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ELECTION 2016 - Local Winners

Trump’s joy is Obama’s pain: Barack faces destruction of legacy by the Donald’s presidency

EW YORK - AFP, 9 November 2016

Donald Trump’s jaw-dropping White House win is a slap in the face for Barack Obama, elected eight years ago as the country’s first black president on the promise of a nation united.

Sheila Jackson Lee - U.S. Congress, District 18

At the political level, Hillary Clinton’s defeat is certainly a setback for Obama, who campaigned hard for his former secretary of state, traveling across the country and employing the charisma and charm that she sorely lacks.

Pete Olson - U.S. Congress, District 22

But, aside from being the loss of a typical battle between the two major American political parties, the 70-year-old real estate tycoon’s success is also a stinging personal blow for Obama. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gave his victory speech after 3am, not long after Hilly Clinton called to concede the race. AP Photo.

It certainly appears that as if this ever calm, ceContinued on Page 9

Lois W. Kolkhorst - Texas Senate, District 18 Al Green - U.S. Congress, District 9

Borris Miles - Texas Senate, District 13

Ted Poe - U.S. Congress, District 2

Supporters of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump cheering during an election night party at a hotel in downtown Phoenix, Arizona (AP Photo).

Kim Ogg - Harris County District Attorney

India’s Modi congratulates Trump, thanks for ‘friendship’

Gene Wu - State Representative, District 137

Narendra Modi tweeted: “Congratulations @realDonaldTrump on being elected as the 45th US President” (AFP Photo)

Ed Gonzalez - Harris County Sheriff

Hubert Vo - State Representative, District 149

EW DELHI, India | AFP, 11/9/2016 - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday tweeted his congratulations to Donald Trump for winning the US presidential

election and thanked him for the “friendship” shown to India during the campaign. “Congratulations @realDonaldTrump on being elected as the 45th US President,” the leader of the world’s largest

democracy wrote on Twitter. “We appreciate the friendship you have articulated towards India during your campaign, @realDonaldTrump.” Trump courted IndianAmerican voters in the run-up to election day and released a campaign advertisement in Hindi for Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. In the ad Trump adapted a catchphrase used by Modi in his successful 2014 run for In-

dia’s top job -- “Ab Ki Baar Trump Sarkaar,” which translates into English as “This time a Trump government” -- and said he was looking forward to working with the Indian leader. Modi echoed that sentiment in another tweet on Wednesday, telling the US president elect: “We look forward to working with you closely to take India-US bilateral ties to a new height.”

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Columnists: Legal: Richard M. Alderman Legal: Sharlene Sharmila Richards Research: Prof. Meenakshi Bhattacharjee Health Insurance: Sudhir Mathuria Astrology: Hardik Vyas

Millions of people lose health insurance. Undocumented workers face new threats of deportation. Progress on reducing greenhouse gases starts to reverse. Conservatives regain a majority in the Supreme Court, and are poised to expand their influence. Deficits rise, forcing cuts to programs on which the poor and middle class depend.

VoiceofAsiaOnline.com Editor Online:

by Jonathan Cohen

Shobana Muratee

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hose are some of the headlines you could see over the next four years, now that Donald Trump has been elected the 45th president of the United States. Trump did not run a substantive campaign. He talked about policy only sporadically, without much detail and frequently in contradictory terms. This created the impression that he didn’t have ideas about what he wanted to do ― and that he’d act unpredictably. Trump also fought with Republican leaders in Congress, particularly House Speaker Paul Ryan, and adopted a few key positions ― particularly on trade ― that were at odds with the party’s orthodoxy. This created the impression that he wouldn’t be able to govern, because he wouldn’t be able to collaborate with Congress. But like the polls that predicted a Clinton win, these perceptions about Trump are flawed. The truth is that Trump has always had some basic ideas about how he’d like to reshape public policy. Opinion by Narupama Rao

he dramatic, widely unexpected outcome of the U.S. presidential election has stunned all the pundits and prognosticators who had placed very little faith in a victory for Donald J. Trump. It is clear now that the thinking, privileged elites of Washington, D.C. and New York were way off the mark in their predictions and poll analyses. The widely forgotten, disinherited and disadvantaged who inhabit the rural interiors of the United States, who have seen their lives grow steadily more arid and unanchored,

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‘Millions To Lose Insurance,’ and other likely headlines from the Trump presidency And for all of his bluster about challenging the establishment, Trump and the Republicans in Congress believe in many of the same things. Predicting how a Trump presidency will play out is difficult at this point. Neither party really prepared for this eventuality and there are some pretty big unknowns, like whether Democrats can use the filibuster to block Republican proposals ― and whether Republicans change Senate rules in response. Governing is a lot harder than campaigning, and it will require confronting trade-offs that Trump ― and, to some extent, Republicans in Congress ― have never confronted before. But *even allowing for all of that,* it’s not hard to imagine Trump working closely with a Republican Congress, in order to rewrite vast swaths of the federal code. One obvious area of consensus is Obamacare. Repealing and replacing President Barack Obama’s signature health care law has been an explicit goal for both Trump and the Republicans, and in just the last two weeks Trump has made clear he intends to make it a priority. The “replace” part of that vow remains fuzzy, so it’s impossible to say precisely what that would mean. And in the one test case for repeal so far, a newly elected Republican governor in Kentucky decided not to follow through on a promise to back out of its Medicaid expansion ― a major component of Obamacare ― because doing so would deprive hundreds of thousands of insurance. But even if Trump and Republicans decided not to go full

repeal, or to replace the health care law with a meaningful alternative, the end result is likely to be far fewer people with insurance or far less financial protection from medical expenses ― because the thrust of Republican plans are to scale back consumer protections and reduce government spending. One way or another, it mean reversing the progress of the last few years, so that the health care system looks more like the one that existed before reform ― with cheaper, skimpier policies available to people in good health, but fewer insured overall and bigger bills for people with serious medical problems. Taxes are another area of broad agreement. Trump may have presented himself as a threat to the establishment and champion of the little guy, but when it comes to economic policy he’s actually a very ordinary Republican who believes in policies that are very good for businesses and the wealthy, and not so good for everybody else. And so both Trump and his Republican allies have called to reduce or eliminate the estate tax, to lower income tax rates, and to give give new breaks to corporations. Analyses of these tax plans by independent organizations, such as the Brookings-Urban Tax Policy Center, show that benefits flow disproportionately to the wealthy. But those tables actually understate the extent to which tax cuts shift resources, because these tax cuts end up depriving the federal government of trillions of dollars of revenue. That creates deficits that, inevitably, lead to cuts in programs on which the poor and middle

class tend to rely. Those can include everything from food stamps to Medicare. There are some areas where Trump and the Republicans are likely to be at odds ― either because he’s already taken different positions than they have, or because he’ll change his mind. He really has been vague and inconsistent on many issues. An example is the minimum wage, an issue on which most Republicans share a common view. (They oppose raising it.) But on domestic policy, at least, those fights are likely to be the exception, not the rule. And on those issues where Trump couldn’t bend Congress to his will, he’d still be executive authority at his disposal. That is likely to mean peeling back Obama’s new regulations on everything from power plant emissions to banking activities, while failing to enforce the regulations that stay on the books. And of course Trump could make broad changes to immigration enforcement, just like Obama did. Even if Trump doesn’t follow through on all of his campaign promises, it’s likely he will increase deportations of undocumented residents already here ― and scale back temporary protections that Obama afforded them. And that’s the thing to remember. Both Trump and Republicans have embraced radical agendas for governing. They might end up realizing only a portion of them. But that would still add up to a tectonic shift in policy. Elections have consequences. And the consequences of this election will be big. (-Huffington Post)

November thunderbolt spoke through what has been called “the election of our discontent”. That howling at the moon, that anger — a kinetic force in American democracy today — was ignored on the radar screens of celebrity television and media channels of the country. Instead, the Republican candidate was projected as a maverick iconoclast — a misogynist and xenophobe, among other traits, to boot. And as for Candidate Clinton, could anybody have been more out of sync with the popular mood of the country? History’s verdict on her will not be kind. Tapping into America’s angst For Donald Trump, the road from Trump Taj Mahal, the failed casino, via numerous Trump Towers, to the White House has been a long and winding one that he negotiated as a self-propelled wayfarer, with little or no faith being placed by the world on his ability to achieve his ambitious goal. On the journey, he captured the mood of the “unprotected” classes among the American people, their anger, frustration and disillusionment with the government in Washington, and he became the messenger for that mood of America. The country thus saw a presidential candidate who called his campaign a “movement” in near-messianic mode — a movement whose slogan was “Make America Great Again”, offering the angry multitudes hope for the future.

There was no ideology here, no overflowing of new and revolutionary ideas, but only simplistic, repetitive incantations about how his competitor, Hillary Clinton, was corrupt and ineffectual, that the legacy of the Obama administration, especially Obamacare, needed reversal, that immigration required to be checked and reversed, and that Muslim entry into the U.S. should be rigorously monitored and even prevented. In all this, he tapped into the mother lode of basic grievances of the wide swathe of white Americans, particularly the non-college educated, rural, blue-collar population. It was Brexit on the other side of the Atlantic. “Something has happened. It is revolutionary”: these were the comments describing the events of the evening of November 8 in what has turned out to be the biggest political upset in U.S. election history. Mr. Trump’s acceptance speech has been described as inclusive and humble, he promised to bind the wounds of the nation as also promising respect for and friendship with other countries. “I want to tell the world community that while we will always put America’s interests first, we will deal fairly with everyone... all people and all other nations,” he said after his victory. Only time will tell whether his promises to the people of his country and the world will be fulfilled. But looking at the map of the U.S., populated

in the red of the Republican Party, with the groundswell of popular will being expressed in favour of Mr. Trump, it is difficult to deny the fact that a legitimate victory has been won. The Democratic Party’s “blue wall” came crumbling down today, and with both Houses of Congress being largely Republican too, one sees the party of Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy shrunken. The legacy of President Barack Obama is also jeopardised as Mr. Trump has long expressed his determination to undo it. Foreign policy of a Trump presidency The Trump administration’s foreign policy will be of special interest and relevance globally. Mr. Trump’s vision of America in the World is yet to be spelt out in any granularity, and while he is expected to appoint seasoned and experienced individuals to his team, going by his campaign pronouncements, the Iran nuclear deal will go under the scanner (whether it will be reversed is the question) and America’s alliance relationships in Europe and Asia will be scrutinised more closely. His Democratic Party opponents have long stressed that Mr. Trump questions basic premises of U.S. strategic and security policy in place since 1945. In their view, the American Century will change with Mr. Trump coming to power. Continued on Page 7

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Mar Thoma parish in Texas likely to build center in Houston There are about nine parishes with 2500 families in Texas that will be involved. There is a similar center in Oklahoma, he mentioned. Besides the center, they also plan to expand the programs in Houston to benefit other communities. What are the program and initiatives that Houston parish is involved in?

Rt. Rev. Dr.Isaac Mar Philoxenos, Bishop, Mar Thoma Church, Diocese of North America and Europe. (Photos by Shobana Muratee)

“The parish has many programs, like the Immediate Neighborhood program involving the youth to reach out to the people in need. Last Saturday (Oct. 28) about 80 families from neighboring places shared fellowship, giving them supplies,” he said. In another program called The Native American Mission. “We encourage local churches to reach out to those areas where the Native Americans are living, be with them, interact with them expressing love through words, visit them at home, and provide food and things they need,”

a fisherman community. “It is a Mar Thoma colony called Colonia Marthoma, where 37 families are now living,” he told us. “There is dire need involving senior citizens, especially in smaller communities where they have language and cultural issues. They cannot go to facilities like assisted living so they stay home.” Is there a program that you envisioned for the senior of your parishes? “This is one need that we felt and discussed. How to organize it is one area we are looking into,” he said. The Bishop mentioned that he visited Dallas where there is an assisted living program or similar programs. “We are trying to get in that sort of thing along with them (other organizations) or separately. Are you here for fund raising or initiating a program? “I’m here only to visit and understand the needs,” he said.

by Shobana Muratee

OUSTON, Monday, Oct 31 - Rt. Rev. Dr. Isaac Mar Philoxenos, the new Diocesan Bishop of the Mar Thoma Church of North America and Europe is on an Episcopal visit to Houston from October 21 onwards. “In the 12 days I’ve been in Houston, I visited the two parishes: Trinity Marthoma and of Immanuel Mar Thoma Church, and also visited other places like Michigan, and had a day visit to Mexico,” he said in an exclusive interview with Voice of Asia. It is only six months since Bishop Mar Philoxenos (or Tirumeni as he is called by Malayalee parish members) officially took charge on April 1, 2016 and since has been visiting the parishes in different areas before coming to Houston, he told us. He is currently living in New York. He succeeds former Bishop Rt. Rev. Dr. Ghee Varghese Mar Theodosius who served for seven years. In Houston, what are the demands that grab your attention? What’s your vision for Houston? “Houston is a growing place for the Mar Thoma community. The community is well-settled and they have a lot of ecumenical programs and interchurch activities.” About the needs he said that the diocese is planning to have a center built in Houston to involve all

During his visit he said that they discussed two important needs with the diocesan council: a senior care home and a study center to help the young members of the church. “Here the youth can read and learn about the culture of India, the richness of its heritage. In other words you keep the values of life that you inherited from your culture and adopt the goodness of this land, learning how to integrate both while contributing to the life of the community and society.” How do you draw a parallel with the youth in India and the youth here?

he explained. The Bishop said he had visited a similar programs in Chicago where he stayed with the youth for a day and in Oklahoma he visited Native Americans. During his visit here, Bishop Mar Philoxenos made a one-day visit to Mexico where they have an ongoing rehabilitation program. This mission was started many years ago involving building houses for the coastal people,

What are the challenges? “Bringing everyone together,” he put it simply. Bishop Mar Philoxenos also mentioned that there are many pressing issues especially for children and seniors. “We are not well-equipped (in terms of expertise and resources) at the moment and cannot jump into all the programs. We can collaborate with other agencies or organizations that do the same thing”. The church is already doing this in India, he said. His message is that everything is achievable however big or small; “Do little, do it better.” Rt. Rev. Issac Mar Philoxenos was ordained as Bishop on Oct. 2, 1993. Prior to which he was serving the Syrian Mar Thoma church in Kerala, South India. He was given charge of the Mumbai/Delhi Diocese Mar Thoma churches until 2001. From 2001 -2008 December he was in-charge of Kotayyam/Kochi Diocese in Kerala and from 2009 January onwards in Chennai/ Bangalore Diocese. Bishop Mar Philoxenos was in North America earlier, as a student in Princeton University during 1985-86 and completed his Masters in Theology there.

India Culture Center GB and Elections Announcement

L-R: Koshy Thomas, Publisher Voice of Asia, Bishop Mar Philoxenos, and Vicar Rev. Johnson T, Immanuel Mar Thoma Church in Houston. the parishes in the Texas region. “It would be a central place and from there we can concentrate more on the spiritual life of the community, concentrate on programs that will enhance the fellowship of the community. Also we seek to help the youth, women, children and the senior members of the community to become more active in the church, as well as organize themselves to improve their social and spiritual life.”

“Youth have a tendency to ask questions. To some extent in India, they try to keep the contact with the church where they ask questions and receive clarifications. They want to maintain ties and relationship with church and family. But here it is much easier for them to move away from the church much more freedom. Individual attitude is good but family ties and community life is very important,” he said.

India Culture Center Houston (ICC) will be holding its Annual General Body Meeting followed by Elections on Sunday December 4th 2016 at 2pm at India House, 8888 West Bellfort Houston TX 77031. All Life Members & Annual (2016) Members are requested to attend the same. For any details reach President Rajiv Bhavsar 281-2177330 or visit www.icchoustontx.org

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Q: I am currently in removal court proceedings. I am married to a US Citizen and we have two children. I came here to the United States illegally and was placed in removal proceedings because of my illegal entry. My husband’s I-130 Petition for Alien Relative was approved and so was my I-601A waiver for unlawful presence. The National Visa Center has scheduled for me to have my Immigrant Visa interview at the US Consulate in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Can I just leave and attend the interview in Honduras? What happens to my Immigration removal proceedings? A: Before leaving the United States to attend your scheduled Immigrant Visa interview, you must file a Motion To Terminate Removal Proceedings. The removal case must be terminated before you can leave the United States to attend the interview overseas. I advise that you contact an immigration attorney to assist you in filing the Motion To Terminate with the Immigration Court. The attorney can also advise whether you will need to inform the consulate as to the status of your case and if necessary, request to reschedule the interview at the US Consulate until the case at the Immigration Court has been terminated. Q:

I was placed in re-

moval proceedings last year and had already retained an attorney. I do not like that attorney and wish to retain another lawyer. Can I do this? A: Yes, it I never too late to substitute your attorney with one whom you feel more comfortable with. The new attorney will file a Motion To Substitute Counsel with the court. The court will have discretion to grant the motion. Typically, such motions are often granted. I am in immigration removal proceedings and my next Master Calendar hearing has been scheduled for November 2019. I just converted to Christianity and wish to file an asylum application Pro Se with the Immigration Court. What do I do? I heard that in order to file an asylum application at the immigration court, I have to physically give it to the judge at the hearing. A: The immigration court is now accepting asylum applications by mail or you may file at the window. You do not have to wait for until your next Master Calendar Hearing to give to the Judge. Please adhere to the Immigration Court Practice Manual for compliance with court filings and service on DHS/ICE requirements. For cases like yours, you are expected to file within a reasonable time of your changed circumstance. 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. 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.

