 9/24/2019 - Sri Lanka's main financial regulator Tuesday ordered local and foreign banks to slash lending rates in an unprecedented move as the economy struggled to recover from the Easter attacks.

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka said it ordered all commercial banks to reduce lend-

India should withdraw from Commonwealth Games: Olympic boss

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The price reduction for 10 models comes ahead of two of India's biggest Hindu festivals, when automakers traditionally record their highest sales for the year.

The government has announced a raft of initiatives in recent weeks to encourage consumers to open their wallets, and last week slashed corporate taxes to among the lowest in Asia.

"Yes, we did convey this, and yes, we're trying our best," he said.

In Saudi Arabia, which was hit earlier this month by attacks on its oil infrastructure blamed on Iran, the crown prince "also asked me to talk to the Iranian president," Khan said.

"We are shelterless now," said one, Shamraiz Akhtar.

Piles of rubble could be seen as darkness fell on the village, with the sound of women wailing in mourning. Others spoke only in whispers, fearful of aftershocks.

"Trump asked me that if we could de-escalate the situation and maybe come up with another deal," Khan told reporters at the gathering of world leaders in New York.

"I immediately spoke to President Rouhani yesterday after the meeting with President Trump. I can't say anything right now more than this, except that we're trying and mediating," he added.

In the village of Sahankikri, on the outskirts of Mirpur, residents said almost all the 400 houses were damaged.

"We... were sitting having a gossip when suddenly the earthquake shook us all. Fortunately the wall collapsed the other way, burying one of our buffalo," 23-year-old student Nabeel Hussain said.

Pakistan PM says Trump asked him to mediate with Iran

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by Nasir JAFFRY and Zain ZAMAN

The epicentre of the 5.2-magnitude quake was near the Kashmiri city of Mirpur, roughly 20 kilometres (12 miles) north of Jhelum in agricultural Punjab province, according to the US Geological Survey.

FRIDAY, September 27, 2019

EW DELHI, India | AFP | 9/25/2019 - India should withdraw from the Commonwealth Games due to the "low level of competition" in the tournament, the president of the country's Olympic body told AFP on Wednesday.

Indian Olympic Association president Narinder Batra's comments come after the South Asian nation threatened to boycott the next edition of the multi-sport event in Birmingham in 2022 over shooting being scrapped from the programme.

"I don't use the word boycott in sports. What I am trying to say is that India as a country, in sports, should withdraw out of Commonwealth totally," Batra told AFP. He said regardless of whether shooting is included in the final programme, India should end its association with the competition played among mostly former British colonies.

"I feel there is not sufficient level of competition, leaving aside two or three sports. It doesn't leave anyone anywhere with this low level of competition," Batra added.

"India should be participating in world events and world championships, which earn

ing rates by a minimum of 200 basis points within three weeks.

It comes weeks after the government complained that lending rates had not kept pace with sharply lower deposit rates that fell by over 250 basis points since the April attacks, when hundreds were killed in suicide bombings.

Banking experts said it was the first time since the inception of the central bank in 1950 that it had resorted to imposing a mandatory ceiling on lending rates.

Average lending rates are currently around 13 to 15 percent, while the country's inflation had slowed to 2.2 percent in July.

Last month the Central Bank cut its main lending rate for the second time in three months, hoping to help the struggling economy.

The Central Bank said the rate at which it lent to commercial banks was reduced by 50 basis points to 8.0 percent, and added that the 50-basispoint cut in May had not translated into cheaper credit for consumers.

Sri Lanka's economic growth slowed to 3.2 percent last year, but it had been expected to pick up in 2019 -until the devastating attacks by a homegrown jihadist group.

The finance ministry expects growth to be around 3.00 to 3.5 percent this year as the tourism sector made a faster than expected recovery after the Easter bombings.

Revenues from tourism -one of the country's biggest incomes -- were expected by the finance ministry to plunge $1.5 billion this year because of cancellations by foreign tourists after the bombings, but the industry anticipates a much smaller drop.

The International Monetary Fund released a delayed loan installment to Sri Lanka following the bombings, helping government efforts to stabilise the economy.

WORLD/ASIA

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PM Modi gets 'Global Goalkeeper' award for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan

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EW YORK, Sep 25 (PTI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi was on Wednesday conferred the "Global Goalkeeper" award by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by his government.

In a series of tweets in Hindi, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said Modi lauded the countrymen for contributing to the grand success of the cleanliness mission, saying he shared the honour with them.

"Getting the award in the year of Mahatma Gandhi's 150th birth anniversary is personally significant for me. When 130 crore people take a pledge, any challenge can be overcome," the prime minister said.

He dedicated the award to those Indians who transformed the Swachh Bharat campaign into a "people's movement" and accorded topmost priority to cleanliness in their day-to-day lives.

"No such campaign was seen or heard about in any other country in the recent past. It might have been launched by our government, but people took control of it," Modi said.

As a result, over 11 crore toilets were built in the country in the last five years, which was a record, he said.

Stressing that the success of the campaign could not be measured in numbers, the prime minister said the poor people and the women of India were benefitted the most by it.

"Due to lack of toilets, a number of girls had to drop out of schools. Our daughters want to study, but because of lack of toilets, they had to abandon their education mid-way and sit at home," he added.

It was the responsibility of his government to help the girls and women of the country come out of this situation and it had performed the duty with utmost sincerity, the prime minister said.

by GaĂŤl BRANCHEREAU

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TOCKHOLM, Sweden | AFP | Thursday 9/25/2019 - At the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, 12-yearold Severn Cullis-Suzuki urged the world to save the planet.

Now, the Canadian is a fervent supporter of Greta Thunberg, a "powerful" force who's holding world leaders to account.

"I'm only a child and I don't have all the solutions, but I want you to realise, neither do you!" Cullis-Suzuki told heads of state and government in the Brazilian city, adding: "If you don't know how to fix it, please stop breaking it!"

Twenty-seven years later, her words could be those of Greta, the young Swedish climate activist who took the podium at the UN on Monday and accused world leaders of having "stolen (her) dreams and (her)

FRIDAY, September 27, 2019

Trump says Venezuelans will end up 'free'

US President Donald Trump. AFP Photo.

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New York: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being presented the 'Global Goalkeeper Award’ by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation co-founder Bill Gates, for the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by his government, in New York city.Image Credit: PTI The World Health Organisation (WHO) had also acknowledged his government's efforts in this regard and said due to the Swachh Bharat campaign, a possibility was created to save three lakh human lives, he said.

Modi said he was told that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had also reported that as rural sanitation had improved in India, it had led to a decline in heart problems among children and improvement in the Body Mass Index (BMI) among women.

Expressing happiness that Gandhi's dream of cleanliness was about to be fulfilled, he said, "Gandhiji used to say a village could only become a model when it was completely clean. Today we are heading towards making the entire country a model."

"The campaign has not only improved the lives of crores of Indians, but it has also played a significant role in achieving

the goals set by the UN," Modi said.

One of the least talked about aspects of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan was that the 11 crore toilets built under it had opened a new chapter of economic activity in rural India, he said.

Stating that the simple meaning of democracy was that people should be at the centre of policies and schemes, the prime minister said for decades, India had witnessed "constitutional federalism", but it was his government that attempted to change it to "co-operative federalism" and with time, it was now moving towards "competitive-cooperative federalism".

He also voiced satisfaction that there was a race among all the states in India now to bag the top spot in the "cleanliness ranking".

Reiterating the philosophy of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" (the whole world is one single

family), Modi said India wanted to share its experience and expertise with other countries.

Besides the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, many other "people's movements" such as "Fit India" to promote fitness and preventive healthcare, the "Jal Jeevan Mission" focussing on water conservation and recycling were going on in India, he said, adding that the country was headed towards getting rid of single-use plastic by 2022.

The Prime Minister asserted that he had full faith that the strength and determination of 130 crore Indians would ensure the success of all such campaigns and thanked everyone associated with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for bestowing the honour on him.

The cleanliness campaign was launched by the Modi government on Gandhi's birth anniversary on October 2, 2014.

NITED NATIONS, United States | AFP | Thursday 9/25/2019 - US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Venezuela was suffering "a tragedy of historic proportions" as he pledged to do everything in his power to isolate Nicolas Maduro's regime.

Trump told around two dozen Latin American leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly that socialism had "destroyed" oil-rich Venezuela, but that the country's people "will be free."

"Today Venezuelans are starving and they're dying from lack of medicine. We will stand with the Venezuelan people every single day," he said, adding that socialism had "destroyed" the South American country.

Trump simultaneously suspended senior members of the Maduro government from entry into the United States via a proclamation posted on the White House website.

The document said the president was banning those "who formulate, implement, or benefit from policies or actions that undermine or injure Venezuela's democratic institutions or impede the

'Powerful' Greta shames leaders: CullisSuzuki, child voice of 1992 Earth Summit childhood with (their) empty promises", for the sake of "fairy tales of eternal economic growth."

Has anything changed in the years between Rio and New York?

"Why were the next decades the most destructive? It's about governance. Why do we do all these agreements, and not apply them?" asks Cullis-Suzuki in a phone interview with AFP. She lives in Haida Gwaii, off British Columbia's coast where she lives with her husband, a member of the indigenous Haida community, and their two

sons.

"Now we have climate change that very much affects everyone, and we don't have the time to wait another generation," the 39-year-old warns.

Cullis-Suzuki attributes the personal attacks on Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old with Asperger's syndrome, to the fact that adults feel threatened by a child holding them accountable.

"She's powerful. She's shaming these leaders. And as she's calling for a revolution, of course she's getting pushback.

They try to silence her," she says.

"She's a 16-year-old child who says: The emperor has no clothes."

"This young girl whom people are making fun of her appearance... I hope she has spiritual and personal support."

After Rio, Cullis-Suzuki joined the commission of the Earth Charter, an international declaration of fundamental values aimed at "building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century."

She went on to study ecology, evolutionary biology and ethnobotany, and advised former UN secretary general Kofi Annan at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002.

- 'Destructive structures' Cullis-Suzuki is the daughter of writer Tara Elizabeth Cullis and Canadian environmental activist David Suzuki known for his popular television programme "The Nature of Things".

Today, she is writing her doctoral dissertation on endan-

restoration of constitutional government to Venezuela."

Venezuela is gripped by an economic and political crisis, with both Maduro and selfdeclared acting president Juan Guaido claiming to be the country's leader.

The United States, along with more than 50 other countries, recognizes Guaido as leader of Venezuela which is in free fall, hit by low oil prices, mismanagement and the impact of US sanctions.

Most of the international community did not recognize the results of controversial polls that handed Maduro a second term last year.

Trump added at the meeting in a hotel in New York that the United States was "doing everything we can to isolate Maduro and his cronies."

"Venezuela's rebuilding can begin the moment a peaceful transition occurs," he told counterparts, including the presidents of Argentina, Chile and Ecuador.

Venezuela suffers from hyper-inflation and shortages of basic goods from food to medicine, a crisis that has forced some 3.6 million people to flee since 2016. gered languages, with a particular focus on that of the Haida people.