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in the Immigration Court Practice Manual. Include at the top of the Motion Cover page that it is Pro Se (you are representing yourself) and again, do not forget to include a Certificate of Service to DHS/ICE at the back of the Motion. Mail the original signed Motion and a copy of that Motion to the court. The original is for the court file and the copy is for the court to stamp as proof of your filing which they will mail back to you. Include a self-addressed envelope for the court to mail that copy back to you. Do not forget to mail another copy of the Motion to ICE/DHS with jurisdiction over your case. If you retain an immigration attorney to assist, the attorney will assist you with all this necessary paperwork as filing with the Immigration Court can be a little too complicated to do it yourself especially if you do not know what kind of format is needed for the Motion and you may not know where to serve the documents for DHS/ ICE.

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VOICE OF ASIA

VOICE OF ASIA 5

FRIDAY, November 11, 2016

FORT BEND VIEW Email: voiceasia@aol.com

Tel: 713-774-5140

Illegal game room shut down New Zone Game Room raid yields arrest

UGAR LAND - An illegal game room was raided and an employee at the business was arrested Wednesday in Fort Bend County. Deputies armed with a search warrant went to the New Zone Game Rom at 9750 South Highway 6 in Sugar Land, according to the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office. Tai Dac Vuong (Photo: FB Co. Sheriff’)

Deputies said 66-year-old Tai Dac Vuong, of Houston, was arrested and charged with gambling promotion, a

Class A misdemeanor. Also, the business has been issued a notice of permit revocation, which prevents it from operating in the county. The game room, deputies said, is the fifth to be closed in the county in the last five weeks.

www.voiceofasiaonline.com

Post office renamed after fallen Marine

.S. Rep. Pete Olson, RTexas, dedicated a post office in Sugar Land to fallen Marine Lance Corporal Garrett Gamble last week.

“We will continue to work tirelessly on keeping these illegal game rooms out of Fort Bend County,” said Sheriff Troy Nehls. “More often than not, other more severe illegal activities are associated with illegal gambling.”

Sugar Land Legacy Foundation call for inaugural Legacy Award nominations

UGAR LAND – The Sugar Land Office of Economic Development is partnering with the Sugar Land Legacy Foundation to recognize individuals and businesses that have made a significant, lasting impact on economic development and overall prosperity in the City.

tion was created by the Sugar Land City Council in 2010 to assist in the development of City-owned capital projects and to promote community investment in facilities and activities that enhance the long-term prosperity and quality of life for Sugar Land residents.

The nomination deadline for the first-ever Sugar Land Legacy Awards is Nov. 30. Recipients will be honored during a business appreciation luncheon on December 16 at the Smart Financial Centre at Sugar Land, one of the first such events at the iconic live entertainment venue.

Past projects from the Sugar Land Legacy Foundation include the Remembrance Tower and Honor and Remember engraved brick pavers located within the Veterans Memorial area at Sugar Land Memorial Park, the universally accessible playground in Sugar Land’s First Colony Park, Eldridge Park Trail improvements, City Park skate park enhancements and memorial, and the installation of several sculptures throughout Sugar Land. The foundation focuses on “planned giving opportunities” that do not compete with the fundraising efforts of Fort Bend County’s many charitable organizations.

The Sugar Land Legacy Foundation Board of Directors will select recipients from nominations based on their commitment, business experience, tenure, service and leadership in Sugar Land. “The Foundation is pleased to be a part of the first ever Sugar Land Legacy Awards” said Sugar Land Legacy Foundation President Sunil Sharma. “We look forward to celebrating the achievements of these recipients and applaud their commitment to our community. It’s only fitting that we’re holding this event at a venue that will be unlike any other in the region.” The Sugar Land Legacy Founda-

Since its creation in 1999, the Sugar Land Office of Economic Development has worked with numerous corporations and developers to expand, construct improvements, or relocate to Sugar Land. “Thanks to our corporate community, Sugar Land has been able to maintain a pro-business climate and fam-

given their lives in defense of America, but we can say thank you for his selfless commitment on behalf of our liberty,” Olson said. “Now when Sugar Land residents visit this post office, they will see his name and learn of his sacrifice. This gesture is one small way we can say thank you to Garret’s family for raising a strong, honorable Marine. Garrett Gamble is a true hero. On behalf of a grateful nation, we say thank you.”

ily-oriented quality of life, attracting everything from Fortune 500 companies to startups,” said City Manager Allen Bogard. “The City is an economic powerhouse within the Houston region, and the companies we’re recognizing have been an important part of our success. Our proactive efforts to ensure a strong economy help pay for the quality services our residents expect and supports one of the lowest tax rates in the state.”

Gamble was killed on March 11, 2010, while patrolling during combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was a 2008 graduate of Stephen F. Austin High in Sugar Land. Several members of the Sugar Land community attended the post office renaming.

The City of Sugar Land has achieved its sustainable, strong local economy through an aggressive, focused economic development program that creates opportunities for new business investment and jobs. Sugar Land now has more than 64,500 jobs and is home to high-profile regional and international corporations housed in more than 25 million square feet of commercial space, including more than 15 Fortune 500 companies with a significant presence. Further, Sugar Land’s assessed commercial valuation has more than doubled in just over a decade—increasing by over $2 billion.

No smoking = no vaping in Missouri City

For more information on the event or to make a nomination, visit www. sugarlandecodev.com/legacy or contact the Office of Economic Development at (281) 275-2229 or ecodev@ sugarlandtx.gov.

“America can never repay our debt to Garrett Gamble and all who have

f you find yourself in a place where you cannot light up a cigarette in Missouri City, you may as well leave the electronic cigarette at home, too.

The use of electronic cigarettes and vaping devices is now banned anywhere smoking is prohibited in the city of Missouri City, in accordance with a recently amended city ordinance. The ordinance defines electronic cigarettes and expanded the definition of smoking to include the use of the devices, thus enforcing the use of electronic cigarettes in the same way as other cigarettes.

The Olson bill, H.R. 4877 renames the U.S. Post Office located at 3130 Grants Lake Boulevard in Sugar Land, as the “LCpl Garrett W. Gamble, USMC Post Office Building.” Every member of the Texas congressional delegation was a cosponsor of the bill, which was signed into law by the President on July 29, 2016.

Members of the Fort Bend Community Prevention Coalition (FBCPC) requested the amendment, bringing their concerns to the attention of Missouri City Councilman Chris Preston. He ultimately proposed the changes to the city’s ordinance, which were adopted in July of 2016. Tobacco Free Fort Bend Coalition also supported the effort, attending council meetings to discuss the dangers of vaping. “We take pride in this change, and want to thank Councilman Preston for his commitment and passion throughout this process,” said FBCPC Coalition Coordinator Payal Patani.

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COMMUNITY

VOICE OF ASIA 6

Chinmaya Prabha sparkles on Dipavali

FRIDAY, November 11, 2016

Sugar Land great harvest bread launches the National Bread Challenge

Photo courtesy: Great Harvest Bread Co.

Local bakery accepting loaf trade-ins to improve U.S. bread diet

Acharya Gaurang Nanavati and temple priest perform puja while devotees participate at the Chinmaya Mission of Houston during Dipavali celebration. Photo credit: Jayesh Mistry by Padmashree Rao

UGAR LAND - The Hindu festival of lights, Dipavali, is as much a time of joyful celebration, family gathering, and social cheer, as it is a time for reflection, prayers, and deep gratitude. And, such a happily auspicious blend marked Dipavali 2016 in Chinmaya Prabha Houston when almost 800 families congregated on October 30th to brighten the surroundings with loving wishes, heartfelt prayers, and deep gratitude. The festive spirit unfolded beautifully from weeks before, when hundreds of volunteers from each of the many teams united to usher in that cherished Dipavali glow in a land so far away from Mother India. With the transforming magic of their seva, Chinmaya Prabha wore a more glorious look – the decorative lamps and colorful rangolis lit up the premises with

bright, happy hues; the flowers and exquisite decorations that adorned the beautiful deities in both Saumyakasi Sivalaya and the special altar in Chinmaya Smriti captured all eyes and hearts. The fragrance of an auspicious festival overpowered other feelings of drudgery. The crisp autumn air almost shone with the warm enthusiasm that enveloped all – the young and the old – unfolding the great excitement of the communal Dipavali celebration. Against such a backdrop of Dipavali 2016, it was a sight to behold when many rows of families sat together to perform the Laksmi Ashtottara-sata nama puja and Sri Visnu-sahasranama Puja to invoke the prosperity of good values and prostrate to the Omniscient Supreme One beyond all names and forms. Before Sri Ganeshji, the priest of Saumyakasi Sivalaya, began conducting the

puja, Acarya Sri Gaurang Nanavaty shared his Dipavali message for this year. He asked all to reflect on ways to overcome the darkness of ignorance; if ignorance did not vanish in the light of true Knowledge, Dipavali would remain just an external celebration every year. True happiness, as symbolized by Lord Rama, can only reign and rule in Ayodhya, where hearts were undivided by pettiness. Thus, Sri Acarya turned everyone’s attention to the true significance of lighting our lives with all goodness. He motivated every spiritual aspirant to be alert enough to diligently replace any dark negative feeling with a positive attitude of compassionate understanding that brightened not just individual lives, but the whole world. Conveying his Dipavali greetings and New Year wishes to everyone, Acarya Gaurangbhai also pointed out how the ever-shining Light of Knowl-

edge is a priceless gift from the glorious Guru Parampara. He offered his prostrations to the Chinmaya Guru Parampara and said that the Guru Dakshina tradition at Chinmaya Prabha is an offering of gratitude to not just the Acaryas of Houston, but the entire Chinmaya tradition of learning. After his address, the huge Chinmaya family of Houston performed the Dipavali puja with ardent harmonious devotion. At the conclusion of the puja, when the rows of hundreds of families offered their aratis and walked to offer their pranams to both God and the Guru Parampara, the true spirit of Dipavali came to Light! Hari Om! For more information on Chinmaya Mission Houston and its activities visit www. chinmayahouston.org or Jay Deshmukh 832-541-0059.

UGAR LAND - On a mission to improve daily bread diets in the United States, Great Harvest Bread Co. has launched its National Bread Challenge. The goal of this campaign is to increase awareness of the nation’s need for fresh, made-from-scratch bread in daily diets, rather than generic, processed supermarket bread that most consume. Each customer who walks into the Sugar Land store can trade a loaf bread that is processed or not from Great Harvest Bread—even if it has already been opened—and exchange it for a loaf of fresh, high-quality, handmade bread from Great Harvest Bread. They want consumers to experience

Bread. The Way it Ought To Be™. Since its inception 40 years ago, Great Harvest Bread has continued to use the same stone-milling process to make bread. This milling is what sets its bread apart from the processed products Sugar Land residents have grown accustomed to. Each morning, every location uses wheat berries from the Golden Triangle in Montana and simple ingredients—such as whole-wheat flour, water, yeast, salt and honey— to create its wide array of bread options. Each loaf that is traded in as well as all unused Great Harvest Bread will be donated to local food banks and charities, including Fort Bend Food Pantry.

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COMMUNITY

VOICE OF ASIA 7

rya Samaj Houston celebrated Diwali Sat 5th Nov evening in a grand manner as a fitting tribute to its founder Maharshi Dayanand Sarasvati who breathed his last on the Diwali evening of 1883 - one light vanished to ignite millions of lights. The evening began with a Havan followed by a brief message from Acharya Surya Nanda. He reminded the audience to bring light in the homes of underprivileged and that sense of nobility is possible if we dispel inner darkness by the light of wisdom - Tamaso Ma JyotirGamaya. Appropriately, Arya Samaj began its Food Bank collection drive that evening, a noble project for the local com-

Diwali at Arya Samaj of Houston

Students of DAV Montessori School and the Sunday School (DAV Sanskriti School) presented songs and dance. Photos vy Vishal Mittal.

The 2-hour cultural evening followed with the Indian Consul General Dr. Anupam Ray as the chief guest. The children of their DAV Montessori School and the Sunday School (DAV Sanskriti School) presented an array of songs and dance to highlight the festive occasion. Dr. Ray spoke about the contributions of Maharshi Dayanand and Arya Samaj in India and abroad. He congratulated the team of Arya Samaj Houston to be bold enough to serve the community with the only Indian elementary school. He instilled a sense of legitimate pride in all of us by reeling out data to prove that India is a rising global power. His inspiring words ended with the universal prayer of Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah - may the entire humanity be happy! The grand finale of the

Nov. Thunderbolt Continued from Page 2 However, American institutions and the American system will constrain him and are expected to prevail over ad hoc or impulsive tendencies in the new President. But more importantly, potential crises situations are not alleviated because of a Trump victory. The Asian amphitheatre The pivot or rebalancing to Asia announced by Secretary of State Clinton in a speech in Chennai in 2011 was never fully elucidated or effectively deployed by the Obama administration. The Trans-Pacific Part-

cultural event was the orchestra played by a team of 11 teenagers playing different instruments in perfect harmony, both Indian and western, in tribute to Maharshi Suraj ban jisne door kiya papon ka ghor andhera. Vah dev guru hai mera, Vah dev Dayanand mera! All in the audience, particularly the children rushed outside of the main hall for another couple of hours of fun-filled Diwali Mela in open air with food stalls, play area, raffle, face painting and fireworks. All activities and food were prepared by the volunteers of Arya Samaj and its schools. Finally, the overall decoration was most eye-catching!

Outdoor food stalls were a part of the Diwali Mela.

Children rejoicing in the play area at the Arya Samaj. munity undertaken by the Arya Samaj for several years.

FRIDAY, November 11, 2016

nership trade arrangement will be another aborted deal since the Trump government will not support it or take it forward because, in his view, free trade deals have destroyed workingclass America. A challenge for the new President will also be how to pursue a more stable and intelligent relationship with a militaristic China that sees diminished U.S. economic power and military capability as an opportunity to advance its territorial claims in maritime Asia. Mr. Trump is a proclaimed opponent of terrorism and his approach to Pakistan and its support of terror groups will be no-nonsense and adversarial. His policy and attitude to India is expected to be positive and welcoming, continuing the trends and direction in the rela-

tionship established over the last decade. His ties with the Indian-American community and his general view that “India is doing great” suggest that he is well inclined to further cement the India-U.S. partnership. Immigration into the U.S. is a pet peeve for Mr. Trump. It remains to be seen how he will tackle the issue (he has made draconian promises to build a wall on the Mexican border and also deport immigrants) because there is widespread resentment at the grass roots in the country to foreign immigrants with the focus during the campaign on Mexico and the numbers of Mexicans in the U.S. (It is not acknowledged that the number of Mexicans entering the country has gone

down from 2009 onwards.) India and its diaspora There are numbers of Indian and Chinese recent immigrants or new entrants into the U.S. whose status may be called into question. The issue of H-1B visas for IT professionals from India has been a vexed one also in recent years mainly due to nativist politics practised in the U.S. Congress by both Democrats and Republicans. The American President-elect is generally not acquainted with the salient details of the India-U.S. strategic partnership. Among these, the issue of India’s entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group remains unresolved and the continued advocacy, support and diplomatic

push required from the U.S. for the Indian case will be critical for its satisfactory resolution. At the earliest opportunity, it will be advisable for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take the initiative to reach out to Mr. Trump so that the American President-elect is sensitised to the strategic interests that bind India and the U.S., and the multifaceted nature of the relationship between the two nations including its regional and global relevance. The ‘golden hour’ to do this may be even before the inauguration of the new President in January 2017. Nirupama Rao, a former Foreign Secretary, was also Ambassador of India to the United States.

COMMUNITY

VOICE OF ASIA 8

AZ CREATIONZ, known for their creative ways of showcasing fashion and talent as a means to connect communities, took their mission to a higher level when they held a benefit Elite Halloween Fashion and Dance extravaganza on October 23, benefitting Houston Broad Based Community Center (HBBCC), a non-profit org, empowering youth of minority, disadvantaged, violent, troubled, neglected and at risk between the ages eight to 18 years.

FRIDAY, November 11, 2016

Jaz Creationz presents:

Elite Halloween Fashion And Dance Extravaganza

Jasmeeta Singh, CEO and founder of Jaz Creationz, and a Vice President HBBCC said that her company Jaz Creationz whose mission is “Building bridges within the communities through fashion and culture,” this time it was to help troubled youth. “It was an opportunity to turn their lives around. Help them grow within; help them have confidence and security. In order to do that, we believe that we must understand the challenges facing all youth today; then understand the challenges facing youth we serve; and then rigorously assess the effectiveness of the services we provide,” she said. As the Show Producer and Creative Director, Jasmeeta Singh said that Jaz Creationz endorsed her company’s support to empower PUNCH, a program for the troubled youth of Houston managed by HBBCC. She urged the guest to generously help the youth, “From being a victim to be victorious, your compassion will soar and uplift low selfesteem, you can be the healers of invisible injuries,” she said. Singh thanked her team committee comprising of Anil Rana, Jasleen Kaur, Lisa Savage, Divya Singh, Scott Hebert, Haroon Mugal, Bobby Kaur and Niharika. She extended her thanks also to Jai Jallan, Kiran Khurana, Gurmeet Kindra, Jagtar Thetty and Sara Douglas. Halloween Fashion and Dance showcased the work of designers: Envy Couture by Anil Rana whose couture line carries elegant and sophisticated evening gowns from top designers in the fashion indus-

Models on the runway during Halloween Fashion show.

One of the models displaying designer ghagra-choli during the fashion show. try. Rana opened the show with the theme “Once Upon A Time”, a dramatic Fashion presentation inspired by Fairy Tales, conceptualized, styled and choreographed by him. Trang Tram presented American Bridal Couture, Hamza Designs presented African American designs, Designs by Sippy showcased Indo American Fusion design, Fashion Kali & Amy Jewels showed high fashion Jewelry, GuyZNStyle gave a glimpse into their Ready to Wear High couture Men’s line and Sapna Boutique showed their Indian Formal Men’s collection. The models were trained and choreographed by Jasmeeta Singh. Platinum Sponsors included: Danny Posey from Audi Central Houston through, Amir Ali

Dhodhiya from New York Life Insurance and Mala Makela from Infodat. Silver Sponsors were: FS Group, Focus Merchant Services, SDB The group, Jasleen Kaur Photography, HUMFM 106.1, American Consultants former A1 media. And Patron Sponsors: Bombay Sweets, Mr. Arun and Mrs. Sangeeta Pasrija, Universal Surgical Associates, ICC, Mr. and Mrs. Divya and Gautam, Dr. Ashima and Anand Chauhan, Health life 360 Mature Associates, Mr. and Mrs David Mincberg, Mr. and Mrs. Kenny and Ann Friedman, and Treasure Trunk by Simran Kapoor. Performers of the evening were Vincent Powel, American Idol finalist, Leyla Cantu - La Bruja (The Witch) Day

Jaz Creationz owner Jasmeeta Singh with sponsor Amir Ali Dhodhiya (far rt),and models of the death performance, Indo American Fusion Dance- Directed by Jasmeeta Singh and Michael Jackson Thriller Dances by Impersonator Danny Andrew Dash. The exotic decor was done by Deco Art, decorators Aslam Jivani and Abdul. The program was emceed by

Gina Gaston, Channel 13 news anchor and Larry Payne, HCCTV producer and host Dialogue Houston. Other appreciated for their service were food sponsors: Amar of Indo European Food, Wakhana, Ashiana restaurants. Air n U Cool sponsored bottled water.

An impressive list of attendees included: honorable Consul Generals of different countries, Fashion Houston Jared Lang, Miss Jamaica, Miss Houston Linda Fuentes, Miss, Mrs. and Teen Bollywood and Jaz Model of the Year, Miss Shital Patil.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s 141st birth anniversary celebration at India House

Consul General of India in Houston, Dr. Anupam Ray delivering his address on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Photos by: Bijay Dixit.

unique in this soil (India), which despite many obstacles has always remained the abode of great souls”. Dr. Ray also mentioned that he owed his service to Sardar Patel. He was instrumental in introducing the civil services in the country. Though there

Chittranjan Desai to the Consulate General of India, and to the India House Library on this occasion. Kul Bhushan Uppal recalled Patel’s great role in India’s freedom struggle and his unique contribution in achieving the integration of different princely states in India.

Dr. Virendra Mathur addressing the gathering at India House.

was opposition to the civil services, Valabhbhai propounded and supported it. A documentary on Vallabh-

A section of the audience at India House during Sardar Patel’s birth anniversary celebrations.

“Today, India from Kashmir to Kanyakumari is under one flag... all credit goes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel” – Prime Minister Modi. India House, Houston celebrated the 141st birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on Friday. The birthday is being celebrated as Rashtriya Ekta Divas (National Unity Day) to honor the contribution of Sardar Patel in safeguarding and protecting the territorial integrity as well as the unity and diversity of the nation. Members of the Indian Diaspora were present in large number at India House to remember the leader, popularly known as the Iron man of India. Sardar Vallabhbhai

Patel was an Indian barrister, a statesman, and one of the founding fathers of the Republic of India. He played a leading role in the Indian freedom struggle and became the first deputy prime minister and home minister of Independent India. Dr. Virendra Mathur, trustee of India House welcomed everyone present to India House and provided excellent background of Vallabhbhai Patel. Dr. Mathur stated that Vallabbhai Patel was a social leader who played a leading role in achieving India’s freedom and guided its integration into a united, independent nation.

This was followed by an address by the Consul General of India in Houston, Dr. Anupam Ray. In his speech, Dr. Ray spoke of five major traits that set Vallabhbhai Patel apart from other politicians. The highest on the list was his commitment to the nation and his strong character. We owe to the sterling efforts by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in ensuring that a partitioned India remained a united and strong nation, said Dr. Ray. The land where an ordinary person can become first home minister, and where an ordinary poor worker can become India’s prime minister, exemplify the greatness of India, said Dr. Ray. Vallabhbhai had said “There is something

bhai Patel was played, which was very attentively viewed by all present at India House. Aku Patel presented the books on Sardar Patel written by Dr.

The program ended with people mingling and enjoying refreshments served by India House. Executive Director of India House thanked everyone for participating in the event. For updated information on program and services offered at India House please visit www.indiahouseinc.org

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COMMUNITY

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FRIDAY, November 11, 2016

Bhoomi Puja at Sri Meenakshi Temple for the Corner Temples Renovation Project and Skanda Shashti Utsavam celebrations

Consul General Anupam Ray at Sri Meenakshi Temple Society addressing the attendees. by Chairman S. Narayanan Photos Lakshminarayanan Setty, Srini Sundarrajan and Milind Patil

EARLAND Sri Meenakshi Temple Society (MTS) celebrated on Sunday November 6, the Bhoomi puja (Ground breaking ceremony) for the Corner Temples renovation Project (CTRP). The CTRP project includes expanding and connecting all the four Corner Temples, as well as connecting the Rajagopuram and the Main Temple. The project includes South and North connecting Mandapams that will house Hindu saints Alwargal and Nayanmargal. The CTRP Project is expected to be completed by August of 2017 and upon completion will have both Nayanmargal and Alwargal under one roof which will be a unique feature for our Temple in the World. The divine blessing was already felt with an unbelievably perfect weather through the ceremony prior to turning into a rainy day. On the previous day (Saturday November 5th) MTS saw the celebration of the final day of Skanda Shashti Utsavam.

The Puja was done at Murugan Sannidhi with a beautiful alankaram. It was an awesome sight to watch the Murugan procession with the Mayil (Peacock) Vahanam. MTS board thanked the coordinators of the Skanda Shashti event T.A. Dorairajan and Murugan Selvan, The evening prior to the Bhoomi Puja day, November 5th also marked the invocatory Anugnai puja which was conducted at the Ganesh temple. Early morning of Sunday November 6th the devotees gathered to participate in the Ganapathi Homam, invoking Lord Ganesha, the remover of all obstacles. After the Homam and Abhishekam for Prasanna Ganapathi, Devotees took procession to the auspicious Northeast corner of the Main Temple complex to start the Bhoomi Puja. The Puja commenced with Sankalpam, Vigneswara Puja followed by Punyahavachanam (sprinkling of Holy water) followed by the Bhoomi Puja. MTS’s own Vedic Heritage School children provided a beautiful addition with the rendition of songs and slokas.

The families of Sri Meenakshi Temple priests initiated the start of the Bhoomi Puja. The distinguished visitors, Honorable Indian Consul General (CG) Sri Anupam Ray, Honorable Pearland Mayor Tom Reid were at the top of the queue of the gathered devotees. Upon participating in the Puja, the CG and the Mayor thanked the gathered devotees for inviting them to be part of the historical occasion, while congratulating the growth that MTS has seen over the years and its important role in Houston. The atmosphere was very festive with the hundreds of devotees gathered, all very Happy to be part of this historic project with plenty of photo opportunities. After all the devotees took part in the ceremony, the Utsava Murthy Ganesha was carried by devotees on a procession to all four corner Mandapams and to the Main Temple. Aarati was done at Maha Ganapathi, Ayyappa, Murugan, Ramar Parivar, Anjaneya, Radha Krishna, Durga, Jothi, Kannika Parameswari, Nataraja, Bairavar, Navagraha, Siva, Meenakshi, Venkateswara and Padmavathi. Hon. Consul General Anupam Ray and Mayor Tom Reid

Consular Camp in San Antonio, Texas on Saturday, 10 December 2016 Consular Camp in Austin, Texas on Sunday, 11 December 2016 Consular Camp in Houston (Sri Meenakshi Temple) on Saturday, 19 November 2016 - Consulate General of India Houston Texas, USA (Official website)

Trump’s joy is Obama’s pain:... Continued from Page 1 rebral and optimistic president failed to understand a large slice of the American electorate and appreciate their reflexes, fears and concerns. Indeed, it would seem Obama has failed to take the pulse of this other America, a world of working class whites who felt they have been left in the lurch amid rapid fire change from globalization and an increasingly multicultural society. Over the short term, Obama, whose approval ratings remain high as he prepares to leave office in January, might well ask what will even be left of his legacy after a Trump administration. Trump has promised to scrap or overhaul many of Obama’s signature initiatives, such as the health care plan that bears his name, the battle against climate change and the Paris accord of 2015, and the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

guy. Can’t do that! Can’t do that!’ Obama said in Las Vegas a few days ago. At the political and human levels, it is hard to imagine two people more different than Obama and Trump. This means their world view but also their views on women - Trump was accused during the campaign of sexual misconduct - family, money and institutions, and even their style, the way they speak and the words they use. Obama, the son of a Kenyan father and an American mother, forged a path that led him to Columbia and Harvard. Trump inherited money from his family and developed a real estate empire centered on hotels and casinos. He has boasted about paying as little as possible in taxes. Obama is an intellectual who likes intricately reasoned discourse, at times to a fault. Trump is a businessman who speaks his mind in blasts of short, aggressive and sometimes vulgar phrases.

Obama has stated adamantly that Trump, criticized as a loose gun on everything from foreign policy to his treatment of women, is a danger to democracy.

‘Democracy itself’ is at stake in the election, Obama said recently as he lashed out at Trump.

‘We can’t afford the other

‘Civility is on the ballot,’

Obama added. ‘Tolerance is on the ballot. Courtesy is on the ballot. Honesty is on the ballot. Equality is on the ballot. Kindness is on the ballot.’ Obama had personal reasons to try to stop Trump. In 2011, Trump was not yet a candidate for the White House but had displayed a taste for the limelight, controversy and conspiracy theories. For months, he fueled the socalled ‘birther’ movement that questioned whether Obama had been born on US soil and was thus eligible to be president. An exasperated Obama called this nonsense and held a press conference to show off his birth certificate. He was born in Hawaii. A few days later, at the White House Correspondents Dinner, attended by Trump, Obama cheerfully said what he thought of Trump. ‘No one is happier, no one is prouder to put this birth certificate matter to rest than the Donald,’ Obama said. ‘And that’s because he can finally get back to focusing on the issues that matter –- like, did we fake the moon landing?’ Just over five years later, Obama is getting ready to give up the White House to his former foil.

Pearland Mayor Tom Reid partaking in the Ground breaking ceremony at MTS.

Devotees during Bhoomi Puja at the Sri Meenakshi Temple released the 2017 MTS calendar. The calendar came out very nicely thanks to the MTS team made up of Vice Chairman Padmini Nathan, Secretary GN. Prasad with C. Vijayarajan coordinating the publication; the beautiful photos were by Srini Sundararajan. Treasurer Sasid-

haran Pillai announced the impressive fundraising total of eight hundred thousand dollars to date. All the devotees were happy to participate in the puja for all the twenty five deities in Meenakshi temple on a single day. The Chairman thanked all the priests, Staff, Board and

Advisory Council Members and Fundraising Committee Members for their hard work and enthusiasm clearly felt already for the commencement of the project. After the Puja, delicious lunch was served to all the devotees at the youth center.

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FRIDAY, November 11, 2016

Ram Leela Play Returns With Exotic Splendor

City of Stafford Mayor, Leonard Scarcella with Dr. Arun Verma, Founder, hri Sita Ram Foundation. Photos by Bijay Dixit.

TAFFORD - Right after the very successful celebration of DiwaliDussehra Festival on the 15th Oct. 2016, which was truly a spectacular event ; perhaps the best event to date at Skeeters stadium per Matt Thompson of Skeeter’s management team, the Ram Leela Play by Shri Sita Ram Foundation was presented in its true glorious form this past Sunday at a packed Stafford Center. “ I must admit I have not seen a better community event promoting Sri Ram on such a grand scale in my 40 plus years in Houston!”; the play on 6th Nov. brought similar sentiments from the audience,” Radha Dixit described her experience. Similar accolades were received from several other Hindu leaders on the event. This was the seventh year that Shri Sita Ram Foundation has presented this play to enthrall and educate Houstonians about the true moral values and Dharma, which is the foundation of our rich and ancient Vedic culture. Not satisfied with presenting the eternal story of Lord Ram at the Skeeters stadium with its swelling crowds of 10,000 people; each year the Foundation presents it a second time in its true spiritual and artistic form in a major professional theatre in the Bayou City , to inspire Houstonians with values of what a perfect life ought to be. This year, the play had a fresh format and was presented as drama that was more engaging and true to the form that it originated about 500 years back soon after Sant Tulsidas created the now famous and wide read Ram Charitmanas in Avadhi

language; while the original epic Ramayana has been in Sanskrit. Last year, in 2015 the play was presented as a dance ballet which was equally entertaining.

Emcee by Nina Magon, celebrity interior designer presenting the play

The main entrance to, and the lobby of Stafford Center were decorated by Decore One, a prominent event decorating company in Houston; with golden arches and beautiful colored fabric to enhance the visual & spiritual experience. The presence of the large Lord Ganesha and the huge Ram Darbar hanging plus the lighted Jai Shri Ram display with its rows of LED candles along with large Diwali Diya cutouts created an atmosphere of festivity and a feeling of the presence of divinity.

scene depicted the distressed mother earth seeking assistance of Lord Vishnu to come to earth and save the planet from demonic forces. Vishnu was seen on stage lying on a bed of Sheshnag, while Laxmi sat near his feet, both blessing mother earth and promising to come as Ram and Sita.

The play was Emceed by Nina Magon, (the famous interior designer who has been covered in over 300 American magazines & a star of TV shows including NBC’s American Dream Builders). City of Stafford Mayor, Leonard Scarcella, inaugurated the event congratulating the Hindu Community on keeping its traditions alive and showcasing the moral values exemplified by Lord Ram and depicting the ‘Victory of good over evil’ in such a dramatic way. City of Stafford Mayor Pro-tem, Ken Mathew also echoed similar sentiments and sat through the entire drama as it unfolded on the stage.