Cultural diversity and biodiversity are "parts of the same process," she says.

Indigenous communities everywhere have shown that they know how to "manage their ecosystem and resources", like the Kayapo people of Brazil's Amazon who are living "in the last line of defence before the bulldozers that are eating the planet".

Haida Gwaii, formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, aims to phase out fossil fuels by 2023 -- a bold goal for this 10,000-squarekilometre (3,860-square-mile) archipelago dubbed "Canada's Galapagos", which depends on diesel generators and has just one hydroelectricity plant.

VOICE OF ASIA 11

FRIDAY, September 27, 2019

Fort Bend View

Sugar Land, Katy, Stafford, Missouri City, Richmond, Rosenberg and Meadows Place

Email: voiceasia@aol.com

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Driver shot in Fort Bend County road rage incident

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ORT BEND COUNTY, (KTRK) -- A young man who was shot in the shoulder while driving Wednesday night told investigators he was targeted in a case of road rage.

The 21-year-old victim had turned into the front of the Summer Point subdivision in Cinco Ranch, got out of his car and collapsed on the ground.

His small sedan had two bullet holes on the driver's side.

He was shot in the left shoulder and told investigators it stemmed from road rage.

"It appears that our victim was involved in a road ragetype incident, traveling south on Mason, him and another vehicle were cutting each other off," explained Lt. Ryan Skel-

Screengrab: KTRK TV ton with the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office.

"This is all preliminary. This is what he's saying so far and our suspect got behind the victim and fired a couple rounds into his car. We have two rounds that struck the car, as far as we know of, and one of those rounds hit our victim."

Investigators have not found

anyone who saw the shooting. They're looking for cameras in the area that might have captured the suspect's car. It's described as an older model, possibly a 2006 or 2007 cream Toyota Camry.

Anyone with information is urged to contact the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office at 281341-4665.

Man accused of murdering Sugar Land food store clerk remains on the run Have you seen him? Sugar Land police have issued an arrest warrant for Treveon James Young, 24. Three teens are already in custody for the crime.

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UGAR LAND, (KHOU) — The Sugar Land Police Department named multiple suspects tied to the murder of a food store clerk last month.

Young is charged in the murder of store clerk Hamid Lakhani, 63, of Sugar Land.

Police said it was about 8:30 p.m. Aug. 31 when customers found the clerk with a gunshot wound inside WB Food Mart at 13003 West Bellfort. He was taken to the hospital where he

Missouri City Manager Anthony J. Snipes selected a Fellow by National Academy of Public Administration issouri City Manager Anthony J. Snipes has been selected by the National Academy of Public Administration (the Academy) for inclusion in its 2019 Class of Academy Fellows, in recognition of his years of public administration service and expertise. Induction of the 51 new Fellows will occur during the Academy’s annual Fall Meeting, which will take place Nov. 7 to Nov. 8 in Arlington, Va. In sharing the news with City Council Members at their Monday, Sept. 16 Regular Meeting, Snipes said: “I’m excited to share with everyone that I was informed today that I was elected to be a ‘National Fellow’ of the National Academy of Public Administration.

There were fifty-one individuals from across the country selected and we are privileged to join an elite group of 900 Academy Fellows across the world.

I am very humbled by this accomplishment, and extremely proud to serve the residents of the City of Missouri City.” He added that: “Most of the Academy’s Fellows are individuals such as governors, Congress members, professors, deans and other dignitaries, however, there are not many City managers who are a part of the organization. So I’m very happy about that designation.”

Snipes is a veteran municipal administrator whose career spans more than 20 years and he is CEO of operations

Three suspects are in custody while a fourth remained on the run as of Monday morning.

Police are still looking for Treveon James Young, 24. It's believed he could be hiding in Houston or Dallas, according to SLPD.

Tel: 713-774-5140

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Fort Bend County Sheriff's deputies responded to S. Mason and Douglas Park Drive at 6:19 p.m.

Someone driving by saw him lying there and called for help.

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Section 2

later died.

Detectives reviewed surveillance video from the store as well as city license plate scanners to identify the suspects.

Kameryn Lamisha James, 17, was identified as the getaway driver and arrested.

Two 16-year-old suspects, whose identifications are being withheld, are also in custody

on a charge of aggravated robbery.

Police said Young was the robber who pulled the trigger. Anyone with information about his location should call Fort Bend County Crime Stoppers at 281-342-TIPS (8477).

Crime Stoppers is offering a cash reward up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of Young.

City Manager Anthony J. Snipes has been selected as a 2019 Fellow of the prestigious National Academy of Public Administration. in Missouri City, a dynamically diverse and commercially thriving community of 74,497 located in Fort Bend County and recognized as one of America’s “BEST” places to live, work, play and visit.

His career spans oversight in strategic initiatives that involve budgeting and performance management, public/private partnerships and organizational development. He joined the “Show Me City” on Dec. 1, 2015, after being unanimously appointed by City Council to become the municipality’s seventh chief administrative officer. He oversees about 371 full-time employees and a combined annual budget of more than $139 million.

Before joining Missouri City, Snipes was a municipal ex-

ecutive in Dayton, Ohio; Fort Worth and Austin. Highlights of his leadership in the “Show Me City” include: Announcing the 2019 NAPA participants, Academy President and CEO Terry Gerton said: “I am very pleased to welcome Anthony Snipes to the 2019 class. Our Fellows are nationally recognized for their expertise and contributions to the field of public administration, and Anthony is no exception.

The 2019 class is an outstanding group that will enrich our Fellowship, especially as we unveil the Grand Challenges in Public Administration and collaborate across the field to find solutions.”

For updates, please watch the City website: www.missouricitytx.gov

City earns prestigious GFOA Budget Award for 31st consecutive year

M

issouri City is once again among an “elite group” of U.S. cities honored for their exceptional fiscal stewardship.

the United States and Canada noted that the City succeeded in preparing and presenting a budget of the highest quality for Fiscal Year 2019.

In awarding the “Show Me City” its 31st consecutive Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, the Government Finance Officers Association of

GFOA’s “Distinguished Budget Presentation Award” is the only national awards program in governmental budgeting.

“Missouri City met strin-

gent national guidelines for effective budget presentation in earning the award, and the procedures assess how well the City’s budget serves as a policy document, a financial plan, an operations guide and a communications device,” said City Manager Anthony J. Snipes.

“We were rated ‘proficient’ in all categories.”

VOICE OF ASIA 12

FRIDAY, September 27, 2019

BOLLYWOOD - HOLLYWOOD Section 2

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www.voiceofasia.news

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Spy thriller 'Raazi' steals show at Bollywood's Oscars Phoebe Waller-Bridge holding her Emmys. (AFP Photo)

Emmys winner Waller-Bridge pens major Amazon deal

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OS ANGELES | AFP | Tuesday 9/24/2019 Newly crowned multiple-Emmywinner Phoebe Waller-Bridge has signed a major new deal with Amazon after her creation "Fleabag" dominated the comedy awards at television's answer to the Oscars.

British actress and writer WallerBridge, who also co-wrote spy thriller "Killing Eve" and upcoming James Bond film "No Time To Die," confirmed her status as one of comedy's hottest properties at Sunday's awards.

The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards went on into the early hours of Thursday (AFP Photo/Indranil Mukherjee )

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UMBAI, | AFP | Thursday 9/18/2019 - Spy thriller "Raazi" stole the night at Bollywood's answer to the Oscars, taking best film and best actress for its young star Alia Bhatt in Mumbai where the glitzy awards gala was held for the first time since being established two decades ago.

female newcomer for her performance in "Kedarnath".

Megastar Ranveer Singh won best actor for his role in the controversial "Padmaavat", a historical action movie that enraged Hindu radicals but was an international success.

But with the Indian film industry booming, this year the awards returned home to Mumbai.

It is the first time in 20 years that the awards have been held in India -- previous events have taken place in key foreign markets for Bollywood including the United States, Britain, Singapore and the Middle East.

Many of Bollywood's top stars such as Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif and Deepika Padukone turned out in extravagant outfits.

The International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards went on into the early hours of Thursday and IndianBritish star Bhatt said it had been worth the wait as she received her prize.

"The fact that you are all sitting here past 2:00am and watching us being honoured means you all love cinema and that's why we continue to do what we are doing," she said.

"It feels surreal to hold this IIFA award for 'Raazi' and to be nominated alongside talented actors... who were my inspiration to become an actor."

"Raazi", directed by Meghna Gulzar -- one of the rare female executives in Bollywood -- revolves around a Kashmiri spy who marries a Pakistani official so she can send back intelligence before the 1971 IndiaPakistan war.

The topic has been delicate since New Delhi's decision in early August to revoke the autonomy of Indianadministered Kashmir, ramping up tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

"Andhadhun", a black comedy about a nearly blind piano player who witnesses a murder, won best director for Sriram Raghavan as well as best screenplay and best story.

- Film storm Aditi Rao Hydari won best supporting actress for her role in "Padmaavat", which caused a storm as soon as filming started. But no mention of the controversies were made at the gala.

"It's a miracle and a blessing I made it as an actor. To do what I love to do for a living is a gift," Singh said, praising his wife and co-star Deepika Padukone.

Hindu hardliners, who complained that the story misrepresented its central figure Queen Padmavati, attacked the film set and staged protests that forced a delay to the film's release. It only came out after changes ordered

by India's film censors.

Ishaan Khattar, who acted in Iranian filmmaker Majid Majidi's "Beyond the Clouds", won best male newcomer while Sara Ali Khan took best

Khan, Kaif, Sara Ali Khan and dance icon Madhuri Dixit performed a mix of their most popular songs, celebrating a bumper year for Bollywood.

Actor Alia Bhatt said it had been worth the wait as she took her prize (AFP Photo/Punit PARANJPE )

With nearly 1,800 titles released in 2018, India is the biggest film industry in the world in terms of movies made.

Wanted to do a film with two heroines having equal roles: Taapsee Pannu

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UMBAI, Sep 24, 2019 | PTI - Taapsee Pannu, who will be sharing screen space with Bhumi Pednekar in her forthcoming release "Saand Ki Aankh", said she was eagerly waiting to do a two-heroine project.

She said the makers have stayed true to the story of Prakashi and Chandro Tomar.

"We have not shown anything that has not happened in their life. The film was shot in front of them. We have not added any emotional angle forcefully in the film."

Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios, described Waller-Bridge as "clever, brilliant, generous and a virtuoso on multiple fronts including writing, acting and producing."

The statement said Waller-Bridge would create and produce new television content exclusively for its Amazon Prime platform, without giving details or confirming the size of the deal.

She will continue to executive produce HBO's romantic comedic thriller "Run," it added.

"Fleabag" was an offbeat, irreverent series based on a one-woman play of the same name about a self-absorbed young Londoner struggling to deal with family, sex and social conventions.

Waller-Bridge, 34, has ruled out another season for the foreseeable future, telling a Los Angeles audience last month it had come "to a natural end."