The twenty five scenes following the opening scene continued the eternal story of Ram protraying him as a dutiful son, a loving brother, a loving husband, a person true to his word, and a steadfast friend. This was Ram in all his power, beauty, wisdom and humility. These are the virtues which endear him to all Hindus the world over and worship him as Maryada Purushottam Ram. A role model of a perfect human being.

The opening dance of the play was presented by senior students of Sreepadam School of Arts and was a treat to watch. It was choreographed by its founder and Director Divya Unni, who is also a famous actress who played lead roles in over 60 South Indian films. The

Lead characters who play the role Ram, Lakshman and Hanuman.

The play then took of starting from the scene of Vishwamitra coming to King Dashrath’s court to seek the help of Ram and brother Laxman to destroy the demons disturbing the peace of his ashram.

Each of the scenes succeeded in conveying a subtle moral message to the audience. Each scene was colorful with specially built props and new costumes brought from India. The bow of Lord Shiva looked massive with its ten foot length . Similarly Lord Vishnu’s bow carried by Parshuram was over six feet in length. Venugopal , a veteran of past five years in the role of Ram,

A scene from the play Ram Leela during the epic war between Ram and Ravan directed and choreographed by Dr. Ratna Kumar. was assisted by the powerful acting of Divyansh Singh as Laxman and the beautiful Isha Parupadi in the role of Sita. Mantra and Kaikaei scenes were memorable to watch. Several actors did multiple roles and displayed the versatility of their acting abilities. Role of Surpanakha was superbly done as were the roles of Meghnath, Angad and Ravan. The golden deer stole everyone’s heart as did the 15 or so little vaanars (some as small as three years) helping Hanuman, Nul and Neel in building the bridge to Lanka. The other roles were equally admirable. The audi-

ence showed its approval by clapping after each scene and at times between scenes. The entire production made extensive use of projected visual backdrops in addition to the stage props, adding to the virtual reality of the story. The play , as it has been for the past five years was again Directed by multi-talented Dr. Rathna Kumar , with Dr. Nik Nikam providing the technical Direction. The programming of multiple sequencing of lights was superbly done. The final pre-coronation dances involved scores of

dancers from Anjali Centre of Performing Arts, creating a festive atmosphere prior to the coronation of Ram as King of Ayodhya. Always to deflect any praise, a satisfied Dr. Arun Verma, founder, Shri Sita Ram Foundation, attributed the success of the play to the blessings of Lord Ram, the efforts of Directors, the choreographers, the cast members, the audience, the media, the volunteers and the people of Houston, who continue to encourage him to showcase our rich heritage and cultural values to all Houstonians.

Artists of the play Ram Leela during the grand finale with Director and organizers of the play held at Stafford Center, Stafford, TX. Photo credit: Bijay Dixit.

Sangamam – A Convergence To Remember TAFFORD - Our world, filled with objects, animate and inanimate, is made up of matter. Matter, that has undergone the ardent process of numerous permutations and combinations, to become the objects that are today.

Just as gold has the potential to transform itself into beautiful jewelry, clay the potential to transform into beautiful pots, the jeevatman, or physical matter, has the potential to elevate and transform itself into the absolute consciousness or the paramatman. These transformations and confluences are not only seen in objects around us, but also in arts, traditions, culture and spiritual practices. Be it the union of swaras to form melodious music, or that of bhavas, ragas and talas to form dance, there are mergers and unions happening all around us with an ultimate goal of transforming and becoming one. Such transformations provide ultimate bliss. Just as the river keeps flowing until it unites with the vast ocean - the soul continues its journey, until it becomes completely one with the creator - the supreme Brahman. This year’s Sreepadam School of Arts’ annual production, Sangamam 2016, was indeed a confluence of immense magnitude. On Saturday, 10/29/2016, the Stafford Civic Center was resonating with the sounds of hundreds of tiny feet adorned with bells, weaving in and out, in complete symmetry and formation. The music wafting in the air, combined with coordi-

nation of rhythmic feet, resulted in the convergence of sights and sounds that formed the perfect…..Sangamam! Divyaa Unni, the statuesque and graceful dancer/teacher, was nothing short of poetry in motion. Her agility and presence on stage made it difficult to remove one’s eyes from watching her. The intricate choreography, colorful costumes, and adorable smiles of the students, made the two hour program seem to just whiz by! The auditorium was filled to capacity with adoring and proud family and friends of the 130+ students, who seemed riveted with the performance. Stafford’s Mayor Pro Tem, Mr. Ken Mathew, was in attendance as well. Each year, Sreepadam School of Arts tries to make its annual show thematic, as well as an enjoyable learning experience for its students. The theme is integrated into the dances they perform, thus enabling them to truly understand the underlying concepts of the dance, and further enable them to become ONE with the dance. TOP: Performers of Sangamam 2016 by Sreepadam School of Arts seen with Director Divyaa Unni, BELOW: One of the spectacular dance items by Sreepadam School of Arts founder and dancer Divyaa Unni, and her students.

VOICE OF ASIA 12

FRIDAY, November 11, 2016

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Imprints for life

An affinity for art and certain turns her life took that drew R. Vaishnavi to tattooing

EOUL, SOUTH KOREA | AFP - The Michelin food guide unveiled its first Seoul edition on Monday, with two upscale Korean restaurants receiving the coveted three stars, but recognition also for a humbler diner serving vegetarian temple food.

.Vaishnavi says she is a “pucca Tamil girl”, with a flair for art, who grew up drawing kolams with her grandmother at home. An interest in water colour paintings gradually evolved into a curiosity for body art. And, soon the mother of two packed her bags to New Delhi, to train in the art of tattooing under the mentorship of Kamal Deep Singh, whose clients have created Guinness records for sporting the highest number of tattoos. It was only after five months of training, she says she could hold the needle machine steadily and with confidence. Yara Tattoos, her studio which she opened in Coimbatore in January, is tucked away in an inconspicuous corner near Kannan Departmental Stores on Trichy Road. Behind a table sits our tattoo lady, sporting a bob and funky tattoos — a floral design on her wrist and a smiling Shiva and Parvati, locked in an embrace, on her arm. “There is one on my back too,” she laughs. Thanks to her smiling demeanour many of her clients are now her best pals. There is an air of calm about the studio. The walls are painted yellow and Vaishnavi’s water colour paintings hang on the wall. A smiling Buddha sculpture surveys you from a shelf. Along with the sterilised machines, disinfectants and creams, there is also a veena. During her free time, Vaishnavi plays the veena. “People are both amused and impressed, when they see me playing the veena,” she winks. It’s already a favourite haunt for fashion-conscious college girls, lovers and movie buffs. “Getting a tattoo is 90 per cent an emotional decision. It mirrors your heart. It is not just for body beautification,” explains Vaishnavi. People choose motifs based on their passion, a longing for something or someone, an inspirational quote that will fix their blues, or their zodiac signs. There is a big demand for tattoos sported by television actors in their favourite soaps. Girls in Coimbatore prefer smaller tattoos, says Vaishnavi. “They like getting it done on their wrists or necks. Floral designs are very in now.” Guys want her to sketch their favourite stars’ names on their arms. “There is a big demand for the tattooo that Vikram sports,” says Vaishnavi.

Using body as a canvas R. Vaishnavi (Photo: S. Siva Saravanan) Deities are also popular. “Buddha was my first tattoo. It gives you good vibes.” Sometimes there are intricate tattoos which take hours to accomplish. She points to a photograph of a Ganesha tattoo on a guy’s bicep, which took her 18 hours to do! “Everything for him was his god. He was ready to spend quite a big sum on this.” Tattoo as a fashion statement is picking up in the city, she says. Initially, people did not respond so well to her. But, gradually people started coming in thanks to word of mouth and FB updates. There is a stigma on body art, says Vaishnavi. “But, isn’t this exactly what our ancestors did? Tattoos are just another spin off of pachchai kuthirathu.” She also specialises in coloured tattoos. “But, I would recommend my clients to go for the black ones because they do not wear off easily.” She also suggests other patterns depending on client taste and profession. (She feels I must go in for something that stands for independence and freedom). Sometimes, her job requires her to be a counsellor too! “Some of them decide to tattoo their girlfriend’s name and I warn them. Usually,a no-non-

sense friend talks these people out of the idea. One of my clients had to conceal a tattoo of his ex’s name with something else after he broke up with her.” And then, “one guy wanted to remember his mother, who died of cancer. So, he wanted to have a symbol of cancer on his hand. I advised him that it will have a negative influence on him and we settled for something else.” Art was a favourite getaway for Vaishnavi to escape from the chaos of the real world, including a bad marriage. And, she is determined that she won’t pay much attention to those who frown at her for doing what gives her joy. To be a woman tattoo artiste is definitely not easy as it comes with its baggage of social stigma. “I had a tough time convincing some of my relatives. I would tell them I saw it as an art form. Instead of the canvass, I am using body as a paper.” Fortunately, her parents and children have been supportive of her creative pursuits. “My kids collect newspaper articles on me and show it off in school,” she smiles. She says she draws strength from them, as she shows me her third tattoo - their names. (TheHindu.com)

Your guide to please your boss

e all secretly wish to be our boss’s favourite. It is difficult to not give in to this silent craving because being your boss’s favourite obivously comes with its own perks. Here are ways you can do that: 1. Meet, greet and smile Begin with the exceptionally fundamental yet important manner. Welcome your supervisor at whatever point you see them with a comforting smile. This would convey your feelings of regard in the correct way. 2. Leaving before your boss? Pleasing your boss is no cakewalk and that too when they’re not easy to win over. One thing you would not want to do if you’re on a ‘please your boss’ mission is leaving office before

your boss does. It conveys your disinterest in work and may make him question your commitment. 3. Too many questions? Asking questions is not a bad thing as long as the questions are not dumb and stupid. Ask intelligent and relevant questions while in a meeting or in a discussion to show your interest and involvement. This would definitely catch your boss’s attention in a good manner. 4. Show interest in your boss’s interests Have no interest in the game of tennis? Doesn’t matter. Show some interest and do your homework just because it’s your boss’s favorite. The act of pleasing your boss comes with a little preaching and faking. Follow this golden rule and

be sure to earn some brownie points. 5. Meet and beat the deadlines It is the most important point in ‘your guide to please your boss’! If not a day early, make sure you deliver your work on the deadline day at least. It would make your boss trust you and definitely communicate your commitment towards work. 6. Problems without solutions? NO! Who likes a bad news without some good news and problems without a solution? Quoting problems without a solution is the most annoying thing you can do as an employee. Don’t have an answer, then don’t point out issues. It’s as easy as that. (-TNN)

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Michelin names two 3-star eateries in first Seoul guide by Hwang Sunghee

by Parshathy J. Nath

FRIDAY, November 11, 2016

years honing his take on traditional Korean cuisine, Kim said he hoped the ultimate stamp of approval from Michelin would help South Korean gastronomy “receive the appreciation it deserves”. “In order for Korean cuisine to be universalised, it must meet a universal standard and

ents was Balwoo Gongyang, a popular lunch and dining spot which serves strictly vegetarian dishes based on Korean Buddhist “temple” cuisine. Lucia Cho, the owner of Gaon and of another restaurant, Bicena, which was awarded one star, said it had initially been a struggle to marry Korean cuisine and fine dining -- not least because of resistance among Koreans themselves.

A total of 24 restaurants in the South Korean capital received Michelin stars, reflecting “When we the city’s first opened ambitions as Gaon, not a fine-dining many people hub and the appreciated emergence the value of of Korean Korean food cuisine from and comthe well- Michael Ellis, the international director of Michelin guides, preplained about established sented the staff with their stars on Monday evening. (Photo:AFP) our pricing,” shadows cast Cho said. by those of “But people pay 300,000 Asian neighbours China and I think the Michelin listing won on Japanese or Chinese will help Korean food become Japan. a more approachable cuisine course meals,” she said, add“I think it’s widely seen as for many people,” he said. ing that attention from Mione of the hidden gems of chelin would “make Koreans Of the 21,000 restaurants think more about what defines world cuisine,” said Michael Ellis, the international direc- featured in Michelin guides good food”. around the world, just over tor of Michelin guides. Not everyone was impressed 100 are rated with three stars. Of the two three-starred res- Starred restaurants have in the by the Michelin choice. taurants, Gaon in Seoul’s up- past built big businesses after Joe McPherson, founder market Gangnam area offers being recognised. of the country’s oldest food two multi-course menus based The other three-star recipi- blog, ZenKimchi.com, had on the daily meals enjoyed by ent was La Yeon in the Hotel given Gaon a damning review the kings of the Joseon era Shilla, which was praised by back in 2007. (1392-1910) and priced at Michelin for the chef’s con“It’s the poster child for ev180,000 won (US$157) and temporary touch on tradition- erything wrong with Korean 250,000 won. al Korean cuisine. concepts of fine dining. They The guide cited Gaon for its just took basic Korean food, Following the 2007 publica“meticulously-prepared dishmade it a little prettier and tion of the Tokyo guide -Mies” and commitment to projacked up the price,” McPherchelin’s first foray into Asia -moting a “better understandson said after the Michelin Seoul is the latest city in the ing” of Korean food. region to get its own version launch. Gaon’s executive chef of the culinary bible. The two and three-star resKim Byoung-Jin said he was taurants on the list “felt like There are also editions exstunned and “extremely honthey had been put together by oured” with the three-star rat- ploring Shanghai, Hong Kong Korean businessmen, rather and Singapore. ing, crediting his kitchen team than food lovers”, he added. “Seoul is a gastronomic and an insistence on the finest The Michelin guides, first roller coaster,” Ellis said. seasonal produce. published in France more “All good food starts from “There’s so many things go- than a century ago to promote fresh ingredients,” he told ing on: brining, pickling, fer- automobile travel, now cover menting, frying, barbequing, AFP. seasoning... great techniques,” 28 countries and spotlight di- Overdue appreciation verse cuisines including Brahe added. zilian, Burmese, Cajun, PeruHaving spent the past 13 Among the one-star recipi- vian and Tibetan.

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VOICE OF ASIA 14

Our New Issue of

FRIDAY, November 11, 2016

Spotlight on the hottest food destinations in Asia by Liastra Maria

here is really no better way to get to know a country than to try its food. Here are some of the world’s best countries that will give you a gastronomic treats that you must not miss when you’re traveling on this side of the world. Filipino food is slowly making its way to the map, so a trip to the Philippines must definitely be considered when you’re planning a trip to this side of the world. From the tender, falloff-the-bone chicken and pork adobo to the delicious sizzling plate of sisig, from local eateries you’ll have so many choices in the capital city of Manila alone. The Vietnamese city of Hanoi is a definitely a must-visit--just ask Anthony Bourdain and US president Barack Obama, who recently shared bun cha (a famous Hanoi dish of pork, vermicelli, and herbs) over beer in an episode of Bourdain’s Parts

Simple bowl of pho amazes in Hanoi city cafes. (Photo: Flickr) Unknown.

must not be missed.

Thailand is never abent in lists like this one, but most recommendations only focus on the Bangkok. While the capital city is beautufil and has a wide array of some of the world’s best street foods, one must check out miss what North Thailand has to offer. This more relaxed side of Thailand--particulary the city of Chiang Mai--is an entirely different exoerience altogether. The northern delicacies of khao soi (curry noodles), sai oua (northern thai sausage), and the famous northern Thai sausage

Last but not least is a country that is slowly introducing itself to the world. Myanmar (Burma), which was under military rule for decades, is now gaining popularity for its beautiful temples, scenic lakes, and amazing food. Some of the things that must not be missed include the tea leaf salad made from fermented leaves, nuts, and greens; the rich Shan noodles, and the country’s national dish-mohinga, made of rich fish broth and rice noodles. (-TravelAdvisor.com)

Myanmar gets first glimpse of most famous director’s film

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yanmar’s only internationally recognised director, Midi Z, has shown his work in his home country for the first time, calling the screening a “historical moment” for a nation emerging from decades of military oppression. “The Road to Mandalay,” a tragic love story about two Myanmar workers who travel illegally to Thailand in search of a better life, was shown to a packed cinema in Yangon on Monday night. Midi Z, who at age 33 has collected numerous international awards and been nominated for an Oscar, said he felt nervous showing the film to his compatriots. Born in Myanmar’s Shan state, he moved to Taiwan when he was 16 but has frequently returned to Myanmar to shoot films -- often in secret from the former junta. “Maybe it’s just one screening but for me it’s very important -a historical moment,” the rising star told AFP on Tuesday. “For more than 50 years we didn’t have a chance to screen a film which expressed, explained a situation linked to our real situation.” Myanmar’s film industry, once the most vibrant in the region, shrivelled under heavy censorship enforced by its former military rulers who banned everything from ghost stories to blue jeans on the screen. Rules have eased since the junta ceded power in 2011 and hopes are high that the new democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi will scrap lingering controls. But politics, religion and sex -- plus criticism of the still-

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Severine Wemaere, a cofounder of the festival, said its organisers have had to contend with nebulous censorship rules since it started two years ago. “The censorship rules exist and have not changed since 2014,” she said, describing tortuous negotiations over how long images of naked flesh can be shown on screen. But the screening of “The Road to Mandalay” nevertheless marked significant progress, she added, calling it a “critical step” on Myanmar’s

While few among Myanmar’s domestic filmmakers have yet nerved themselves to start addressing sensitive topics, already there are signs that this has started to change. Actors, producers and directors have been calling for the censorship board to be turned into a ratings committee whose only function is to warn of racy or violent content. There are also plans to double the number of cinemas in the country to 100 over the next two years in a bid to inject cash into an industry where most movies go straight to DVD. Oscar-winning French film director Michel Hazanavicius, who led the jury for the festival’s screenwriting competition, said Myanmar’s young storytellers are also testing boundaries. “I believe this young generation of scriptwriters and directors, they really want to push a little bit further the limits of the censorship,” he told AFP. “I think they really want to change Burmese society.”