France Oscars pick 'Les Miserables' a 'universal' warning cry, says director

Ladj Ly's film follows the consequences of a violent police blunder in a tense and racially divided suburb of Paris, through the eyes of a cop who has just joined its anti-crime unit.

Speaking to AFP Monday on the red carpet of Los Angeles' French cinema festival COLCOA, Ly said the film "is universal and should speak to as many people as possible."

Taapsee Pannu, who will be sharing screen space with Bhumi Pednekar in her forthcoming release "Saand Ki Aankh", said she was eagerly waiting to do a two-heroine project.

Taapsee said the idea is to inspire people, especially women, to fulfil their desires.

"I want everyone to take their parents to watch the film. Don't give up on life. Life ends when you decide, any day is a good day to begin. Everyone should get inspiration that there is no age to start living," she added.

The actor said while it was easy to dye their hair grey, the nailing the

www. voiceofasia.news Read the latest articles and news on BOLLYWOOD /HOLLYWOOD & ENTERTAINMENT Visit : www. voiceofasia.news

"Working with the team on Fleabag was the creative partnership dreams are made of. It really feels like home.

I can't wait to get going!" she said.

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Taapsee will portray the role of Prakashi Tomar, while Bhumi will be seen as Chandro Tomar.

The actor, who was speaking at the trailer launch of "Saand Ki Aankh" on Monday, dedicated the film to her mother.

Waller-Bridge said in a statement Tuesday she was "insanely excited" to pen the new deal with Amazon, which Hollywood media reported was worth around $20 million per year over three years.

OS ANGELES | AFP | Tuesday 9/24/2019 - "Les Miserables" is France's official candidate for the Oscars -- but the film's stark portrayal of police violence and brutalized youths is a "universal" warning cry about poverty and racism, its director told AFP.

The film is the real life story of octogenarians Chandro Tomar and Prakashi Tomar of Johri village in Uttar Pradesh. The duo are among the world's oldest sharpshooters and the winners of several national championships.

"I wanted to do a film that has equal roles for two heroines. I got to know that the team was working on one such story. It is a story of those women, who lived their life as per the desire of their parents, after marriage lived as per their husbands' desire and will, and then lived for their children.

When did she live her life then?" Taapsee asked.

"Fleabag," a joint production between Amazon and the BBC, won six Emmys including best comedy series, as well as best actress and comedy writing for Waller-Bridge herself.

body language was most difficult.

"Both of them have a swag, the way they talk, walk and use the gun. They put a lot of us to shame. That was the biggest is challenge."

The Reliance Entertainment film marks scriptwriter Tushar Hiranandani's directorial debut. The film also stars Viineet Singh and Prakash Jha. The movie is jointly produced by Anurag Kashyap and Nidhi Parmar.

"Poverty is found in the four corners of the world -- we can be in the United States, Brazil in the favelas or South Africa."

"This film is a warning cry from me to the politicians," he told the US premiere audience later. "And I tell them that the situation is complicated, this has been going on for 30 years, but there are always solutions."

Ly told AFP he was "super proud" but surprised by Friday's announcement that the film had been selected to represent France at February's Academy Awards, beating competition such as Eva Green-starring astronaut drama "Proxima."

"It's a huge source of pride. We're all very happy," he said, adding: "We didn't really expect it -- we thought that we had very little chance with the films we were up against."

"Les Miserables" begins with jubilant scenes of an apparently united Paris as France lifts the 2018 World Cup. But the deep rifts in society are quickly laid bare as violent police officers, drug dealers and Islamists pull the children of Montfermeil's housing projects in different directions.

Montfermeil is famous as the setting of Victor Hugo's 19th-century novel, from which the film takes its name.

Ly said he drew on his own experiences in the Paris suburb -- including watching France's previous World Cup win in 1998.

LEGAL

VOICE OF ASIA 13

Section 2

Email: voiceasia@aol.com

FRIDAY, September 27, 2019

www.voiceofasia.news

WHO GETS TO KEEP THE HOUSE AND HOW

Mala Sharma

T

he question of who gets to keep the house in a Texas divorce is difficult to agreement on, as it is not just property subject to the Texas ‘just and right division’ of community property. Instead, it is your home that you have lived in, that has sentimental, and emotional attachment.

Further, the house is not only a sentimental investment, but a financial investment.

What considerations and factors are there in order to keep your house after a divorce? First, you can always come to an agreement with your spouse whereby you may keep the house. If there is no agreement, your attorney will work on dividing all assets. If no agreement can still be made, then a judge can divide all assets and liabilities in a fair manner.

However, it is encouraged that both spouses work together to reach a settlement without court intervention as you both are in the best position to decide how to divide the property.

Is refinancing necessary?

The marital home may be the biggest liquid asset from the marriage and in such case, refinancing is a good option. However, if it is not the biggest liquid asset or if you do not have any other asset(s) that can add up to 50% of the total equity, then refinancing is not a good option. Equity means the total dollar amount that has been paid for the house, not the total value of the

Refinancing will take your spouse’s name off the title to the house and allowing you to profit on any equity. You can also give your spouse their share of the equity and use your share as a down payment to lower your new monthly mortgage. You essentially would be getting rid of the old mortgage company as it is based on both spouse’s credit scores and giving it to the new mortgage company based on your own credit score. It is highly advised to start the process of refinancing early so that you are able to get a different lender who will approve you instead of waiting until either your credit scores improve or having to apply with several different lenders to find one that will approve your application. Further, your final decree will need to include language that you are refinancing the home. This does not guarantee, however, if you will be able to refinance.

What about a quitclaim deed? Quitclaim deeds on the other hand do not resolve refinancing issues. Quitclaim deeds only take your spouse’s name off the title so they are no longer the owner of the home with no legal rights.

However, if your spouse’s name is still on the mortgage, he/she will still be responsible for all mortgage pay-

by Sharlene Sharmila Richards, Immigration Lawyer Email at srichardslaw@aol.com

ments even if you fail to pay the mortgage payments as required. That is, a quitclaim deed does not dissolve your spouse’s liability for mortgage payments or missed mortgage payments.

Your home is not only where all your memories live, but most likely the biggest financial investment and biggest asset. It is highly advisable to always contact a qualified attorney to help you reach the best outcome possible.

About the Author: Mala Sharma has been practicing family law and personal injury with her family at the Law Offices of Sharma & Associates, founded in 1997 with over 42 years of combined experience. Mala is a Board of Advocates for the Houston Trial Lawyers Association, Vice-Chair of the American Bar Association GP Solo YLD, member of the Houston Bar Association, President Emeritus of the Houston Northwest Bar Association, and prior board member of the South Asian Bar Association.

Disclaimer: This material is available for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. If you require advice on any particular legal question, you may contact Sharma & Associates at 281-893-8644 or by email at mala@sharmalaws.net to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case.

Media’s legal defeats trouble First Amendment advocates

by Josh Gerstein

A

string of recent court setbacks for news organizations is prompting jitters among First Amendment advocates who fear that it could signal an erosion of the deference press outlets have enjoyed for decades in cases challenging their reporting.

Some legal experts view the rulings as signs that the courts’ view of the media is beginning to change, with more judges embracing the notion that major news outlets are partisan combatants rather than engaged in a dispassionate search for the truth.

“It does seem to me there is a seismic shift,” said Jane Kirtley, a University of Minnesota law professor and former executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. “Judges are being very skeptical about the news media’s motives. … I think it’s fair to raise the point of whether this is part of a general disquiet with what the media are doing and whether they’re now being seen increasingly as having a partisan agenda.”

Another seasoned media lawyer said he thought a generational shift was underway, with newer judges more suspect of journalists’ motives.

“Some of this reflects the reality that just in general, the diminished standing of the media has had an impact on the judiciary, particularly among judges who are 50-ish and younger, of all partisan stripes,” said the attorney, who spoke on the condition of anonymity and was not involved in the cases producing the recent defeats.

The recent rulings involved well-known, national media outlets: National Public Radio, The New York Times and Fox News. All the decisions evinced serious doubts about the media’s actions.

Last month, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals revived a lawsuit against the Times by Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee and former governor of Alaska. Palin complained that a Times editorial published in 2017 inaccurately linked her to the 2011 shooting rampage in Arizona that gravely wounded then-Rep. Gabby Giffords and killed six others.

After ordering an unusual hearing, a U.S. District Court judge in New York accepted testimony by the Times’ editorial page editor, James Bennet, that the reference was a mistake, but the three-judge appeals court panel faulted that ruling and unanimously reinstated the suit. The appeals judges said Palin should have the right to issue subpoenas for records and demand testimony to prove her case.

2nd Circuit Judge John Walker said the district judge was wrong to reject “a permissible inference” that Bennet — and, by extension, the Times — intentionally lied by asserting Palin’s connection to the shooting.

The following day, a federal District Court judge in Texas dealt a blow to NPR by rejecting the network’s motion to throw out a $57 million lawsuit challenging its reporting about efforts by a conservative investor, Ed Butowsky, to stir up interest in the death of Seth Rich, a Democratic National Committee staffer, and the unsubstantiated possibility that he leaked Democratic emails to WikiLeaks.

In ordering that Butowsky’s suit proceed to the fact-finding process, Judge Amos Mazzant said the NPR reports implied “wrongdoing” by the investor and were not protected by privileges for reporting on public legal filings.

And earlier this month, the 2nd Circuit struck again, with

Tel: 713-774-5140

YOUR IMMIGRATION LAWYER

Family Law:

house and does not include what is owed to the mortgage company. Another way of calculating equity is taking the total value of the home less the total amount owed.

This value is divided equally 50/50 to each spouse, unless your situation necessitates an altered division in some fashion or another.

a different panel of the same court breathing new life into a suit that Rich’s parents brought against Fox News alleging that the network conspired with Butowsky to concoct and publish false reports that their son had dealings with WikiLeaks.

In another unanimous ruling, the three judges said the case easily met the standard for plausibility — even though it also claims that a major news outlet deliberately published lies.

“We have no trouble concluding that — taking their allegations as true — the Riches plausibly alleged what amounted to a campaign of emotional torture,” Judge Guido Calabresi wrote.

Some First Amendment advocates and scholars have downplayed the decisions.

They note that news organizations have also posted some notable wins in the past year or so, with two different judges ruling against the Trump White House’s efforts to strip credentials from CNN reporter Jim Acosta and Playboy correspondent Brian Karem.

BuzzFeed also scored a victory last December in a libel suit brought by a Russian internet entrepreneur who claimed that he was defamed by the online news outlet’s publication of the so-called Trump dossier about purported ties between Trump and Russia. And in July, the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a strongly pro-press ruling, dismissing a libel case against The New York Times filed by an Ohio State University cancer researcher.

Legal experts also stressed that none of the trio of rulings that went against news outlets in the past two months definitively resolved any of the suits or held that the media had done anything wrong.

But opening the cases to what could be protracted document production and depositions

F

O O R P

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ABOUT THE NEW RULE RELATING TO PUBLIC CHARGE – PART I

Sharlene Sharmila Richards

Q: When will the new rule relating to Public Charge be implemented?