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Similarly, “The Burmese Harp”, a 1956 film about the retreat of Japanese forces from Myanmar during World War II, had the portrayal of a beggar “hidden” from viewers at the festival.

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In the final scene in “The Road to Mandalay”, an image of a Buddha splattered with blood was physically covered up by censors manning the projector during Monday’s festival screening.

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Midi Z’s “The Road to Mandalay” was shown to a packed cinema in Yangon on November 7. (Photo:Romeo Gacad /AFP)

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Delhi shuts schools as smog sparks health ‘emergency’ by Claire Cozens, AFP

Environment (CSE), said the city faced an “emergency situation”.

uthorities in Delhi on Monday closed schools, halted construction work and shut down a major power plant after days of choking smog led to warnings of a health “emergency” in the world’s most polluted capital.

“These temporary emergency measures are critical for bringing down the peak pollution levels,” she said. “Of course this cannot be permanent, you cannot keep people indoors forever,” she added.

Pollution levels have spiked in recent days as farmers in neighbouring Indian states burn crop stubble after the harvest and temperatures cool, trapping pollutants in a smoggy haze over the city. Delhi’s air quality generally worsens with the onset of autumn, particularly after the Diwali festival when millions of revellers let off heavily polluting firecrackers. But this year’s change has been particularly dramatic, with the American embassy reporting hazardous pollution levels for several days running. On Monday morning it put levels of PM2.5 -- the fine particles linked to higher rates of chronic bronchitis, lung cancer and heart disease -- at an offthe-charts 778. Levels between 301 and 500 are classified as “hazardous”, meaning everyone faces a risk of respiratory effects and should stay indoors, while levels above 500 are beyond the official index. Manan Mahato, who drives an auto rickshaw in Delhi, said he had sent his children to his native village because he was worried about their health.

Runners take part in the New Delhi 10K Challenge amid heavy smog on November 6, 2016 (Photo: AFP) “It has become risky to stay in Delhi because of the pollution,” he said, holding a handkerchief over his mouth because he cannot afford a proper face mask. “I am sending my children back to the village as I am worried for their health. If it stays like this, I think this city won’t be liveable anymore.” On Sunday hundreds of people, many wearing face masks, gathered in central Delhi to demand immediate action to curb the pollution levels, currently around 30 times the World Health Organization’s recommended PM2.5 safe limit of 25 micrograms per cubic metre of air. - ‘Emergency situation’ Long queues formed outside shops selling face masks, a relative novelty in Delhi as are the air purifiers that now fea-

ture in the homes of wealthy residents. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his top ministers held a meeting later Monday with the city’s lieutenant-governor, who announced a ban on bursting fire crackers, including at weddings. He, however, exempted religious events. The Delhi government on Sunday announced a series of measures including shutting schools for three days, banning all construction work for five days and the temporary closure of a coal-fired power plant. It also said it was considering cloud-seeding to produce rain, a technique Beijing used to clear the air before the 2008 Olympic Games. Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director at the Delhibased Centre for Science and

ASA, HOUSTON (AFP)- The Moon is bombarded by so much space rock that its surface gets a complete facelift every 81,000 years, according to a study released Wednesday based on NASA data.

onald J. Trump is now the President-elect of the United States after one of the most surreal and unlikely campaign victories in American history. Stock markets are already reacting negatively to the reality of a President Trump and the dollar is also falling. The short-term prospects for the tech economy and Silicon Valley are grim according to economists with knowledge of the Trump platform. While Trump was vague about his platform on the campaign trail, the broad strokes with which he painted his economic policy don’t bode well for venture capitalists or the broader tech community. While Gregory Autry, an assistant professor at USC’s Marshall School of Business, believes that manufacturing jobs, including high-tech manufacturing, will benefit from a Trump presidency, the technology firms in the Valley may have a tougher time. Global Trade “As tech is oftentimes defined, you’re talking about Silicon Valley,” says Autry. “Trump is definitely a problem for that model. His economic policies are focused on punishing China

But the Delhi government is powerless to stop the mass burning of fields in the nearby states of Haryana and Punjab. Businessman Harish Sharma said the authorities had “completely failed” to tackle pollution. “We have to save the present generation as well as the future generations from this disaster,” he told AFP. Sunita Narain, head of the CSE which has petitioned the Supreme Court to force the government to act, called it a “public health emergency”. “The situation is very bad. The poisonous air is very harmful for all of us,” she said. “We hope the court will hear our plea and order the governments to do whatever is required.” the researchers concluded. The scientists also found thousands of subtler disturbances on the surface, which they described as “scars” from smaller, secondary impacts that –- over thousands of years –churned up the top layer of the Moon without creating craters.

More than 100 tonnes of dust and sand-sized particles rain down on the planet every day.

A study estimates that asteroids and comets crashing into the moon create close to 180 new craters at least 10 metres in diameter every year (Photo: AFP) which has been mapping the Moon since 2009. By comparing images of the same area at regular intervals, a team of scientists led by Emerson Speyerer from Arizona State University in Tempe were able to tally the number

of new craters and extrapolate to the entire surface of the Moon. “We detected 222 new impact craters and found 33 percent more craters with a diameter of at least 10 metres than predicted” by earlier models,

What does a President-elect Trump mean for Silicon Valley? Report by Jonathan Shieber

Accepting Facebook friend requests may lengthen users’ lives, study says

EW YORK CITY (ANI) - Now this is interesting! Did you know, your Facebook friend circle is connected to your life span? A study says that if you accept all your Facebook friend

tion.” Hobbs believes people who have moderate interactions on Facebooks are more likely to remain friends with them in person, he said in a Northeast-

Kejriwal said he may reintroduce car rationing in the city after a successful two-week trial earlier this year.

Earth is also constantly pelted by asteroids and meteors, but is protected by a thick atmosphere.

This churn -- affecting the top two centimetres (nearly an inch) of mostly loose moon dust -- happens 100 times more frequently than previously thought, scientists reported.

The findings, published in Nature, come from “before and after” pictures taken by NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft,

Facebook... key to longer life?

A 2014 World Health Organization survey of more than 1,600 cities ranked Delhi as the most polluted.

A facelift for the Moon every 81,000 years

The study also estimates that asteroids and comets crashing into Earth’s only natural satellite create, on average, 180 new craters at least 10 metres (33 feet) in diameter every year.

FRIDAY, November 11, 2016

for its trade abuses and returning manufacturing to the U.S.” If Trump moves ahead with his plan to impose steep tariffs on goods manufactured in China (essentially rolling back more than twenty years of economic policy focused on increased economic interdependence), it won’t bode well for any American company that relies on the global supply chain (read… any American company). “That’s going to suck for them,” says Autry. Immigration Beyond tariffs making tech products more expensive (and hypothetically forcing companies to return their manufacturing to the U.S), a President Trump is likely to have a significant impact on the issue of immigration. Silicon Valley has made a huge push to support and expand the H-1B visa program, which enables talented workers from overseas to remain in the U.S. and give them a path to a green card while filling the Valley’s demand for highly skilled jobs. And Trump said he would eviscerate that program. For the Valley, the H-1B program is a high-tech iteration of the message inscribed on the Statue of Liberty — except they’re highly educated, highly skilled workers rather than hud-

dled masses yearning to be free. “For the tech industry, [they] should be concerned about the visa programs that are in place to let companies import what are considered necessary workers,” says Autry. Renewable Energy And high-tech manufacturers aren’t the only ones likely to feel the pain under a Trump administration. The burgeoning renewable energy market in the U.S., which has been a bright spot in some corners, is likely to also face tremendous headwinds under the new President’s regime. Trump will (unsurprisingly) aggressively move to end incentives for alternative energy development, according to a report by S&P Global Platts, an energy analysis firm. “For example, a potential cut in the Investment Tax Credit to 10% from the current 30% would slash solar installation demand by 60%,” analysts for Platts write in their assessment of Trump’s likely energy policy. (Given the overwhelming evidence that supports climate change as a real phenomenon, caused by humans, this is probably not good policy IMHO.) Even the promises that the candidate made to support the Renewable Fuel Standard (an initiative that largely helps farmers) are suspect. (-Techcrunch)

Even space rocks up to 25 metres across (80 feet) will likely explode and disintegrate in the upper layers of our atmosphere, causing little or no damage, according to NASA. The Moon’s ultra-thin atmosphere only contains about 100 molecules of gases and elements per cubic centimetre (0.6 cubic inch). Earth’s atmosphere at sea level, by contrast, is packed with about 100 billion billion molecules per cubic centimetre.

Study shows link between health and social media accounts. requests, you’re probably expected to live longer, reports the New York Daily. Scientists who studied Facebook activity for more than a decade suggest that people who have strong social media networks and receive multiple friend requests are less likely to die. The study, led by Northeastern University professor Williams Hobb and University of California, San Diego, professor James Fowler, showed that there are links between people’s health and their social media accounts, whether in person or online. “We find that Facebook users who accept more friendships have a lower risk of mortality, but there is no relationship for those who initiate more friendships,” the authors wrote. “Mortality risk is lowest for those with high levels of offline social interaction and moderate levels of online social interac-

ern newsletter. In their study, Hobbs and Fowler took data over six months from 12 million California-based Facebook users in 2011 and compared them to records from the California Department of Public Health from 2012 to 2013 to check how many people died within those years. Those Facebook users, of all genders and ages, were born between 1945 and 1989. The scientists concluded that there was no link between people’s health and the Facebook requests they have sent and those who accepted them. “You would think that the association would go both ways,” Hobb said in the newsletter. “That was a disappointing finding because it suggests that telling people to go out and make more friends might not improve their health.” The study has been published in the National Academy of Science.

‘Bots’ step up for 2016 election news coverage

ASHINGTON(AFP) - If you’re reading about the US election, some of that news is likely to come to you from a “bot.” Automated systems known as “bots” or “robo-journalism” have been around for years, but they are playing a bigger role in coverage this year amid technology advances and stretched media resources. The New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, NBC, Yahoo News and the non-profit Pro Publica are among news organizations using automated technology or messaging bots for coverage in the runup to Tuesday’s vote or on

election night. News organizations are increasing use both of systems which employ algorithms to create text from data, and of automated “bots” delivering updates to smartphones. The New York Times bot on Facebook Messenger launched earlier this year uses short dispatches from reporter Nick Confessore, and allows users to interact to get detailed bot-driven news updates or polls. “This is a natural follow-on to what we have been doing in conversational journalism,” said product director Andrew Phelps.

VOICE OF ASIA 16

FRIDAY, November 11, 2016

HEALTHY LIVING VOICE OF ASIA

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First 13 cases of deadly fungal infection emerge in US IAMI | AFP | Friday 11/4/2016 - Thirteen cases of a sometimes deadly and often drug-resistant fungal infection, Candida auris, have been reported in the United States for the first time, health officials said Friday.

It was first described in 2009 after being isolated from external ear canal fluids from a patient in Japan, and has since been reported in Britain, Colombia, India, Israel, Kenya, Kuwait, Pakistan, South Africa, South Korea and Venezuela.

The infection, which often spreads in hospitals and other health care settings, can invade the ear canal, urine and bloodstream.

The report in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) described seven of the US cases, which occurred between May 2013 and August 2016.

Four of the US patients diagnosed with the infection have died, although the precise causes remain unclear, the CDC said. “We need to act now to better understand, contain and stop the spread of this drug-resistant fungus,” the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Tom Frieden said. “This is an emerging threat and we need to protect vulnerable patients and others.” The CDC first identified the fungus as an emerging global threat in June 2016.

Another six “were identified after the period covered by the report and are still under investigation,” it said. The first seven cases were reported in New York, Illinois, Maryland and New Jersey. “All of the patients had serious underlying medical conditions and had been hospitalized an average of 18 days when C. auris was identified,” the report said. Of the four who died, “it is unclear whether the deaths were associated with C. auris infection or underlying health conditions.”

Social Security timing can affect Medicare premiums

A total of 71 percent of the C. auris strains from US patients “showed some drug resistance, making treatment more difficult,” the CDC report added. “Samples of C. auris strains from other countries have been found to be resistant to all three major classes of antifungal medications.” Although lab tests showed the US strains were related to strains from South Asia and South America, none of the patients had traveled to or had any direct links to those regions. The health authorities believe the US infections were acquired locally. “It appears that C. auris arrived in the United States only in the past few years,” said Tom Chiller, chief of CDC’s Mycotic Diseases Branch. “We’re working hard with partners to better understand this fungus and how it spreads so we can improve infection control recommendations and help protect people.”

Tiny investment needed for universal access to basic drugs: study

ARIS, FRANCE | AFP - An investment of just $1-2 (0.901.80 euros) per person per month could give all people in lowand middle-income countries access to a basket of 201 essential medicines, researchers said Monday. One in five countries spend less than this amount on medicine -- highlighting “the urgent need for additional financing to meet basic health care needs,” said a special publication by The Lancet medical journal. A basket of essential medicines includes pain killers such as morphine, drugs against infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, HIV or malaria, treatments for chronic conditions such as cancer or diabetes, as well as vaccines and contraceptives. Dubbed The Lancet Commission on Essential Medicines, the overview highlighted “massive inequities and inefficiencies” in financing and governance between regions, hampering access to drugs for many people. It was compiled by 21 international experts and made recommendations to governments, NGOs, health institutions, medicines regulatory agencies and the pharmaceutical industry. The team used numbers on disease prevalence, drug consumption and medicine prices to estimate the cost of

access to a basket of essential medicines at between $77.4 billion and $151.9 billion per year -- the equivalent of $12.9-25.4 per person. “Recent estimates suggest that the avera g e total spend on medicines in low-income countries is $8.6 per person per year,” said a statement by The Lancet. Most of it came from household budgets, rather than government ones. - Making medicine cheaper Poorer households in low- and middle-income countries spend as much as 9.5 percent of their income on medicines, compared to 3.5 percent in poorer households in rich countries, said the report. It also highlighted the problem of poor medicine quality that many poor countries face. In 2013, sub-standard malaria medicines are estimated to have killed 120,000 children in sub-

Saharan Africa. Sometimes it is a matter of negligence, sometimes “dishonest practices”. The commission argued for a rehaul of the system of drug development. C u r r e n t l y, patents and profits are the main drivers of innovation - leaving basic, essential medicines by the wayside, it said. “Every available regulatory and management intervention that could improve the affordability of medicines must be considered,” said the document. This could include pricing interventions and applying policies favouring the use of cheaper generic drug versions. “No option should be regarded as off the table for political reasons,” said the report. “For example, removing taxes and tariffs is well within the power of governments, even if it might be unpopular with certain stakeholders.”

Human antibody shields mouse foetuses against Zika by Mariëtte Le Roux

ARIS, France | AFP | 11/7/2016 - An antibody produced by the human body shielded unborn mice against Zika, a study said Monday, raising hopes for thwarting the virus known to cause brain damage in human foetuses. The antibody neutralised all known Zika strains in lab experiments, and “markedly reduced” virus levels in infected pregnant mice and their foetuses.

tion which restricts head growth and causes brain damage. More 2,300 babies, mainly in Brazil, have been born with microcephaly or other Zika-related central nervous system malformations since last year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). There is no cure or vaccine. Diamond and a team trawled through antibody samples from people who had recovered from a Zika infection.