A: The Department of Homeland Security published a final rule in the Public Register relating to Public Charge on August 14th, 2019.

This new rule is intended to take effect on October 15th, 2019. All current pending adjustment of status cases and those that are mailed and postmarked before October 15th, 2019 will be adjudicated under the current policy for public charge. The implementation of the new public charge rule will occur on October 15th, 2019 provided that there are no legal challenges which could delay or prevent its implementation.

Q: What is the public charge rule?

A: The public charge rule applies to individuals who are seeking to become lawful permanent residents and apply to both individuals requesting for permanent residence in the United States and applying for the Immigrant Visa at the US Consulate abroad. The rule makes inadmissible individuals who are likely to become primarily dependent on the Government for support. Under the current policy for public charge, not all forms of government support will make one ineligible – just those which relate to cash-aid for income support or long-term care paid for by the Government. An individual found inadmissible as a public charge will not be able to receive the Immigrant Visa or be denied permanent residence.

Q: How will this NEW public charge rule affect all intending immigrants after October 15th, 2019?

Currently, the immigration officer will evaluate whether an applicant will become primarily dependent on the Government for support but which relate to cash-aid for income support of long-term care paid for by the Government. Typically, the officer will review the Affidavit of Support which is provided by the sponsor. The Affidavit of Support is usually considered sufficient evidence that the immigrant will not primarily become dependent on the Government for support. In addition to that, the immi-

gration officer will consider whether the immigrant has used any cash-aid in the past or have received long term institutionalized care. If the intending immigrant has used or received such benefits in the past, he or she will have to show that he or she now will not likely need these forms of support in the future. The NEW rule expands this interpretation of what kind of benefits will be considered. Currently, use of benefits such as nutrition, housing programs and publicly funded health care did not affect the ability of the applicant to prove he or she will not likely be a public charge. The new rule changes that and will permit the Immigration officer to consider receipt of these benefits in the public charge determination. Additionally, the new rule automatically defines one as a public charge if he of she receives any number of public benefits for more than an aggregate of 12 months over any 36- month period of time. Even more difficult is the requirement that each of the benefits received must be counted towards the 12-month calculation. So for example, if an individual receives three types of different benefits each month, that would count as three months use of benefits.

Further, the immigration officer is permitted to consider a wider range of benefits when evaluating if the applicant is likely to become a public charge. The range of benefits will include Medicaid, SNAP (or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Food Stamps), Section 8 Housing Assistance Program and all federally subsidized housing – these individuals will be deemed public charge and found inadmissible. Further, using any form of cash-aid including SSI (Supplemental Security Income), TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) and any other forms of state of local cash assistance programs could also make one inadmissible as a likely public charge. The immigration officer is also permitted to consider other criteria to assess whether the individual who has never received any benefits will also likely become a public charge. These factors include the applicant’s age, financial status and record including possibly credit score as well, educational level, employment history, work skills,

English proficiency, medical condition(s), if any. The Affidavit of Support will also be reviewed in a different way and ‘positive weight’ will be given to Affidavits of Support which shows a higher household income equivalent to at least 250 percent of the poverty guideline. (Currently, the requirement is that the Affidavit of Support satisfies only 125 percent of the Poverty Guidelines). This new Public Charge rule gives the immigration officer wide latitude to deny individuals for public charge reasons and at the present moment, it is unclear how the discretion will actually be applied to individual applicants.

Q: What happens if an individual is denied based on Public Charge ground of inadmissibility under the new rule. What can he or she do?

A: The rule appears to offer the option for the individual to provide a bond, if determined a public charge.

It is unclear how this would be implemented at the present time. It appears that given the opportunity to pay is bond is a also discretionary matter and there may be certain factors that will make the applicant ineligible for such a bond. It is also unclear if there will be an appeal process for denials of the bond.

Disclaimer: Any advice provided in this article is general in nature and not intended to constitute legal advice for any specific case. Please consult with an immigration lawyer about the specific circumstances of your case.

My Bio Sharlene Sharmila Richards is a licensed Immigration Lawyer practicing in Houston, Texas. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. She was admitted to the New York State Bar in 2000 and is a member of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and a member of the US Supreme Court. If you require advice or assistance, you may contact her at telephone number 713-623-8088 or by email at srichardslaw@aol.com to schedule a free consultation to discuss your case.

Read more articles on legal issues by our columnists Visit : www. voiceofasiaonline.com could cost the news organizations hundreds of thousands of dollars or more in legal bills, even if they ultimately prevail.

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VOICE OF ASIA 14

Section 2

Young Life

Email: voiceasia@aol.com

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Greta Thunberg berates leaders as UN climate summit falls short

by Issam Ahmed

FRIDAY, September 27, 2019

Tel: 713-774-5140

Free pads to tackle 'periodshame' school skipping in Bangladesh

U

NITED NATIONS, United States | AFP | 9/23/2019 - An emotional Greta Thunberg tore into world leaders at a UN climate summit Monday, accusing them of betraying her generation by failing to tackle greenhouse gas emissions, as announcements by major economies fell far short of expectations.

The Swedish teen's impassioned speech, in which she repeated the words "How dare you" four times, was the defining moment of the meeting, called by UN chief Antonio Guterres to reinvigorate the faltering Paris climate agreement.

Ahead of the conference, the United Nations issued a release saying 66 countries vowed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, along with 10 regions, 102 cities, and scores of businesses.

But pre-summit predictions of new, headline-grabbing commitments, particularly by the likes of China and India, failed to match reality, angering environmental groups.

The world's top scientists believe long-term temperature rise must be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels to prevent runaway warming with catastrophic effects.

But rather than peaking, the level of emissions being released into the atmosphere are at an all-time high, triggering global weather hazards from heat waves to intense hurricanes and raging wildfires.

New data released Monday showed the 2019 Arctic sea ice minimum is ranked at second-lowest in the 41-year satellite record, effectively tied with 2007 and 2016.

"I shouldn't be up here. I should be back at school on the other side of the ocean," said Thunberg, 16, who has become the global face of a growing youth movement against climate inaction that mobilized millions in a worldwide strike on Friday.

"You come to us young people for hope. How dare you?" she thundered, her voice at times breaking with emotion.

"We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is the money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!"

Matters did not improve as a succession of national leaders took to the podium saying they understood the gravity of the situation but then failing to announce concrete plans.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra

Greta Thunberg gives an impassioned speech at the UN climate summit, September 23, 2019. (AFP Photo) Modi did not say explicitly whether his country would enhance its commitments made under the Paris agreement -- though he did say it was working on more than doubling its renewable energy capacity.

There was also no new announcement by China, the world's biggest emitter. Senior foreign policy official Wang Yi spoke instead about the need for multilateralism, taking a veiled swipe at US President Donald Trump for pulling out of the Paris accord on taking office.

"The withdrawal of certain parties will not shake the collective will of the international community," he said.

Environmental and campaign groups reacted with almost unanimous disappointment.

"I think Greta's impassioned cry for sanity and for actually listening and acting based on the science was ignored," Greenpeace International chief Jennifer Morgan told AFP. - Trump surprise Fewer than half the 136 heads of government or state in New York this week to attend the UN General Assembly attended on Monday.

Trump, who announced his intent to withdraw the US from the Paris agreement and has heaped scorn on climate science, had been expected to skip the event but made a brief unscheduled appearance, spending a few minutes in the hall, where he applauded Modi's speech and then left.

Among those absent were President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil, under whose leadership the Amazon rainforest is continuing to burn at record rates, and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, whose government has pursued

an aggressively pro-coal agenda.

Laurence Tubiana, one of the architects of the Paris agreement, told AFP the summit that Chinese lack of action was linked to its internal politics as it prepares its next five-year-plan.

But she said that she saw progress too.

"The big win is these group of countries who are for net zero by 2050," she said.

"The next step is to have them explain how they do that and what they do immediately."

- Increased urgency Earlier, opening the summit, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said: "The climate emergency is a race we are losing, but it is a race we can win."

French President Emmanuel Macron invited his counterparts from Chile, Colombia and Bolivia to a meeting where $500 million in extra funds were pledged by major donors.

Macron also lauded Russia, which ratified the Paris agreement on Monday, and said Europe must do more, repeating a vow to close coal-fired plants by 2022.

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel, repeated recently announced pledges including $55 billion for a new innovation and technology package and net zero emissions by 2050.

Dhaka: Poor parents often prefer their girls to stay at home during their menstrual period (AFP Photo)

D

HAKA, Bangladesh | AFP | Monday 9/23/2019 - Girls in rural villages will get free sanitary pads to stop them skipping school during their periods as a result of social taboos around menstruation, a Bangladesh minister said Monday.

So-called "period shame" in the highly conservative nation of 168 million people has caused more than 40 percent of Bangladesh schoolgirls to stay at home during menstruation, researchers say.

"This is very alarming. We cannot put their future at stake," Junior Information Minister Murad Hasan told AFP. Hasan said the "unavailability of menstrual pads" and "cost of hygiene products" were mostly to blame for the absences in village schools where some 63 percent of the population lives.

"Poor parents often prefer their girls to stay at home during their menstrual period rather than buying them hy-

giene products," he added.

Hasan, a doctor and former junior health minister, said the government planned to roll out the scheme by early next year in some 90,000 villages.

Dhaka, together with aid agencies, has been trying to raise awareness about menstruation among parents and schoolgirls.

Only six percent of schools in the South Asian nation include menstrual hygiene in their curriculum, according to a recent World Bank report.

Leading women's rights activist Maleka Banu welcomed the move.

"We have been demanding it for a long time. It's a positive thing that such initiatives are seeing the light tackling this social stigma," Banu, the general secretary of the female advocacy group Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, told AFP. "This initiative will surely help the dropout rate to go down."

Panghal counts on strenuous training to win medal at Tokyo Olympics

But she also defended graded change, saying it was her government's responsibility to "take into consideration as many people as possible," including those who doubt climate change and must receive incentives.

Danielle Cohn: Are teen influencers being exploited?

by Zoe Kleinman Technology reporter, BBC News

U

Panghal, an Asian Games and Asian Championships gold-medallist, became the first Indian male boxer to win a silver at the World Championship. (AFP Photo)

S social media star Danielle Cohn has nearly four million followers on Instagram and 1.4 million on YouTube. She's also one of TikTok's biggest stars, with more than 13 million fans.

by Amit Kumar Das

N

EW DELHI, Sept 23 (PTI) World Championships' silver medal-winning boxer Amit Panghal reckons securing an Olympic spot at next year's Asian qualifiers will be a tough task but vowed to leave no stone unturned in his quest for glory at the Tokyo Games.

The young teenager's photographs and their captions are often provocative.

She wears bikinis, lingerie and figure-hugging dresses, and her photo locations include bedrooms, poolsides, and in one case lying beside a waxwork figure of the late Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, while wearing bunny ears.

Her recent brand collaborations include a women's fashion label and an energy drink.