“This is the first antiviral that has been shown to work in pregnancy to protect developing foetuses from Zika virus,” said study co-author Michael Diamond of the Washington University School of Medicine.

One called ZIKV-117, harvested from a single person, stood out for its anti-Zika action, the team reported in the journal Nature.

“This is proof of principle that Zika virus during pregnancy is treatable and that we already have a human antibody that treats it, at least in mice.”

They are Y-shaped proteins produced by the immune system in response to the presence of so-called antigens -disease-causing pathogens.

Zika is spread mainly by mosquitoes, but in rare cases via sex.

Each type of antibody binds to a specific antigen, then inactivates it directly or tags it for destruction by other immune cells.

Antibodies are the footsoldiers in the body’s defences.

Proof

In most people it is benign with mild or no symptoms. But in an outbreak that started in 2015, it has been linked to microcephaly in foetuses -- a condi-

- Patience required The researchers gave ZIKV-117 to

pregnant mice who had been injected with Zika, and found their placentas remained normal and healthy compared to non-treated mice. “Almost all foetuses were protected against infection and disease,” Diamond told AFP. In further tests, the antibody also protected adult male mice against a lethal dose of Zika virus. It is not known whether most humans can naturally produce this exact antibody in response to infection, said Diamond. Even if they could, it would not be fast enough to protect an unborn baby -- hence the need for a booster. The findings could help provide an interim shield against Zika transmission while scientists devise a vaccine against the virus, the paper said. But first, tests have to be done in monkeys, whose pregnancies are much more similar to those of humans. “It will be a while... before we feel confident enough to try this treatment on humans,” cautioned Derek Gatherer of Lancaster University, in a comment on the study.

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Social Security benefits are expected to increase slightly next year, and most retirees who have their Medicare premiums deducted directly from their Social Security benefits will be protected from a net decline in monthly benefits. However, those who are enrolled in Medicare but not yet collecting Social Security could see a big increase in their monthly Medicare premiums in 2017, specially whose income tops $85,000 if they are single or $170,000 if they are married That’s because the Social Security Act includes a “hold harmless” provision that prevents a person’s Social Security benefits from declining from one year to the next due to an increase in Medicare premiums. For most beneficiaries, that means Medicare Part B premiums, which pay for doctors’ visits and outpatient services, cannot increase by more than the monthly increase in Social Security benefits next year. The 0.2% COLA projected by the Social Security Trustees would result in a benefit increase of a few dollars per month in 2017. In order to be covered by the holdharmless umbrella, a person must apply for Social Security by November 2016 so their monthly Medicare premium can be deducted from their Social Security benefit that is paid in December. That scenario prompted one InvestmentNews reader from Houston to ask whether he should abandon his plan to delay claiming Social Security until age 70 and instead begin collecting benefits when he turns 66 this October. “It seems to me that I could experience a spike in Medicare premiums next year that could outweigh the benefits of delaying Social Security income,” he wrote. His situation provides an interesting case study on the interaction of Social Security, Medicare and modified adjusted gross income. Anyone who enrolls in Medicare for the first time in 2016 and whose MAGI is below the $85,000/$170,000 threshold pays a standard monthly Part B premium of $121.80. About 70% of beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare prior to 2016 were protected by the hold-harmless provision and continue to pay the 2015 standard premium amount of $104.90 per month. Higher-income retirees, who are not protected by the hold-harmless provision, pay $170.50, $243.60, $316.70 or $389.90 per person in 2016 depending on their income levels.

Sudhir Mathuria Licensed Professional Health Life 360 6776 Southwest Freeway Suite # 178 Houston TX 77074 713-771-2900 www.MyMedicarePlanning.com he explained. “Would it be wise to go ahead and begin claiming Social Security when I turn 66 in October to be protected from a Medicare hike?” “Medicare premiums are reset every year and the amount you pay is based on your latest available tax return,” I told him. “In 2017, your Medicare premium will be based on your 2015 tax return that you filed in 2016. Although you would be protected from a premium increase next year if you started collecting Social Security this year, you would lose that protection the following year because your 2016 income would exceed the $85,000 threshold.” For those not protected by the hold-harmless provision, Medicare Part B premiums could increase by as much as 22% next year, raising the base amount by about $36 from $121.80 to $149 per month in 2017, according to the Medicare Trustees report. The government will announce 2017 Social Security COLA and Medicare premiums next month. Advisers faced with the same question should weigh the increased costs in Medicare premiums against the much larger increase in Social Security benefits if clients delay claiming until age 70. And advisers should also remember that clients whose MAGI exceeds the $85,000/$170,000 thresholds will never be protected from annual Medicare Part B increases. Looking ahead, Medicare premiums may increase even more in 2018 when new income brackets go into effect, and that those new brackets will be based on 2016 tax returns. To choose right 2017 Medicare Supplement, Medicare Advantage plan or Prescription Drug plan contact Sudhir Mathuria @ 713-771-2900.

Zebrafish offers hope for spinal cord repair he Zebrafish, which can completely regenerate its severed spinal cord, might hold promise for research into tissue repair in humans, researchers said Thursday.

was published in the journal Science. When the severed spinal cord of the zebrafish undergoes regeneration, a bridge forms.

Scientists are looking at one protein in particular that is key to this accomplishment in the fish, the researchers said.

Nerve cells follow and within eight weeks new nerve tissue has plugged the gap, allowing the fish to reverse their paralysis completely, the Poss team reported.

“This is one of nature’s most remarkable feats of regeneration,” said the study’s senior investigator Kenneth Poss, a professor of cell biology at Duke University.

To figure out what is going on, scientists searched for all of the genes whose activity abruptly changed after spinal cord injury.

“Given the limited number of successful therapies available today for repairing lost tissues, we need to look to animals like zebrafish for new clues about how to stimulate regeneration,” said Poss, whose study

Seven of these were found to code for proteins secreted from cells. For future studies, researchers also plan to look at other proteins involved in the regeneration process in zebrafish. (-AFP)

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Young Life

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Rutgers student newspaper fires columnist for writing ‘Illegal Alien’ Editorial staff appears to have terminated a conservative writer who questioned their judgment Opinion by Candice Greaux

Without seeing Khavich’s contract or agreement with the Daily Targum, I cannot say if his termination was contractually sound or ethical. But speaking to the face of this controversy, I’m uncomfortable with a number of developments here. To begin, Khavich’s column in the Targum appears to have intended to be exclusively opinion; meant to reflect his opinion and the opinion of those who share his views. There has been some back and forth between Corey and Khavich as to certain phrases Khavich uses in his columns—in this case, “illegal alien,” which Khavich contends is the term used by the federal government. Corey argues that copy editors are not required to employ terminology used by the federal government, and that it is his prefer-

EW YORK - The defining image of the Trump campaign is the Trump rally: unpredictable, raucous, filled to capacity. A band of mostly young reporters traveled from town to town with Trump, some of them for over a year, witnessing history and hyperbole and sometimes hateful behavior by the candidate’s supporters. A student walks past the dormitory at Rutgers Univeristy in New Brunswick, New Jersey. (Photo: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP) ence to replicate terminology used “most often by the news media today.” In this, I would argue that Corey is in the wrong, and deference ought to be given to Khavich’s original words. As an opinion columnist, it’s not Khavich’s duty to report the news—it’s his duty to write opinion and commentary from the right. Were Khavich writing a straight report—something about “x number of people crossed the border between Mexico and Texas, and here is what happened”—then Corey would be absolutely within his editorial purview to change “illegal alien” to something more consistent with the tone of the news media around the country. However, the language originally written by Khavich for this column is very much in line with language used by conservative commentators, both in mainstream publications, and right-leaning blogs and news sites. To change that language from “illegal alien” to “undocumented immigrant” is to take Khavich’s column out

teen.

he most formidable adversary in an argument may be a young

Between the ages of 10 and 13, conflicts with parents surge. Children this age become more independent and begin to forge their identities. At the same time, brain development makes them more impulsive, sensation-seeking and sensitive to peer pressure. The tumult can take parents by surprise, especially because the period right before adolescence is often relatively harmonious. For parents, learning how to effectively argue with tweens and young teens is crucial. Navigating disagreements over screen time and sleepovers sets the stage for conflicts over bigger issues—like sex and alcohol—that come up later. Therapists say argumentative young teens are healthy ones. They are learning how to handle disagreements and advocate for their own point of view, skills that are critical for successfully navigating adult relationships. Arguments also indicate that children are separating from their parents and asserting themselves.

“It is worrying if [arguing] doesn’t happen,” says Brad Sachs, a family psychologist in Columbia, Md. More deferential children “may not be doing the hard work necessary to forge an independent identity.” Carl Pickhardt, a counseling psychologist and author in Austin, Texas, notes that arguments also give parents important information about what is going on with their children and what is important to them. “What you don’t want is a mystery child,” he says. What’s the best way to quarrel with a young teen? Psychologists say certain strategies are key. First, figure out what you’re willing to compromise on. Alan Kazdin, a professor of psychology and child psychiatry at Yale University, advises parents to imagine 10 years in the future. Then, compromise on things that are temporary (like goth makeup or laundry strewn on the floor) and stand firm on things that could be permanent (tattoos). “Where parents go wrong is they have the view of the slippery slope. If I give in here, it will all fall apart. The opposite is true.” When parents are rigid, children are more likely to be more oppositional, he says. He suggests that parents

CNN sought to survey the reporters who spent the most

— “How displaced and fearful some people in the U.S. are about the future. We call it economic anxiety or racial grievance in New York and DC, and that might be correct; but on the ground, in the parts of America that feel the most forgotten, it’s a visceral anxiety without a name. And when people are afraid, they can lash out en masse at the things they resent, even if it ultimately cuts against their own interests.” - “I learned how very young reporters carry their university liberalism with them every-

this survey, I opted not to interview any CNN colleagues.) Most of the reporters who participated declined to say whether covering Trump made them more or less likely to vote for him. One of them said, “This process as a whole has made me less likely to vote in the election if I wasn’t a journalist. That said, seeing the sacrifices so many Americans make -- particularly veterans -- is moving.” Another reporter said the experience “made me more likely

of the zeitgeist of its peers. Let’s be honest: Corey and the Daily Targum editorial staff changed this language for one reason: they didn’t want to deal with the inevitable backlash from Rutgers students that would come with allowing the words “illegal” and “alien” to be used in the same sentence, in their publication—regardless of the fact that they were used in what is pretty obviously a right-leaning opinion column. They remember what happened when the University administration dared to invite a former secretary of state to the campus, and they didn’t want protests outside of their offices or people questioning their funding at the University. The second major issue with this is the discomfort expressed by Corey at what he calls “public disparagement”—the aggressive questioning of his and his editorial boards’ techniques, ethics, and biases. Again, the contractual fairness of this decision is hopefully addressed in some sort of agreement between Khavich and the Daily Targum. (-The Observer)

The smart way to argue with your young teen by Andrea Petersen

Tel: 713-774-5140

History and hyperbole: What young reporters witnessed covering Trump Reporting by Brian Stelter

s reported in The College Fix, a conservative columnist at my alma mater Rutgers University’s student newspaper, The Daily Targum, was recently fired. According to Aviv Khavich, his termination was politically motivated by his use the term “illegal alien” in his column on October 30. Editor in Chief Dan Corey claimed the reason for Khavich’s termination was because Khavich repeatedly locked horns with editorial staff over stylistic changes they made to his columns, as well as edits made to fit his column into the print edition of the paper. However, in the termination letter sent by Corey to Khavich, as posted in The Tab, Corey says Khavich’s efforts to “disparage the Targum in a public forum” were the cause for termination.

FRIDAY, November 11, 2016

instead come up with three possible solutions and let the child choose. He also says parents should listen to their child’s point of view, banish the sarcasm and name-calling and refrain from bringing up past behavior. But parents shouldn’t accept disrespectful language from their children either: Warn them that the discussion will be over if they keep it up. Praising teens when they are being civil is important, too, and much more effective at changing behavior than levying punishments. While it is obviously tempting, yelling isn’t helpful, either. Children can feel intimidated or overpowered and they are likely to miss the lessons parents are trying to teach. Teens will also be more likely to resort to yelling in their adult relationships. Psychologists say that parents need to walk a fine line between being too lenient and too strict with young teens. If they are too permissive, they won’t have the authority later on to set limits on activities that can be potentially dangerous. And if they quash arguments and require complete compliance, teens won’t learn how to advocate for themselves and negotiate with others. (-WSJOnline)

Trump’s campaign created concern about the safety of the traveling press corps. (Photo: CNN) time on the trail with Trump. We granted anonymity to gain the most candid responses possible. Fifteen reporters from a variety of TV, digital and print outlets participated. Here is what they said, beginning with what they learned: - “Biggest lesson for me was to keep an open mind about what can happen in politics.” - “That all previous rules of American politics don’t apply and that all the mores and cultural norms that guided us in the past are no more.” - “I learned that our country is bigger than I thought and there are many more perspectives than I thought. I saw firsthand parts of our country and communities in our country that I think many of us have overlooked.” - “I’ve encountered so much hate throughout this campaign that I didn’t think existed anymore.” - “I learned to trust my instincts. To be fair but to call out inconsistencies when I see or hear them — which is near constant out here with Trump and his campaign.” Trump’s pattern of fibs and falsehoods came up again and again in the survey. Said one reporter: “Some weeks out here feel like a segment of ‘Weekend Update’s’ old segment ‘Really with Seth and Amy,’ where you hear something and you’re like ‘Really?!’” Trump wasn’t the only person guilty of misstatements. When speaking with campaign aides, “you were lied to more often than you could count,” another reporter said. “And especially when the campaign was divided — Corey Lewandowski v. Paul Manafort -- you had to have sources on both sides of the campaign to figure out what was true.” Back to the lessons learned: - “It showed politics were much messier than I thought,” much more complex than “left” and “right.”

where, and it taints not just what they write but what questions they won’t let go of, and their (in)ability to relate to ordinary people in flyover states who are over 30 years old.” - “One lesson: Get out of the prediction business. Reflect what is happening and provide context. Don’t try to guess what is going to happen next or what the long term implications are of any single event.” - “To stick up for myself.” Trump’s vicious and constant anti-media campaign created concern about the safety of the traveling press corps and the other reporters who were penned in at rallies. About half of the respondents to this survey said they never felt like they personally were in harm’s way. “It’s like being a visiting team. They boo, they yell. They don’t throw stuff,” one of the men explained. “I never was afraid,” one of the women said, “but there were times I sensed that this tinderbox was coming close to igniting.” The other half of respondents said they DID feel threatened. And a couple reporters were, in fact, struck by objects thrown by rallygoers or anti-Trump protesters. “I did feel like I was in danger several times,” one man said, “and I didn’t quite understand why more wasn’t being done to create an environment that made it easier for us to just do our jobs.” One woman said that only in the past month did she start to fear that a reporter would get hurt. “Frankly, I’m surprised no one has been punched,” she said. “We’ve all built a tolerance to it,” another woman remarked, summing up the feelings of several respondents. On Monday night, there were loud chants of “CNN sucks” from thousands of rallygoers in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Some members of the Trump press corps tweeted their surprise at just how vociferous it was. (For

to vote. It feels more obligatory when you’ve followed the election so closely.” Others said they never vote in elections they cover. So are they sad to see the campaign end? “Trump is the most unpleasant thing I’ve ever covered,” one veteran reporter griped. Most of the time, candidates who are publicly hostile to journalists are privately friendly or at least accommodating, like Ted Cruz, he said. But Trump was — for better or worse, in this case, worse — consistent: “You couldn’t get basic information like ‘What city are we sleeping in tonight?’ Or, when Trump would say things that were demonstrably false or confusing, there was no one to clear up what he said.” On the other hand, several of the reporters said they would cover a Trump campaign again in a heartbeat. “It’s an amazing story!” said one of the optimists. “I would love to cover another Trump campaign,” another optimist said. “It’s been frustrating in some ways because we watched the candidate learn on the job, but he brought a sense of imperfect humanity to the process, which we normally don’t see. By the time these characters run for president, they’ve usually sanded all the rough edges off and become creatures of makeup and caution.” Another asked, cheekily, “Can I take a vacation and a nap before I answer?” One of the other reporters joked (or at least I think he was joking) that he wants to switch to the media beat and cover the mythical “Trump TV” business if Trump loses. “Trump broke every traditional rule,” said one of the reporters who’s sad to see it end. “And as much as that was frustrating, I wouldn’t have changed it. It was the story of the decade. Win or lose. And I saw it all.” (-CNNMoney)

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“I’d love to go all bling and bright but my daughters won’t let me”

DEEPIKA PADUKONE

Actor Anil Kapoor on love, life and good food by Debashree Mohanty | TNN

: How do you manage to look sexy and fit at 59?