Danielle Cohn at the launch of her music single Lights Camera Action in January 2019. (AFP Photo)

"What would u ask me if u knew my answer would be yes?" she wrote recently beside a picture of herself wearing a tight white dress, her hands above her head, in which she promoted a fashion brand.

"She may need to get a normal job, like everyone else... all of this stuff will come up when an employer searches her name."

She is managed by her mother.

But is this a good line of work for a teenager?

"Once on the internet, always on the internet," says Rohan Midha, co-founder of the influencer agency PMYB. "When she does hit 18 she may not be able to be doing these brand deals any more. It may not be a sustainable career.

Mr Midha said he didn't think young teenagers were capable of making such a huge decision about creating a specific identity that would follow them into adult life.

"I believe that often it's an older relative or family member who has realised there is the opportunity to make some money in the short term and puts together a social strategy to grab the attention of the media," he said.

Under UK law the employment of children below the age of 18 is heavily

regulated but social media companies have no such obligations because they are not employing the children who use their platform, explains Keely Rushmore, partner at British law firm SA Law. How about the brands they collaborate with?

"In the UK children can potentially enter into contracts for services personally, but this can be problematic," she said.

"A way around this is to contract with the parents of the child instead, and I would expect that many brands choose this option in order to protect themselves."

Panghal (52kg), an Asian Games and Asian Championships gold-medallist, became the first Indian male boxer to win a silver at the World Championship, which concluded in Ekaterinburg, Russia on Saturday.

The 23-year-old Indian Armyman said he was sure of a podium finish after putting in the hard yards ahead of the prestigious tournament.

"It is a great feeling to win this medal. Given the preparation that I had, I was confident that I won't return without a medal. No Indian boxer has gone beyond the bronze, so I wanted to do something different, change the colour of the medal," Panghal told PTI after returning to the country here on Monday.

"I want to keep repeating what is working for me and keep improving on my weaknesses. I want to practice so much, put in so much effort in my training that I not only return with a medal but also change the colour of

the medal at Tokyo," he added referring to bronze medal won by Vijender Singh back in 2008.

The world championships in Russia no longer have Olympic qualifier status after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended the International Boxing Association (AIBA) from conducting the event in the 2020 Tokyo Games.

"At least 3-4 of us would have qualified if World Championships were still the Olympic qualifiers. It would have been a big achievement. Now the Asian Olympic qualifiers is the next big tournament for us. All the focus will be on that," said Panghal.

The Olympic qualifiers will start in February next year with the Asia/Oceania zone qualifiers in China.

"For us who are in the lower weight category, the level of competition at Asian qualifiers is same as world championships. Most of the Asian boxers win medal at the Olympics or World Championships. So it will be tough," Panghal said.

"Of course, the World qualifiers will be tougher as US and European boxers will also participate."

Panghal, who had shifted to the 52kg category after a stellar run in the 49kg division, said he needs to work on his strength and power.

VOICE OF ASIA 15

FRIDAY, September 27, 2019

September is Atrial Fibrillation Awareness Month

September is Hunger Action Month

Section 2 Tel: 713-774-5140

All you need to know about Vitamin D, importance, deficiencies and diseases 90% of the children living in New York, Boston, and Leyden in the Netherlands were afflicted with rickets, a bone-deforming disease. The first observation of this disease was in the mid-1600’s in children living in industrialized cities in Great Britain with deformities of the skeleton, especially of the lower legs. It wasn't until 1889 that the discovery that "sunbathing" was important for preventing rickets came about. Since then, many other health benefits of vitamin D and risks associated with deficiency have been reported. These include the following: Autoimmune disease Meenakshi Bhattacharjee Rice University, Houston TX

by Meenakshi Bhattacharjee,

T

he "sunshine" vitamin is a hot topic these days. You may have recently found out that you are deficient or know someone who is. The truth is that a lot has changed, and vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency is now a global public health problem affecting an estimated 1 billion people worldwide.

Vitamin D was discovered to be essential when it was found to be needed for the treatment of rickets.

Vitamin D is one of the four fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K). There are two forms of vitamin D: D2 and D3. Vitamin D2, also known as ergocalciferol, comes from fortified foods, plant foods, and supplements.

Vitamin D3, also known as cholecalciferol, comes from fortified foods, animal foods (fatty fish, cod liver oil, eggs, and liver), supplements, and can be made internally when your skin is exposed to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. Structurally, these two are not the same. Many believe that vitamin D should be classified as a hormone, with some calling it the forgotten neurosteroid.

The health consequences of being deficient go far beyond rickets and what occurs with any other vitamin.

And unlike other vitamins, it can be made by your body when exposed to sun and the active form in your body, called calcitrol, has similarities to other hormones (estrogen, cortisol, and testosterone).Only 20% of our vitamin D is meant to come from our diet with the remaining 80% provided by our skin from UV-B exposure to the sun.

What are health risks of vitamin D deficiency?

By the turn of the 20th century,

• Type 1 Diabetes: Research has shown that children with type 1 diabetes have a higher chance of having a vitamin D deficiency compared with the general population.

• Multiple sclerosis (MS): Current evidence supports that vitamin D deficiency increases the risk of developing MS and alters the disease activity in people with MS. Numerous studies have linked the occurrence of MS with birth month.

There is also a higher prevalence of MS in geographic areas farther from the equator, where people are exposed to less sunlight. The lack of sunlight exposure appears to be a significant predictor, and research is ongoing in this area. A large review of studies shows that with adequate vitamin D levels in people with MS there are fewer relapses, lower risk of development of new lesions in the brain, less disability and disease severity, and better nonverbal long term memory performance.

• Lupus: People with lupus are often photosensitive, causing rashes and possible disease flares when exposed to sunlight. The resulting lack of exposure to sunlight puts them at high risk for vitamin D deficiency. Evidence has shown that a deficiency can affect disease activity and damage along with contributing to the morbidity and mortality in people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA): A review of research found that people with the highest vitamin D levels had a 24.2% lower risk of developing RA compared to those with the lowest levels. They also found that there was a higher rate of vitamin D deficiency among people with RA than with the general population, and the activity of RA got worse as the level decreased.

Continued next week

Breast implants linked to rare cancer recalled, US says

FDA expands blood pressure drug recall, again

by Sara G. Miller

W

ASHINGTON, (MSN), Sep 24, 2019 - The Food and Drug Administration is again expanding its recall of widely prescribed blood pressure drugs due to contamination with a cancer-linked chemical.

Monday's announcement targets an additional five lots of the generic drug losartan made by Torrent Pharmaceuticals Limited. The lots include losartan potassium tablets and losartan potassium/hydrochlorothiazide tablets.

The recalled lots contain trace amounts of N-methylnitrosobutyric acid, or NMBA, which has been linked to cancer.

This is the fifth time in 2019 that Torrent Pharmaceuticals has expanded its voluntary recall of losartan. The recall was first announced in January.

Losartan is a generic angiotensin II receptor blocker, or ARB, and is used to treat high blood pressure as well as heart failure. Over the last year, scores of batches of generic ARBs have been withdrawn from the market due to the presence of chemical contaminants called nitrosamines, which have been linked to an increased risk of certain kinds of cancer.

US vaping illnesses top 500 victims Missouri man is 8th death

N

EW YORK | AFP | Monday, 9/24/2019 - More than 500 people have been diagnosed with vaping-related breathing illnesses, but the cause remains unknown, U.S. health officials said Thursday.

An eighth death was also reported.

Meanwhile, the Food and Drug Administration revealed that its criminal investigations unit started tracking leads early on, as cases pointed to black market vaping products.

The agency's tobacco director, Mitch Zeller, stressed that it is not interested in prosecuting individuals who use illegal products but is lending a hand because of the unit's "special skills."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 530 confirmed and probable cases have been reported in 38 states and one U.S. territory, up from 380 a week ago.

Missouri joined the list later Thursday, announcing the death this week of a man in his mid-40s at a St. Louis hospital.

Canada reported its first case Wednesday, a high school student who was on life support and has since recovered.

All patients had used an electronic cigarette or other vaping device.

Doctors have said the illnesses resemble an inhalation injury, with the lungs apparently reacting to a caustic

Breast implant maker Allergan has recalled its Biocell textured implants over concerns about a link to cases of a rare cancer, anaplastic large cell lymphoma (AFP Photo/JEAN-PIERRE CLATOT)

W

ASHINGTON | AFP | 9/24/2019 - Breast implant maker Allergan has issued a worldwide recall of its textured Biocell models, which have been linked to a rare form of cancer, the US Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday.

The recall came at the FDA's request, and means that the implants can no longer be sold, and that doctors who have them in stock are supposed to return them The regulatory agency did not ban the devices altogether, as authorities have done in France and Canada.

It also stopped short of recommending that women who have the implants get them removed. The risk of surgery is considered to be greater than the relatively low risk of developing anaplastic large cell lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

Biocell implants have a textured

surface to prevent slippage. Other breast implants used in the United States have a smooth surface or are covered in polyurethane.

Starting in 2011, health authorities in several countries noticed that certain implants were associated with an increase in incidence of anaplastic large cell lymphoma, or ALCL. The disease causes swelling and accumulation of fluid around the implant.

Friction between the implant surface and the surrounding tissue may cause inflammation, but the reason why women are developing ALCL remains unknown.

So far, the vast majority of these lymphoma cases have been detected in women with Allergan implants -- 84 percent of 573 known cases worldwide as of July 6, according to FDA figures.

The FDA has recorded 33 deaths

from this cancer around the world -- in the 13 cases where the type of implant is known, 12 are Allergan products.

The FDA said that its research showed the risk of developing breast-implant associated (BIA) ALCL with Allergan's Biocell textured implants was "approximately six times the risk of BIA-ALCL with textured implants from other manufacturers marketing in the US." So-called macro-textured implants, the kind that Allergan makes, account for less than five percent of all breast implants sold in the United States.

While the FDA acknowledged that the overall number

What is Medicare Plan Annual Notice of Change (ANOC)

T

he Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) is a document listing any changes in plan coverage, service area, or costs that will go into effect the following January.

All Medicare plans are required to send this to plan members by September 30, or 15 days before the start of the Annual Election Period.

If you haven’t received the Annual Notice of Change by the end of September, you should contact your Medicare plan to request the document. You can find your plan’s contact information on the back of your plan membership card.

If you’re in a private Medicare plan, such as a Medicare Advantage or Medicare prescription drug plan, your Annual Notice of Change can help you decide whether your current coverage still meets your health and prescription drug needs. Remember that even small plan changes can make a huge difference in your health costs. For example, if a health service you rely on is no longer covered, you could end up paying high out-of-pocket costs for that care.

You should review the Annual Notice of Change especially carefully if you take prescription drugs to make sure all your medications are still included in the drug formulary (the list of prescription drugs covered by the plan). If a drug you take is no longer covered, you may want to consider switching to a different Medicare prescription drug plan.

Even if your plan doesn’t make any significant changes, it can still be worth comparing your current coverage against other Medicare plans during the Annual Election Period. Medicare Advantage and stand-alone Medicare prescription drug plans are sold by private insurance companies, which can charge different costs for the same or similar benefits.

If you find a plan that more appropriately meets your health-care needs, you can switch during the Annual Election Period, which takes place from October 15 to December 7 every year. Your plan is required to send the Annual Notice of Change before this period so you have enough time to decide whether or not you want to switch to a different plan.

Outside of the Annual Election Period, you may have limited opportunities to make changes to your coverage unless you qualify for a Special Election Period.

Other plan notices Your Annual Notice of Change is

substance. So far, no single vaping product or ingredient has been linked to the illnesses, though most patients reported vaping THC, the high-producing ingredient in marijuana.

The man who died in Missouri told his family he started vaping in May for chronic pain, but investigators have not yet determined if he was vaping THC, according to a spokes-

Sudhir Mathuria HEALTHLIFE 360 713-771-2900 different from the Evidence of Coverage (EOC) notice that the plan sends every September. While your Annual Notice of Change focuses specifically on coverage and cost changes, the Evidence of Coverage is a comprehensive document detailing benefits, cost-sharing expenses, what your plan pays, and how the plan works. Both documents can be used to evaluate whether or not your current plan still meets your needs for the coming year.

If you’re in a Medicare prescription drug plan or a Medicare Advantage Prescription Drug plan, the plan is also required to notify you if it makes coverage changes throughout the year. For example, if a Medicare prescription drug plan changes a drug on its formulary, it must send you a written notice at least 60 days before the change takes place or at the time that you order a prescription refill. Source: CMS What should I do if I get this notice?

Like every year, for the year 2020 there are changes in Medicare Advantage Plans and Prescription Drug Plans’ benefits anticipated in many plans. Almost all Medicare Prescription Drug plan will change their deductibles and benefits structure. Review any changes to decide whether the plan will continue to meet your needs in the next year.

If you don't get this important document, contact your plan.

Yes, we can help you review your benefits change and suggest a suitable plan for 2020.

To choose the right Medicare Advantage Plan, Medicare Supplement Plan or Medicare Prescription Drug Plan contact Sudhir Mathuria at 713-7712900. woman at Mercy Hospital St. Louis.

Two-thirds of the cases involved 18- to 34-year-olds. Three-quarters are men.

Some of the first cases appeared in April. CDC hasn't said when most people got sick.

A congressional subcommittee will hold a hearing on the outbreaks on Tuesday.

More articles on Health Insurance

voiceofasia.news of cases of BIA-ALCL remained "relatively low," it asked for a recall "once the evidence indicated that a specific manufacturer's prod-

uct appeared to be directly linked to significant patient harm," said the agency's deputy commissioner Amy Abernethy.

VOICE OF ASIA 16

Section 2

Senior Living

FRIDAY, September 27, 2019

Email: voiceasia@aol.com

www.voiceofasia.news

Alzheimer’s and Dementia: the 10 warning signs you need to know

Tel: 713-774-5140

Making the most of the Medicare annual election period

PHOTO SOURCE: (c) monkeybusinessimages / iStock via Getty Images Plus

M

R

PHOTO SOURCE: (c) Alzheimer's Association

ecognizing and taking steps to address the warning signs of Alzheimer’s and other dementias can be extremely challenging -- especially in the early stages. It’s easy and common to dismiss cognitive changes in oneself or a family member as “normal aging.”

list of some common signs that can be early symptoms of Alzheimer’s or other dementias:

or joining a conversation or a struggle with vocabulary. For example, calling a “watch” a “hand-clock.”

“Alzheimer’s is not a normal part of aging,” says Dr. Keith Fargo, director, scientific programs and outreach at the Alzheimer’s Association. “With normal aging, you may forget where you parked your car -- that happens to all of us. But if you get in your car and get lost coming home -- that’s not normal.”

1. Disruptive memory loss. Forgetting recently learned information, asking the same questions over and over and increasingly relying on memory aids.

7. Misplacing things and losing the ability to retrace steps. Putting things in unusual places and being unable to go back over one’s steps to find them again.

2. Challenges in solving problems.

Changes in one’s ability to develop and follow a plan or work with numbers, such as having trouble following a familiar recipe or keeping track of monthly bills.

8. Decreased or poor judgment.

Changes in judgment or decisionmaking when dealing with such matters as money and grooming.

Alzheimer’s is a fatal progressive disease that attacks the brain, killing nerve cells and tissue, affecting an individual’s ability to remember, think, plan and ultimately function. Today, more than 5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s. By 2050, that number is projected to skyrocket to nearly 14 million.

To help families identify signs early on, the Alzheimer’s Association offers 10 Warning Signs and Symptoms, a

3. Difficulty completing familiar tasks. Difficulty completing daily tasks, such as organizing a grocery list or remembering the rules of a favorite game.

4. Confusion with time or place.

Losing track of dates, seasons and the passage of time.

5. Trouble understanding visual images and spatial relationships. Vision problems, which may lead to difficulty with balance or trouble reading.

6. New problems with words in speaking or writing. Trouble following

IRS releases updated version of tax form just for Seniors

by Kelly Phillips Erb

W

ith the new tax filing season just months away, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released the second draft of federal form 1040-SR, U.S. Tax Return for Seniors. The form, with larger print and less fussy boxes, is intended to make life easier for some of the approximately 15 million senior households expected to file tax returns in 2020.

limited by taxable income or by certain income types.

The following year, the IRS pulled the plug on form 1040EZ (used by approximately 25 million taxpayers).

That’s why you didn’t see a form 1040EZ during the 2019 tax filing season. The newly redesigned form 1040 (which was redesigned again in July of 2019) replaced the old form 1040 and forms 1040A and 1040EZ.

9. Withdrawal from work or social activities. Changes in the ability to hold or follow a conversation can result in a withdrawal from hobbies or social activities.

10. Changes in mood and personality. Mood and personality changes, such as confusion, suspicion, depression, fearfulness and anxiety.

To learn more about Alzheimer’s disease and to find resources, visit alz.org, the website of the Alzheimer’s Association or call its 24/7, free Helpline at 800.272.3900.

It’s important to note that exhibiting one or more of these 10 warning signs does not mean someone has Alzheimer’s. In fact, these signs may signal other -- even treatable -- conditions.

However, it’s important to talk to your doctor to understand what is driving cognitive changes so you can better manage the condition -- whatever the diagnosis.

- StatePoint

“Health care is one of the most important investments you’ll ever make,” says Brian Evanko, who heads Medicare for Cigna, which serves more than 3 million Medicare customers nationwide through its various plans. “For those unsatisfied with their MA plan, the AEP provides a valuable opportunity to shop for a new one that better meets their specific needs.”

Weighing your options this AEP? Consider the following tips from Cigna: • Review changes. In late September, health plans send their current MA customers a document known as the Annual Notice of Change (ANOC) with information about plan changes for the upcoming year, including costs, benefits, available doctors and facilities. Don’t overlook this important document in the mail. It can help you determine if you need to change plans.

• Weigh extras. When comparing plans, pay attention to extra benefits not available in Original Medicare and consider whether you’re likely to use them. Some of the most popular are dental, vision, hearing and no-cost access to fitness programs. Others might include over-the-counter drug coverage and no-cost transportation to doctors and pharmacies.

• Consider other factors. Beyond cost, consider the doctors and facilities included in any given plan, making sure it includes your favorite phy-

• Know yourself. Learn as much as you can about the different plan types and choose one that best suits your budget, lifestyle and health status. Of course, priorities change, which could prompt a need for a plan change.

• Don’t forget prevention. Many MA plans cover health screenings beyond those covered by Original Medicare. Talk to your doctor about which screenings are important for you given your age and health status. Some MA plans may even provide rewards, such as gift cards, for completing certain screenings.

• Get assistance. Plan Finder, found at medicare.gov/find-a-plan, is an online tool available through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that helps you compare premiums, costs of medications and more. You can see how plans are rated from one to five stars based on different quality measures.

Additionally, many insurance plans offer seminars at no cost and with no obligation to sign up. You can also check health plans’ websites or call their customer service for more information. Local and state agencies on aging also connect older adults and caregivers with resources.

“Medicare is a great program, but it can be complicated, especially for those who are new to it,” Evanko advises. “Seek out third-party resources and talk to friends and family who have been through the process, asking questions until you understand your options.”

- StatePoint

Imbalances in mood, learning, memory and motivation could be a result of PKU, which is short for phenylketonuria. Also known as PAH deficiency, this is a rare genetic condition that disrupts neurotransmitters in the brain and requires a special diet.

For the approximately 16,500 people living with PKU in the U.S., there is good news. Not only can strict diets that limit many high protein foods and other lifestyle changes help, ongoing research has led to the approval of two therapies for the condition, and a third is currently under development. To learn more about PKU, as well the work being done by BioMarin, a pioneer for research and treatment of PKU, visit www.PKU. com.

Recognizing the signs of PKU and getting treatment is critical for proper management of the condition.

- StatePoint

Despite the redesigned form 1040

and the elimination of the form 1040EZ, there was no form 1040-SR to be found in 2019. That’s because form 1040-SR didn’t become part of the TCJA. Instead, it was pushed through as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. Under the Act, Congress directed the IRS to design form 1040-SR to be "as similar as practicable to Form 1040EZ" with a few exceptions, notably "only for individuals

sician. Check drug coverage, prices on your regular maintenance medications and whether it’s easy to see specialists. Also pay attention to copays (how much you’re required to pay out-ofpocket for doctor visits) and the deductible. Are they affordable?

Understanding PKU: a rare genetic condition

who have attained age 65 as of the close of the taxable year."

Taxpayers got wind of the new 1040-SR in December of 2017 as part of the Chairman's Mark of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). In that initial markup, Congress proposed a new federal form 1040-SR for use by persons who are age 65 or older. At the time, the form was described "as similar as possible to the Form 1040EZ." The difference was supposed to be that the use of form 1040-SR would not be

edicare Advantage (MA) plans are increasingly popular, offering robust benefits including vision, health, dental, drug coverage and more. For the more than 22 million people with an MA plan, the Medicare Annual Election Period (AEP), running from Oct. 15-Dec. 7, is the only time each year when they can shop for alternate plans.

Unlike the old form 1040EZ, there are no income limits or restrictions on the kinds of income that can be reported on form 1040-SR. But like the old form 1040EZ, taxpayers who file form 1040-SR must take the standard deduction. The standard deduction amounts for the 2019 tax year are $12,200 for individuals, $18,350 for heads of household, and $24,400 for married couples filing jointly and surviving spouses. For 2019, the additional standard deduction amount

for seniors or the blind is $1,300. The additional standard deduction amount increases to $1,650 for unmarried taxpayers.

Like the first draft of the form 1040SR, the most recent draft is two pages long, though you may need to attach additional schedules.

Remember that this is just a draft.

The IRS warns on the front page: Do not file draft forms and do not rely on draft forms, instructions, and publications for filing.

That means that the IRS could still make changes: this version is, after

all, just a few months older than the last draft available for public inspection. The IRS does consider comments about draft forms. You can email yours to WI.1040.Comments@IRS.gov.