It’s the first time someone has ever called me sexy! I think I am a very boring person. I don’t smoke or drink to look smart or to create an impression. Nor have I dated women so that I become the talk of the town. I have done everything in moderation throughout my life. The body I have today is the result of all the sacrifices in my youth. Q. How old do you feel? I am as excited and energetic as a 20-year-old would be. But my kids think I am my age, or maybe, older (laughs)...

home. I have friends who prefer coming over to my home than going to their own. One of my director friends once explained, “most houses are built with a lot of compromises, yours is the one with minimum compromise. That’s why it’s so warm and has so much love...” I think it is the way my wife has done up our

home. I was born into a lower middle class f a m ily. Dal, chawal, subzi was our staple. It was much later that I took a liking towards Indian-Chinese food, that too since it is closer to our palate.

Q. I’ve heard people love going to your home because of the warmth it exudes... (Laughs) I’ve often wondered what attracts everyone to my

BOLLYWOOD TIT-BITS Do You Know the Real Name of Your Favorite Star? by Brajesh Bhatia

e all still admire and appreciate the movies, like Sahab, Bibi, Ghulam, Chaudhvin ka Chand, Pyaasa, and the caliber of Guru Dutt as our favorite actor, director and producer, but how many of us know his real name – probably very few. His real name was Vasanth Kumar Shiv Shankar Padukone. Vishal Devgan became famous as Ajay Devgn. Akshay Kumar’s real name is Rajiv Hari Om Bhatia. Kumudlal Kunjilal Gangoly became famous as Ashok Kumar. Bobby Deol’s real name is Vijay Singh Deol. Here are the rest: Ajit - Hamid Ali Khan Chiranjeevi - Koindela Siva Shankar Varah Prasad Chunkey Pandey - Suyash Sharat Chandrakant Deshpandey Danny Denzongpa - Tshering Phintso Denzongpa Dev Anand - Devdutt Pishorimal Anand Dharmendra - Dharam Singh Deol Dilip Kumar - Yusuf Khan Govinda - Govind Arun Ahuja Jackie Shroff - Jaikishan Kakubhai Jagdeep - Syed Jawahar Ali Jaffry Jaya Prada - Lalita Rani Jeetendra - Ravi Kapoor John Abraham - Farhan Abraham Johnny Walker - Badruddin Jamaluddin Qazi Johnny Lever - Janardhan Rao Kamal Haasan or Hassan - Parthasarathy Srinivasan Katrina Kaif - Katrina Turquois Kumar Gaurav - Manoj Tuli Madhubala - Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi Mahima Choudhry - Ritu Chaudhry Mallika Sherawat - Reena Lamba Meena Kumari - Mahjabeen Ali Bux Manoj Kumar - Harikrishna Goswami Nana Patekar - Vishwanath Patekar Nadira - Florence Ezekiel Nargis - Fatima Rashid Preity Zinta - Preetam Singh Zinta Raj Kapoor - Ranbir Raj Kapoor Raj Kumar - Kul Bhushan Pandit Rajesh Khanna - Jatin Khanna Rajnikant - Sivaji Rao Gaekwad Reena Roy - Saira Khan Rekha - Bhanurekha Ganesan Salman Khan- Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan Sanjay Khan - Abbas Khan Sanjeev Kumar - Harihar Jethalal Jariwala Shammi Kapoor - Shamsher Raj Kapoor Shashi Kapoor - Balbir Raj Kapoor Sunil Dutt - Balraj Dutt Sunny Deol - Ajay Singh Deol Tabu - Tabassum Hashmi Khan And who can forget Tun Tun, whose real name was Uma Devi Khatri and a well known singer.

Anil Kapoor (Photo: File/AFP) I am a totally non-fuss person. I am very happy with whatever is served to me. I genuinely complain very less about anything. Q. Do you cook? I don’t know how to cook at all. There was a time I could make a decent omelette, but now I have totally lost touch with that side of me. My wife too doesn’t like cooking. That was her only condition before we got married - that she will never set her foot inside the kitchen. At that moment I decided that I’d propose marriage to her the day I could afford a cook.

...DEEPIKA IN VOGUE The ever-so-stunning Deepika Padukone has done it yet again. This time for Vogue. For their November issue, the fashion magazine teamed up the magical effervescence of the Tamasha actor, fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee and the historic city of Benares. And the result couldn’t have been more breathtaking. Vogue’s cover this month is called ‘The Benares Story’ starring the Bollywood star and the celebrated fashion designer. Deepika is stunning in a Sabyasachi Mukherjee outfit. Photo by Tarun Vishwa, courtesy of Vogue India Online.

‘Wonder Woman’ star India stuntmen drown Gal Gadot pregnant during film shoot with second child The ‘Batman v. Superman’ and ‘Justice League’ actress announced the news on Instagram.

ANGALORE, AFP | Two stuntmen drowned on Monday after they jumped from a helicopter into a reservoir in southern India while shooting a scene for an upcoming film, police said.

Television footage showed the two stuntmen and Duniya Vijay, one of Kannada cinema’s top actors, jump from a height of about 30 feet and surface in the water after a few seconds. But only Vijay managed to swim back to shore safely.

Anil Raghav and Uday reportedly drowned while performing an action sequence in Thippagondanahalli Reservoir, 35 km west of Bangalore. (Photo: AFP)

onder Woman Gal Gadot is set to become a mom —

again.

The 31-year-old actress announced her pregnancy on Instagram with a selfie of her and husband Yaron Versano making a heart shape with their hands on Gadot’s stomach. She added in the caption,

“So excited to share this wonder with you... #mommyforthesecondtime.” Gadot and Versano also have a daughter, Alma, born in 2011. Gadot made her debut as Wonder Woman in Batman v. Superman earlier this year. She’ll reprise the role in next year’s Wonder Woman film.

The crew was shooting the climax scene of regional Kannada film “Maastigudi” when Anil Verma, 31, and Raghav Uday, 38, plunged into Thippagondanahalli reservoir in southern Karnataka state. “The two actors have drowned to death as they could not swim and were not rescued in time,” local inspector H.L. Nandeesha told AFP.

Police have registered a criminal case of negligence against the producers “as precautionary and safety measures were not taken for the shoot,” senior officer, Chandragupta, told AFP. “There were no life jackets, no rescue team nor an ambulance,” he added. The two men had been missing for more than three hours before their bodies were found.

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500 and 1,000 rupee notes to be Saree-clad May says postwithdrawn from circulation Brexit opportunities in India

EW DEHLI (Bloomberg) - Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a sudden address to the nation, announced that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denomination notes are being withdrawn from midnight. He said that such notes will become “mere paper”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi today announced that Rs 500 and Rs 1000 banknotes would be withdrawn from the financial system at midnight, saying it was part of a crackdown on rampant corruption. In an unprecedented move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation through Doordarshan, India’s state television. He is scheduled to meet President Pranab Mukherjee after his telecast. This is the first time Modi addressed the nation in this man-

ANGALORE (AFP) - British Prime Minister Theresa May said Tuesday there was a “world of opportunities” for post-Brexit Britain in India, as she donned a saree during a temple charm offensive in Bangalore.

(File Photo) ner since he was elected more than two years ago. Modi’s address to the nation comes at the end of the day in which he met the three chiefs of the armed forces - Army Chief Dalbir Singh, Navy Chief Sunil Lanba and Indian Air Force Vice Chief BS Dhanoa - to review India’s security following the tension with Pakistan. National Security Advisor

Ajit Doval was also present at the meeting. The Prime Minister then chaired a meeting of his senior ministers. The meeting came as tension along the India-Pakistan border continues, with over 100 violations from the Pakistani side since the surgical strikes that India carried out on terror launch pads in Pakistan-administered Kashmir in the intervening night of September 28-29.

U.S. Commerce Department issues preliminary ruling on aluminum dumping investigation by Scott Patterson

ASHINGTON, DC (WSJ Online) - The Commerce Department, in a preliminary finding, said certain aluminum exports by China Zhongwang Holdings Ltd. to the U.S. circumvented antidumping restrictions imposed on the company in 2010. The investigation was initiated last year in response to allegations by a U.S. trade group that China Zhongwang and companies affiliated with its founder, Liu Zhongtian, were shipping aluminum in the form of shipping pallets into the U.S. to evade punitive tariffs. The Commerce Department in 2010 punished China Zhongwang

and other Chinese producers with tariffs as high as 374.15% after finding they were receiving illegal subsidies and dumping, or selling products in the U.S. below market prices. The preliminary determination, detailed in a Nov. 3 memorandum from Christian Marsh, the Commerce Department’s deputy assistant secretary for antidumping and countervailing duty operations, found that a type of aluminum that didn’t fall under the scope of the 2010 ruling should be subject to restrictive tariffs. The aluminum is so similar to restricted metal that it can be passed off as virtually the same kind, the memo said.

What is employment discrimination or wrongful termination? • “I complained to human resources because I wasn’t enjoying my work, and I was fired as a result.” o Although this may sound like retaliation, your HR complaint was not based on a protected reason. Also, there is no law that requires work to be enjoyable.

Nitin Sud

n involuntary termination often results in the fired employee blaming the employer for “wrongful termination” or “discrimination.” However, in most employment situations in Texas, an employer can fire its employees any time for any reason. There are only a few exceptions. Employers cannot discriminate against employees based on their race, sex, age (if over 40), religion, color, national origin, or disability. Employers also cannot retaliate against employees for making good faith complaints of discrimination based on these protected categories. Otherwise, most terminations, no matter how “unfair” they may seem, are usually not illegal. The following are some examples of situations that are likely not to be considered unlawful termination:

• Another employee falsely accused me of stealing. I didn’t do it, but the company did a poor investigation and I was fired as a result. o It’s not fair, but it’s still not illegal. • I wasn’t trained properly on how to do the job. So I was set up to fail. o It’s not fair, but it’s still not illegal. • Everybody hates the new boss. He has fired 10 people in the last few months. Everybody should sue. o If everybody hates him, then he’s equally terrible to everyone. He does not discriminate. This is likely bad management. You will be better off working somewhere else. However, if an employer basis a termination decision, even partly, on a protected reason, the ramifications could be severe.

Board Certified Labor and Employment Attorney Nitin Sud represents employees, executives, and small business• “My boss really es in the following matters: Litigation t hours are Monday thru Friday 8am till 5pm. in state and federal micromanaged me. I know how to do my job and he had courts, Wrongful termination no reason to keep looking and employment discriminaover my shoulder and telling tion claims, Overtime claims, me what to do. Yes, I yelled Employment contracts, Severat him and got fired as a re- ance agreements, Non-compete and non-solicitation matsult, but he had it coming.” o Bad management ters. For more information, visit www.sudemploymentlaw. is not illegal. com

The findings apply to all Chinese aluminum exporters and U.S. importers. “We are gratified by Commerce’s preliminary determination to take steps to shut down what has been a significant avenue of circumvention for Zhongwang and other Chinese producers,” Alan Price, counsel to the U.S. trade group and chair of international trade practice at Wiley Rein LLP, a Washington, D.C., law firm. The decision comes as U.S. metals producers are struggling to compete against a flood of aluminum and steel produced in China, which they say is subsidized by the Chinese government, depressing prices. Alcoa, the largest American aluminum maker by volume, last week split away from its profitable parts-making unit. By the end of the year, only five aluminum smelters will be operating in the U.S., down from 23 in 2000. After the U.S. this year imposed a raft of new tariffs on Chinese steel imports, Chinese steelmakers figured out another way to penetrate U.S. markets, shipping their steel via Vietnam, according to American steel producers. The Commerce Department on Monday opened two investigations into the practice. By shipping the metal to Vietnam before sending it to the U.S., the companies effectively mask its origin, hoping to skirt tariffs against Chinese-made steel. China Zhongwang, initially contacted by U.S. government officials in April, didn’t respond to questions, the Commerce Department said. By withholding information, “Zhongwang significantly impeded the proceeding,” Commerce said. By not responding, “Zhongwang has failed to cooperate to the best of its ability in providing the requested information,” Commerce said. China Zhongwang President Lu Changquing, in a written response to the findings, said it chose not to participate in the inquiry because it ceased production of the products addressed by the Commerce Department’s investigation in early 2015. “[W]e have no plans to produce or sell such products in the future,” he wrote. The Wall Street Journal reported in September that the Commerce Department was investigating whether thou-

For Classified call

713-774-5140 Visit us online Voiceofasiaonline.com

May said that Britain would not need to ease visa restrictions -- a key demand from Delhi, but a contentious domestic issue -- in order to reach a trade deal with India once her country has left the European Union.

P. M. May presented an offering to Lord Shiva. (Photo: AFP)

“Leaving the European Union presents us with a world of opportunities and I’m determined to seize on them and that’s why I’m here in India,” May told the BBC in Bangalore, adding that one billion pounds worth of deals have been signed during her two-day visit.

as she visited the Someshwara Temple.

Fending off suggestions that visa concessions would be necessary to reach a deal, May said: “What I’ve heard here from businesses is that they see the UK as an attractive place to do business.”

Accompanied by a delegation of around three dozen business leaders, May also met with local start-up entrepreneurs and visited a factory run by Dynamatic Technologies, which operates two facilities in Britain.

The first day of May’s visit -- her first bilateral trip outside Europe since taking office -was overshadowed by the visa issue, but the prime minister was on a charm offensive as she arrived in India’s tech hub, wearing a gold and green saree

Earlier in the day, she was met by hundreds of excited flag-wearing children at a local primary school and watched a flypast by the Indian Air Force.

sands of tons of aluminum at a factory in a Philadelphia suburb formed part of an alleged scheme by Mr. Zhongtian to evade tariffs by disguising the metal as shipping pallets. Aluminum Shapes LLC, which said it didn’t control any of the pallets at its facility, wasn’t specifically mentioned in the Commerce Department’s Nov. 3 memo.

Journal article in September detailing allegations that firms linked to Mr. Liu tried to disguise the Chinese origin of large quantities of aluminum and avoid U.S. tariffs by routing it through Mexico. Mr. Liu denied any connection to the metal stockpiled in Mexico.

She was joined at the temple by Hindu priests who presented her with fruit, a flower garland and a piece to silk to give as an offering to the Hindu deity Lord Shiva.

After

meeting

with

her

A U.S. trade group has alleged to the Commerce Department that the pallets at Aluminum Shapes were imported as a way of circumventing tariffs on so-called extrusions, products made by heating and squeezing aluminum into shapes such as pipes and construction beams. Pallets, made by welding multiple extrusions together, aren’t on the Commerce Department’s list of penalized items.

In October, the Journal reported that the Department of Homeland Security and Justice Department launched a probe into whether some U.S. companies linked to Mr. Liu illegally avoided punitive tariffs. Homeland Security agents have questioned former employees of companies associated with Mr. Liu in the investigation, which involves whether the companies committed criminal or civil violations that could include smuggling, conspiracy and wire fraud.

Mr. Liu and China Zhongwang were also subjects of a

Last week, a dozen U.S. senators asked the Obama ad-

counterpart Narendra Modi on Monday, May said Britain would not “turn its back on the world” after leaving the EU but emphasised that new economic relationships had to benefit all sides. Delhi has pushed for an easing of restrictions on students wanting to stay on in Britain after completing university courses, but May said there was already a “good system” in place, offering just small concessions for business travellers. May, who earned a reputation for being tough on immigration as Britain’s interior minister, will likely stand her ground on visas with anger at levels of immigration a crucial factor in the outcome of the June “Brexit” referendum. ministration to block a $1.1 billion deal reached in August for Zhongwang USA LLC, controlled by Mr. Liu, to purchase a Cleveland-based aluminum company, Aleris Corp. The senators, in a letter sent to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, said the deal would “directly undermine our national security, including by jeopardizing the U.S. manufacturing base for sensitive technologies,” including military applications. Zhongwang USA is an investment company owned by Zhongwang International Group Ltd., the parent company of China Zhongwang. An Aleris spokesman, responding to the letter, said last week that less than 1% of its 2015 volume went to defense applications. A Zhongwang spokeswoman said the deal “will bring in additional resources and capital” to Aleris.