While 15 million taxpayers could benefit from the new form - approximately 10% of taxpayers - that number is likely on the high end. Many seniors don’t file their tax returns by hand: even the most tech-averse use tax software or hire a tax professional; overall, nearly 90% of taxpayers are expected to use a tax preparer or file electronically.

- Forbes

VOICE OF ASIA 17

FRIDAY, September 27, 2019

Home&Real Estate Dear Houston: your real estate prospects are underrated Opinion by Kerri Panchuk

H

so long ago.

ouston ranked 42nd in the nation in a new survey of the markets with the best real estate prospects.

“It’s a much more diverse economy than that, and it continues to grow in the healthcare sector and in prospective quality of life,” Carlock said.

But Houston is one of the few markets where real estate investors' perception may not be reality.

For starters, Houston is one of the most diversely populated cities in America, edging out New Jersey and New York City

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons Houston fell from last year when it ranked 37th in The Emerging Trends in Real Estate report by PwC and Urban Land Institute. Meanwhile, sister Texas cities Austin and Dallas ranked No. 1 and No. 6, respectively, in overall real estate prospects.

The report suggests Houston’s overall real estate investment potential as judged by investors and developers is underwhelming and perhaps the result of misconceived notions about how the energy crash a few years ago impacted the city.

“I am actually bullish on Houston,” PwC U.S. Real Estate practice leader Byron Carlock said.

Carlock said the notion that Houston lives and dies by its energy sector is highly inaccurate. Yet, this belief may have dampened real estate investors and developers’ perception of the market in recent years with an energy crash occurring not

for this distinction, the study said.

Carlock also points to the area’s food scene, culture and its focus on healthcare-related business development. The report said Houston’s economy is pushing the needle when it comes to life sciences and technology.

And in 2019, the metro added roughly 80,000 jobs on a yearover-year basis.

“Houston remains a powerful growth market, with its 10.7% population gain since 2010.

This accounts for the multifamily sector’s leading role in 2018 and early 2019 investment — $10.8B, or about half of Houston’s recent acquisitions,” the report said.

In addition, Houston’s office, retail and industrial sectors saw transactions exceed $3B apiece over the last 18 months, which is giving investors much more confidence in the area, the PwC and Urban Land Institute report concluded.

- Bisnow

Houston worst in Texas for real estate investment

by J. Jeffery

R

eal estate professionals remain skeptical of Houston's investment prospects, according to a national report released Sept.

19 by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Urban Land Institute.

The Bayou City came in at No. 42 out of 80 on the "2020 Emerging Trends in Real Estate" report's ranking of U.S. markets with the best overall real estate prospects — down five spots from last year.

Every other Texas market included in the report, which was based on a survey of more than 1,500 real estate professional across the world, came in higher than Houston.

Austin led the nation for

overall real estate investment prospects, coming in at No. 1.

However, No. 6 Dallas was not far behind. San Antonio came in at No. 24.

Austin actually jumped five spots on this year’s list, which the report attributed to a number of factors, including its marketable slogan (“Keep Austin Weird”), deep pool of talent, unique lifestyle and ambitious commitment to business and real estate expansion.

In Houston, however, the projects may not be as flashy, but the report noted that investors continue to support the city by “voting with their wallet.”

But many investors remain concerned about Houston’s greater-than-average economic volatility.

- HBJ

An architect restores his Houston Midcentury after Hurricane Harvey

O

n the morning of August 27, 2017, Steve and Martha Curry grabbed their wallets, keys, and cellphones and stashed them in a portable ice chest.

They lashed two pool noodles together with duct tape to create a makeshift raft, placing the ice chest on top. Then they waded out of the Houston house they’ve lived in since 1992. The couple had finished restoring it in 2014, and now it was flooded with a foot of water, courtesy of Hurricane Harvey.

The Currys waded about a half mile north to higher ground. Their cellphones were still working, so they were able to reach local family and friends and make sure they were okay.

Not everyone was as lucky—at least 68 people died as a direct result of Harvey, and more than 30,000 had to be rescued. An estimated 154,170 houses in Harris County, which contains Houston, were flooded, and many people were permanently displaced. Over a period of four days, the storm dumped almost 50 inches of rain on parts of Houston. “I’m from Louisiana, so I’ve seen a lot of violent hurricanes,” says Steve Curry, a principal at Curry Boudreaux Architects and president of the Midcentury Modern advocacy group Houston Mod. “This wasn’t violent. It was just incessant.”

Photography: Shannon O'Hara During the 1960s, people continued to flock to Harris County (which contains Houston), and they all needed a place to live.

NASA’s Manned Spacecraft Center (now the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center) opened in 1963. The Astrodome—the country’s first enclosed, multipurpose stadium, now a National Treasure of the National Trust—followed in 1965. The rapidly expanding city epitomized the sunny attitude that fueled the transparency and

mentions the Katy Prairie west of Houston, which contains natural shallow wetlands, rice fields, and grasslands that hold water during storms. “As more of that land gets developed, it begins to fill up faster than it used to. So it’s a regional challenge for us.”

The recent floods have accelerated the pace of teardowns in desirable neighborhoods such as Braeswood Place, Meyerland, and Memorial Bend.

They finally embarked on a restoration in 2003 and worked on it, off and on, for the next 11 years. Good Housekeeping magazine had published a story on the property in 1954, so they had a visual record of exactly what it had looked like then.

Steve dove into the work, appreciating even more about the original architecture as he went along.

The waters receded from the Currys’ street near southwest Houston’s Braeswood Place neighborhood within a day, and they were able to get back into the house to assess the damage.

The 1953 residence, designed by noted local Modernist Lars Bang and known as the Bendit House, had held up relatively well. The terrazzo floors in the main rooms were intact. The same went for the exposedbrick walls.

But much of the house’s woodwork and all of its cork floors were destroyed. Some of the Midcentury Modern furniture the couple had spent years accumulating was lost.

Though far from catastrophic, it was still hard to accept. The house had never flooded before, so they didn’t expect it to flood during Harvey. They waited until the last minute to move smaller items off the floor and believe they could have saved more if they had allowed more time. Like their neighbors on a quiet cul-de-sac, the Currys had to remove ruined mattresses, clothing, and books in the days after the storm and pile them out on the lawn for pickup by the city.

While the Bendit House has uncommon architectural significance—architect Ben Koush calls it “one of the 10 to 15 really outstanding Midcentury Modern houses” in Houston— its era produced thousands of houses in the region. After World War II, Houston’s oil and gas economy boomed, and developers pounced on the land that surrounded the city’s core of prewar buildings. They filled newly built cul-de-sacs with low-slung brick ranch houses, placing some of the choicest streets along the bayous that meander through the area.

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For their first decade in the Bendit House, the Currys were occupied with raising their family and building their careers.

Steve sought out architect Lars Bang, who was in his 80s and getting ready to retire. Bang loaned him the original plans to copy so that when it was time to restore, there would be no doubt as to what went where.

“The house really rooted us in this neighborhood and rooted me in midcentury,” says Steve.

“It was a time of curiosity and discovery for me.”

Steve and Martha Curry in their backyard. openness of Midcentury Modern design. “It was like, ‘We can do anything! We’re modern and we’re going to space,’” says Anna Mod, a Houston native and a preservation consultant at MacRostie Historic Advisors.

The city’s midcentury housing stock varies, which is part of what makes it interesting.

Zoomy “builder specials” with steeply angled rooflines cozy up next to conservative hipped-roof ranches. Highbrow architect-designed versions, including Philip Johnson’s 1950 Menil House in the exclusive River Oaks neighborhood, are sprinkled in. Most houses of the period were built on a slab-ongrade foundation, rather than with basements. While Houston’s freeways are built low to contain flooding, in a situation (like Harvey) when the bayous overflow, the water only has so many places to go before it breaches the thresholds.

There’s more of that water than there used to be. In September of 2018, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a study that revised Harris County’s 100-year storm estimate from 13 inches of rain per day to 18 inches per day. So every year there is a 1 percent chance of a storm of that magnitude.

A 500-year storm unleashes even more water and is even less likely to occur. But Harvey was estimated to be a 500-year and even a 1,000-year storm in parts of the city. And it caused Houston’s third major flood in three years, after the Memorial Day Flood of 2015 and the Tax Day Flood of 2016. “I grew up in Houston, so I grew up with floods,” says Mod. “It’s getting worse, though.”

Houston’s runaway sprawl since the midcentury era hasn’t helped, either. Every time a building goes up on a plot of land, another piece of permeable surface disappears, and the entire region feels it when a heavy rain happens. “This is about regional planning, which we’re not particularly good at [here],” says Kerry Goelzer, a Houston architect and board member of Houston Mod. She

(Glenbrook Valley, Houston’s only Midcentury Modern neighborhood that is a designated local historic district, is more intact.) These areas had already been turning over in the past couple of decades, with the streetscape evolving into a mix of house styles and sizes. But especially since Harvey, many locals feel that the disparity between one-story Midcentury Modern houses and towering new construction has become more glaring. In keeping with city regulations, any new development in the 500-year floodplain must be raised at least 2 feet above the base flood elevation for that property.

Combine these two extremes with a mix of vacant lots, empty houses with owners who still haven’t moved back in after Harvey, and existing houses that have been elevated to avoid flooding, and you get a neighborhood fabric that looks much different than before the storms.

Owners of houses that flooded have four choices: They can repair their houses, elevate them, sell them, or demolish them.

For the Currys, there was no question what their next move would be: They would repair the house and re-restore the elements that were damaged in the storm. The water wasn’t in their house for long, and they removed or dried wet items as quickly as possible, so they didn’t have to deal with mold issues the way many others did. They had the resources to re-restore it and, not incidentally, they love their home.

“It’s a pleasure to live there,” says Martha, who discovered the 2,100-square-foot house in the first place, back in the early 1990s. The couple had two young children at the time and weren’t looking to move, but they saw past the added layers of drywall and paint to the midcentury gem lying underneath.

Martha, a pediatric nurse practitioner, wasn’t even a fan of Midcentury Modern yet. But, as Steve says, “she liked that when she stood at the kitchen sink, she could look out at the backyard and pool through a set of glass doors that were 8 feet tall and 32 feet long.”

Bang had cleverly used materials and proportions to erase the line between indoors and outdoors. A built-in planter box next to the bright-red front door continues inside the entryway. “The garden seems to enter with you,” marveled Good Housekeeping. The main living space’s terrazzo floors are repeated on the rear terrace, with a matte finish to prevent poolside slips. And the big glass sliding doors that Martha had admired form the entire rear wall of the house.

The oversize pink brick used inside and outside had been painted over in some rooms, so during the first restoration, Steve used a baking-soda blast to gently remove the paint.

“It’s handmade brick—you can see handprints in it,” he says.

“There’s even a heelprint outside.” The steel sliding glass door frames had been painted, too, and the same technique was used to strip them. (The original glass was replaced with tempered glass for safety reasons.) Steve found original wood walls and ceilings under drywall and saved as much of it as he could. Where the wood was too far gone, he found similar species, such as the sapele in the master bedroom that replaced the original walnut wall paneling.

The bathrooms were missing much of their original fixtures and hardware, but Steve managed to salvage some from a nearby Lars Bang–designed house that the owners were gutting.

It’s still too soon for many homeowners who were flooded during Harvey to know what they should do long-term, no matter what their house’s architectural style. Some houses remain empty while their owners make agonizing financial decisions or wait for insurance money to come in. For the Currys, re-restoring their home was the right choice, and they saved an important piece of Houston’s cultural heritage in the process.

But everyone’s situation is different, and right now, no one knows the answer to the overall question of what will happen to Houston’s trove of midcentury housing. “I think it’s really changed since the storm,” Mod says. “It’s kind of like, all bets are off. You have to respect each person’s need to do what they need to do. There’s no easy solution.

- Preservation.com

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Week of September 27, 2019

Horoscope.com

21 March to 20 April This can be an uplifting week, although with fiery Mars still in your sector of work and lifestyle, you could continue to be busy. It’s also worth keeping up your health and wellness routines, because the fitter you are, the more you can accomplish.

21 April to 20 May There’s great positivity in the air, and this can help with any negotiations. The new moon on Saturday is excellent for kick-starting healthy habits or getting up to speed with a new exercise routine. Fnd balance in your daily routines and develop healthy habits.

21 May to 20 June Regarding a budding romance, it would be best not to jump into anything too quickly. And if truth be told, you could be both attracted and repelled by someone and unable to decide whether you like them or not. If this is the case, go easy.

21 June to 22 July There’s a fun Leo moon midweek that helps you let go and forget about your problems. Dating someone who knows how to have a good time can help take your mind off an ex or past relationship you’ve been dwelling on. Give everyone a chance to prove themselves to you.

23 July to 22 August Negotiating and closing deals becomes a whole lot easier from this week as the illuminating sun joins sweet Venus and savvy Mercury in your communication sector. This is the perfect time to promote your work, get ahead with any administrative tasks, and get advice or information that can help you make progress.

23 August to 22 Sept Money matters come into greater prominence this week as the sun joins indulgent Venus and thoughtful Mercury your financial zone. This positive set of influences could lead you to splurge at times but also take stock of your overall situation.

23 September to 22 Oct For now, though, you still have the chance to tie up loose ends and find closure on issues that may be draining your energy. And if family responsibilities have been keeping you very busy, the coming weeks can see you delegating some of them to lessen your load.

23 October to 21 Nov This is an excellent period for selling yourself, goods, or services.

You have the gift of gab, so get out there and use it. You have a great opportunity to do business with someone who can help give your company a boost.

22 November to 21 Dec The cosmos might cause a surge in powerful feelings now.

Don’t suppress them. Doing so could bring on the desire to eat comfort foods. This is one time when you’re liable to overindulge in order to numb unpalatable issues.

22 December to 20 Jan Your career, business, and other key responsibilities call out to you as the sun moves into your sector of goals and ambitions.

This is the time to make your mark with a willingness to showcase your work & talents, and let others know how gifted you are.

21 January to 19 Feb If you have doubts about whether you should take off and relax in the sun, put them to one side.

You deserve this opportunity, so take it. This is also a good time to study for a certification or just for the fun of it if what you learn will stand you in good stead in the future.

20 February to 20 Mar Now is the time to secure the services of a counselor, therapist, or life coach who can help you navigate through this time in a positive way. Sometimes help is needed to embrace those intense feelings and allow them to more easily dissipate.

ACROSS 1. *Like Freddy Krueger's fingertips 6. Roman goddess of fertility 9. Late comedian Bob 13. Painter's support 14. Ornamental pond dweller 15. New York's amusement Island 16. *Morticia to Fester 17. Not decaf.

18. *____ hell, or cause trouble 19. *Bram Stoker creation 21. *Día de los ____ 23. Geological period 24. Queen of Spades, e.g.

25. It's all the rage 28. *Like Zombie's skin color 30. Fine-____ pen 35. Miners' passage 37. Marinate, e.g.

39. Miss America's topper 40. Unacceptable 41. Proprietor 43. Jet black 44. One thousand in a kilogram 46. Country dance formation 47. Cincinnati players 48. Croatia's neighbor 50. Shower with affection 52. *Horror movie actor Christopher 53. Fireplace conduit 55. French vineyard 57. *Like some Mansions 61. *Paris Opéra House inhabitant 65. Come to terms 66. Indigo extract 68. Quickly fry 69. Sucrose 70. Long time 71. "Sesame Street" Muppet 72. Jury colleague 73. Tire depression 74. Slap

DOWN 1. Email button 2. *Medusa's snakes 3. Between ports 4. Reconnaissance, for short 5. Lung-covering membrane 6. Southern stew staple 7. *Author known as Master of the Macabre 8. Fraternal letter 9. Gray-haired 10. "Put a lid ____ ____!"

11. Acapulco money 12. *Coraline's buttons 15. Kudos 20. Rodeo rope 22. *Crematorium jar 24. *Jonestown poison 25. *Vampire's canines 26. Love intensely 27. 1/100 of a rial 29. *Werewolf's cry 31. *Coffin's stand 32. Confusion of voices 33. Wear away 34. *____ Macabre 36. *Mummy's home 38. Lotto variant 42. Throw up 45. Flour fluffer 49. A in IPA 51. Wipes blackboard 54. Bovine milk dispenser 56. Render harmless 57. Door fastener 58. Chills and fever 59. Strong desire 60. Getting warm 61. Closely confined 62. Chicken of the sea?

63. Related to ear 64. Spiritless 67. *"He Knows ____'re Alone"

SOLUTION: THINGS GHASTLY AND MACABRE on Page 19

VOICE OF ASIA 19

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TECHNOLOGY

VOICE OF ASIA 20

IIT-IIT: IITians influencing India’s transformation

Tech giants beef up body to fight extremist content

by Pradeep Anand

I

U

ndia is the world’s 6th largest economy but it ranks 130th out of 189 countries on UN’s Humanitarian Development Index. To tackle various issues, countless individuals, and groups—3.1 million NGOs—do outstanding work locally. However, they have been unable to scale to impact India’s narrative on a larger scale.

NITED NATIONS, United States | AFP | Monday 9/23/2019 - Tech companies led by Facebook on Monday joined world leaders in ramping up an industry body to weed out extremist content online, giving it a permanent staff.

Facebook announced the steps at the United Nations, where French President Emmanuel Macron and New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern chaired a meeting on extremist risks on the internet.

Enter IIT-IIT or IITians Influencing India’s Transformation). IIT-IIT’s mission is to change this for the benefit of larger populations and move India up the UN Humanitarian Development Index.

On September 17, more than 50 Houstonians and IITians met at Madras Pavilion to discuss a program for collectively giving back to India, for larger scale impact. Hosted by IIT Alumni of Greater Houston (IITAGH), a network of 1300 local alumni, the audience learned about how the IIT-IIT model would bring IITians and others together, and collectively ensure scaling of programs that could impact health, education, livelihood, and water shortage, at an allIndia level.

It was a very compelling, heart moving evening.

At the outset, the program highlighted 6 NGO programs IIT-IIT has initially identified as “Designed for National Scale”.

These “Designed for National Scale” programs were: 1.

A malnutritionfocused program that would drastically reduce the 1 million malnutrition related annual deaths before age 5.

2.

A vision network that would treat 1 million cataract

FRIDAY, September 27, 2019

Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft and YouTube in 2017 formed the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, a vaguely conceived alliance tasked with tackling the most dangerous material on social media.

But tech companies came under renewed criticism after a white supremacist in March

L to R: Subroto, Abhijit, Kartik, Joe, Pradeep A, Shahnawaz, Kalyan, Pradeep G. cases each year and arrest India’s growth of blindness.

3.

A rural art and culture program that would revitalize 150 out of India’s 600 rural districts by creating a billion-dollar art and culture enterprise with 1 million thriving artists.

4.

A water program that would add four months of domestic water availability benefiting 250 million people in drought affected areas.

5.

A residential career program that would provide 250K assured careers, every year, to the poor in 75 of India’s 115 poorest districts.

6.

A high school skill-

ing program that will drastically reduce dropouts and create direct links to careers for 5 million high school students.

After the awe-inspiring highlights, the evening led to an immersive TED-like discussion with members, who were co-founders or leaders of three of these organizations.

This program caught the imagination of the Houstonian IITian community. Leela Krishnamurthy (Member of Boards of UNICEF and Houston Habitat for Humanity, and Past President Sankara Nethralaya OM Trust USA) said, “…the presentations were informative and the vision very impressive. IITians coming

together to give back to the country, which made them all IITians in the first place, is indeed very commendable. All of you are very successful, with a strong bond and a desire to give back to your motherland.”

While individual IITians are active in supporting NGOs in India, the power of a collective group, on a sustainable platform, will significantly amplify and multiply their efforts and extend their reach to impact India on a substantially larger scale, for the longer term.

The IIT-IIT initiative was cofounded by two alumni, Kartik Kilachand and Joe Fernandes.

Their focus is on bringing a

network of 300,000 global IIT alumni together, to participate in giving back collectively to India and create a mega-scale change for a better, fulfilling future for its citizens.

Besides Houston, they are also reaching out to IITians in 9 other cities around the world to create the “IIT-IIT ‘movement”.

Abhijit Gadgil, President, IITAGH, welcomed the audience. The evening was supported by Biki Mohindra and Pradeep Gokhale.

For more information about IIT-IIT and its programs, please visit www.IIT-IIT.org.

For more information about IITAGH, please visit www.iitagh.org.

killed worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

He live-streamed the bloodbath and posted a manifesto online that was full of his racist conspiracy theories.

"The extraordinary virality of the attacker's video online illustrated the need to do even more," Facebook said in a statement.

"We believe these next steps are best executed within an industry-led framework with deep input from both civil society and governments," it said.

Facebook said that the forum set up in 2017 would now be considered an independent body and enjoy a dedicated staff under an executive director, who was not immediately named.

While the industry will lead the forum's operating board, non-governmental groups will head an advisory board.

The governments of the United States, France, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Japan will also play an advisory role, along with UN and European Union experts.

The forum will still amount to a voluntary effort by tech companies to police themselves, with Facebook saying that they are trying to do better to identify extremist content.

Facebook said it had already reached a 2019 goal of contributing 200,000 unique digital fingerprints of "known terrorist content," making it easier for all tech companies to quickly identify and act on postings by suspicious individuals.

WE HAVE A PLAN FOR TRAFFIC. 500 miles* of travel improvements whether you ride or drive.

75 miles of new METRORapid bus service that operates like light rail, including an extension to Bush Airport

21 new or improved suburban Park & Rides and transit centers 16 miles of light rail, with a METRORail extension to Hobby Airport 110 miles of a Regional Express Network including two-way HOV Lanes

290 miles of BOOST and Signature bus service, plus accessibility and usability improvements for the disabled and seniors

Find out more at:

*Approximate mileage pending final implementation

METRONext.org