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Indian man fined USD 51K, jailed, for bomb hoax at airport

39-year-old Indian, who triggered a bomb scare here at the Geneva airport to avoid missing his flight to India, has been sentenced to six months prison and slapped with a hefty penalty of 50,000 Swiss francs, Swiss media reported today. The Indian, who has not been named, called up an Aeroflot airline employee at Geneva’s Cointrin airport last month and told them there was a bomb on his Moscow bound connecting flight to India, which he was rushing to catch, the Le Matin daily reported. The plane, with 116 passengers on board, had to be evacuated and throughly searched after the Swiss police was alerted about the bomb scare made by the Indian man who lives in the Swiss town of Montreux. The man, who was arrested by the police after he reached the airport to catch his flight, was sentenced to six-months

The Indian, who has not been named, called up an Aeroflot airline employee at Geneva’s Cointrin airport last month and told them there was a bomb on his Moscow bound connecting flight to India, which he was rushing to catch, the Le Matin daily reported. (Photo: AFP) prison term and also slapped with a fine of 50,000 Swiss francs (USD 51,200) to compensate for the loss time of police and airport authorities, the report said. Geneva police chief Francois Waridel said that the amount

would be enough to pay the 101 police officers and six security agents who were called in to respond to the alert. “Considering the times we are living in, we have to take maximum security precautions,” Waridel said. (-PTI)

UK mosques turn hi-tech for dawn prayers solution Birmingham Central Mosque presented the data to local mosques, and they agreed to adhere to the new standardised timetable

K mosques have turned to technology for help working out the exact time for dawn prayers, a problem faced for centuries. As part of a Birmingham-based project expected to be replicated across the UK, mosques used astronomy cameras and crowdsourcing to work out when Muslims should mark ‘fajr’ – the first prayers of the day at first light, ‘The Times’ reports. Shahid Merali, a general practitioner and founder of the OpenFajr project, told the newspaper: “During Ramadan we noticed in one local mosque people were still eating as their time of dawn hadn’t set in, while next door they had started fasting and were performing morning prayers, while in another worshippers would already have prayed and gone home to bed or to work. “The lesson was about collaboration

and consensus through open data. It’s like a blueprint for enabling community cohesion.” The break of dawn, around two hours before sunrise, differs across the UK, but even neighbouring mosques currently vary by up to 45 minutes in marking morning prayers. This is due to the use of different formulae to calculate the time at which the first rays of sunlight spill over the horizon in their area. The problem has now been solved in Birmingham, where around 150,000 Muslims from diverse Islamic denominations now adhere to a synchronised local timetable as a result of the OpenFajr project. Merali bought an astronomy camera with a dome that captures a 360-degree view of the horizon and mounted it on a rooftop, using image processing to cancel out light pollution.

It took a photograph every 60 seconds either side of dawn every day for a year. Around 25,000 images were uploaded online and circulated to more than 170 local mosques and scholars and also to experts at the University of Cambridge and HM Nautical Almanac Office, asking them to choose which image captured first light each day.

by Julfikar Ali Manik

HAKA, Bangladesh — Vandalism and arson directed at Hindu temples and homes continued over the weekend in Bangladesh, as crowds in various parts of the Muslim-majority country appeared to target its largest religious minority group.

But Hindu communities are increasingly unnerved, said Anjan Kumar Deb, the vice chairman of Nasirnagar subdistrict, northeast of Dhaka, the capital, where an angry Muslim crowd ransacked 15 temples and scores of homes on Oct. 30. Fifty-three people have been arrested in connection with those crimes. India expressed “grave concern” over the attacks, with Sushma Swaraj, the external affairs minister, instructing Delhi’s ambassador to the country to visit the prime minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina. The violence in Nasirnagar, whose population is about 40 percent Hindu, was set off by a Facebook post published by a Hindu youth. The post included an image of the Hindu god Shiva appearing at a Muslim holy site in the Saudi city of Mecca. Mr. Deb, a Hindu community leader, received a call on Saturday that unknown people had built a fire on the veranda of his home. “The attackers want to create a panic among Hindus,” Mr. Deb said, adding that

3 High Commission officials in Pakistan leave for India

SLAMABAD (PTI) Three Indian High Commission officials out of the eight accused by Pakistan of being members of Indian intelligence agencies, left for India on Tuesday, according to a media report. Geo News, quoting sources, reported that three officials -First Secretary commercial Anurag Singh, Vijay Kumar Varma and Madhawan Nanda Kumar left for Dubai from Islamabad on a morning Emirates flight. Five other Indian High Commission officials – Rajesh Kumar Agnihotri, Amerdeep Singh Bhatti,

Dharmendra Sodhi, Balbir Singh and Jayabalan Senthil -- will leave for India via road through the Wagah border, the report said. Foreign Office Spokesman Nafees Zakaria last week had read out a statement at his weekly briefing saying that a number of Indian diplomats and staffers were involved in “coordinating terrorist and subversive activities in Pakistan under the garb of diplomatic assignments”. He had named the eight Indian officials, accusing them of being members of Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and Intelligence Bu-

reau (IB). There was no official confirmation on how many Indian officials had left Pakistan and were expected to leave the country. Last month, Pakistan had declared Indian High Commission official Surjeet Singh persona non-grata after India’s action against Pakistan High Commission official Mehmood Akhtar following Indian police’s busting of an ISI-run spy ring. On November 2, Pakistan had pulled out six of its officials in the wake of the spy scandal.

Pakistan deports ‘Afghan girl’ Sharbat Gula

For overcast days, statisticians filled in the gaps based on data from clear mornings. Birmingham Central Mosque presented the data to local mosques, and they agreed to adhere to the new standardised timetable from May this year. The OpenFajr project will be replicated in London and Peterborough, with hopes to extend it further. (-AFP)

Arson and vandalism rattle Hindu communities in Bangladesh

Many of the acts were minor. Late Saturday or early Sunday, for instance, Hindu idols were defaced in temples in the north and south of the country, according to the police.

Young girls from the Akha hill tribe in Thailand are up with the sun, taking turns on a handcrafted swing. (Photographer - Prasad Ambati)

Pakistani Inam Khan, owner of a book shop, shows a copy of a magazine with the photograph of Sharbat Gula from his collection in Islamabad. (Photo: AFP)

ESHAWAR (AFP) Afghanistan’s president Wednesday welcomed back Sharbat Gula, the greeneyed woman immortalised on a National Geographic cover, after she was deported from Pakistan to the war-torn homeland she first fled decades ago. Pakistani officials handed

over Gula, whose haunting eyes were captured in a cover photo taken in a refugee camp in the 1980s, to Afghan border authorities after escorting her from a Peshawar hospital where she was being treated for Hepatitis C. Gula, arguably Afghanistan’s most famous refugee, was

arrested last month for living in Pakistan on fraudulent identity papers. Gula said she first arrived in Pakistan an orphan, some four or five years after the Soviet invasion of 1979, one of millions of Afghans who have sought refuge over the border since.

China questions Nepal’s commitment to ‘One China’ policy Protesters in Bangladesh during a rally against recent communal violence in the country, in Dhaka last week. (Photo: A.M. Ahad) the campaigns may aim to strip Hindus of their lands. Human rights and government groups have opened investigations into last week’s attacks, including allegations that leaders from the governing party helped incite a crowd that went on to overrun temples and homes in Nasirnagar. Journalists also questioned why police permission had been given to Muslim organizations to hold a rally over the Facebook post when it was clear that they were bent on violence. Nasirnagar’s top administrator, who had issued permission, was transferred on Sunday, an indication of official displeasure. Mizanur Rahman, the superintendent of the police overseeing the district, said that 500 security personnel had been deployed since the violence on Oct. 30, but that they had been unable to prevent the burning of six more houses on Thursday. “It is not possible to guard each and every place in the

area,” he said. “If someone is smoking or has a matchbook with him, if he drops his burning cigarette, or sets fire to a bunch of dry jute sticks or a bamboo house, that could trigger a fire.” He added, “How can we stop this type of incident?” On Saturday, in the northern district of Netrakona, a youth was arrested while trying to set fire to a temple, said Zaydeb Chowdhury, the superintendent of police. In Jhalakathi, a southern district, “unknown miscreants” destroyed Hindu idols either late Saturday or early Sunday, said Mohammad Mahe Alam, the officer in charge of Jhalakathi police station. He said that there were no witnesses, and that he suspected the attack had been motivated by a dispute over the land the temple occupies. On the same night in Sirajganj, in northern Bangladesh, “unidentified miscreants” broke the heads off statues of goddesses from a temple, said Basudeb Sinha, the head investigatory officer at the Sirajganj police station.

by Kosh Raj Koirala

ATHMANDU, Nov 8 - Expressing concern over the commitment of the new government to Nepal’s long-held one-China policy, China has registered strong objections with the government over ‘anti-China’ activities in Nepal in recent days. Highly-placed sources said the northern neighbor has also expressed serious concern over the alleged meeting of ruling Nepali Congress (NC) party President Sher Bahadur Deuba with representatives of the Tibetan government in exile during a function organized by an Indian think-tank in Goa, India. Sources said a Chinese embassy official registered a strong objection at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) over Nepal government authorities allowing the Taiwanese flag during an art exhibition held at *Nepal Art Council on Sunday. The official had questioned the commitment of the new government and the ruling party leaders to the ‘One-China’ policy. Nepal has been recognizing

Tibet and Taiwan as integral parts of China under its official foreign policy. The Chinese side has taken as a breach of the One-China policy by Nepali authorities the use of the Taiwanese flag during the function held at the art gallery. Sources said China is additionally wary of the activities of leaders of the coalition partners of the new government led by Pushpa Kamal Dahal. It has registered its displeasure both formally and informally against the government and the ruling party leaders in recent days. China grew highly suspicious of the commitment of the new government to the One-China policy, especially after NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba participated as one of the key speakers in a conference which was also reportedly attended by the Prime Minister of Tibetan Government in Exile, Lobsang Sangay, in Goa. Chinese embassy officials in Kathmandu, according to sources, had immediately communicated their displeasure to the NC leadership as well as the foreign minister, Prakash Sharan Mahat. Although NC Chief Secretary Krishna Prasad Paudel issued a

statement on Saturday refuting the participation of any representatives of the Dalai Lama in the function attended by Deuba, the brochure of the India Ideas Conclave shows Sangay as one of the distinguished speakers at the conference. The Chinese side also expressed reservations over Deuba accepting an invitation of a ‘far right’ organization like the India Foundation. Highly-placed government sources said the Chinese side has also expressed its objection over the recent decision of the government to grant holidays when the Indian and Chinese presidents visit Nepal. “Whether the Chinese president will visit Nepal or not has not been fixed yet. But the government has already announced to give a holiday when he visits Nepal. China has expressed displeasure over such a decision of the government,” the source told Republica. The source added that China is equally miffed at the activities of Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Bimalendra Nidhi. A representative of the Chinese embassy openly alleged that Nidhi had harbored negative intentions against China in all his activities.

HOROSCOPE

VOICE OF ASIA 22

FRIDAY, November 11, 2016

Your Horoscope for the Week of November 11, 2016 READ YOUR COMPLETE HOROSCOPE

by Hardik Vyas, Astrologer Cell : 832-298-9950

ONLINE WWW.VOICEOFASIAONLINE.COM

Libra (R,T) 23 Sept to 22 Oct

Aries (A,L,E) 21 March to 20 April Your ideas & plans will become a blueprint for your future plans. Domestic & personal decisions which will tend to make you feel more secure in who you are. Your confidence has recently been weakened by others trying to pull you down. Don’t allow others to make you feel inferior, make your mark & stick to it. Family & friends will express their genuine gratitude for your honest efforts.

Listen to your inner voice, the sound of it may surprise you at first. Let your true feelings come to the surface, deal with little problems before they compound into larger ones. Your positive approach in dealing with others’ problems will help them to heal emotionally, spiritually. You may also have the gift of being able to push others in the direction you want them to go. You understand how to use the energy of the team, and this enables you to stretch a dollar with great success.

Taurus (B,V,U) 21 April to 20 May

Scorpio (N,Y) 23 Oct to 21 Nov

Your ability to win others over to your side & Your style alone will make you popular. You’re at home with a full plate of tasks and a busy room to entertain. You may feel tired of being in the supporting role and be ready to quit. Hesitate on the quitting and focus on your message. Be open about your feelings. Take a bigger slice of the responsibility than usual. By boosting your confidence, you’ll raise the value of your work. A new you is beginning to emerge. With your resources, lucrative people will find you to be indispensable.

The future is yours if you know what to do with it. First you need to find out how things work, then you will know how to repeat the conditions when necessary. You need to put more effort into achieving your goals. An almost finished project will get an extra creative push. You’ll be able to find exactly who you want to be on your side. Avoid any new developments that aren’t directly related to what you are doing now.

Sagittarius (BH,F,DH,TH) 22 Nov to 21 Dec

Gemini (K,CHH,GH) 21 May to 20 June It’s Time for Spark in your personal and professional relationships. They will grow & blossom beyond your expectations. Utilize your energy to organize, re-build & prepare for upcoming events. Your personal magnetism & appeal will certainly give you an edge in everything you do. Be careful that others are not misleaded by mistake, be clear with your approach. Recent changes in your lifestyle could prove to be a positive influence on others. You may be pleasantly surprised by comments made by higher ups.

Your quick mind, calmness & memory will help you in any creative endeavors you try. Strong friendships that came about by is just you being yourself. It’s hard sometimes for you to be open about yourself, but this week you’ll find yourself feeling confident enough to confide in others. Travel could bring you cultural knowledge that can’t be learned in any other way. Be careful not to put too much trust in relatives who are incapable of comprehending your personal situation.

Capricorn (KH,J) 22 Dec to 20 Jan

Cancer (D,H) 21 June to 22 July You’ll feel a new energy that’s been building up inside you. You need to change with the times, face the challenges at hand. If you aren’t already in control, you soon will be. An old schedule or budget may no longer be relevant. The world awaits your next move so don’t waste this rare opportunity. Luck is on your side as long as you are reasonable in what you ask for. Confidence and hard work are an excellent combination to get the job done right. Don’t compound things by being defensive.

Take a risk and reach out for new goals & targets. Get ready for some serious sitdown negotiations now. It’s vital that you know what you want before the discussion begins. You don’t want to be with some hardheaded person who is going to neglect you. Your best protection is preparation. If possible, rehearse. This allows you to consider all the possibilities, rather than have to deal with them on the spot. Your interactions with the people around you should be free and easy.

Aquarius (G,S,SH) 21 Jan to 19 Feb

Leo (M) 23 July to 22 August Try to reflect on positive influences rather than the negative ones. Your keen understanding of the direction you’re headed in will enhance your confidence & assist you in achieving your goals. High emotional & spiritual feelings are Your motives & could be challenged by those you love & trust. Focus your energy, exhibit your generous nature & understand other’s feelings. Your rewards will far outweigh the effort. You’ll be able to achieve success, if you trust your gut feelings & remain loyal to your friends & family.

Virgo (P) 23 August to 22 September Take your position, with confidence & others will show their support. Think positive & pieces will fall into place. Focus is on finding a perfection for your style. Your independent spirit should help you find the perfect place for you to enjoy what you do. An elderly person may teach you to try something new, possibly even adventurous. A little risk-taking could be good for you. Open the doors & be yourself. Take pride in how you handle your time with organization & confidence.

Feelings, of being overworked and undervalued. You and your partner can connect and tell each other your troubles. Even though you may feel unusually high-strung, don’t allow your tension to cause you to make a wrong move or a false start. Stick with what you know, both in things and in people. Someone you’ve known a long time may contact you from a long distance. If possible, you should plan a reunion along with mates and partners.

Pisces (D,CH,Z) 20 Feb to 20 March Expect some interesting change of plans. Unfinished business may distract your focus. Someone can appear reasonable and attractive one minute, then just the opposite a moment later. You may receive invitations to learning events. Take the time to express your views & your opinions will become crystal clear. Your appeal will help to make your dreams come true. If you go with the flow & you’ll gain recognition for your sensitivity & down to earth approach. Don’t be afraid to tell your story, you’ll find out who cares and who doesn’t. You will get help from loyal allies.

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VOICE OF ASIA 23

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Voice of Asia is Hiring Voice of Asia is Hiring LOOKING FOR REPORTERS LOOKING FOR REPORTERS

FRIDAY, November 11, 2016

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Project No. RFP 17-27 Sealed proposals will be received in Procurement Operations (3100 Main Street, Room No. 11B01, Houston, Texas 77002) until 2:00PM (local time) on Wednesday, December 7, 2016. Documents can be obtained at: www.hccs.edu/ procurement.

PET of the WEEK

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MANAGEMENT TIP OF THE WEEK Beat Procrastination by Thinking About the Future Typically, knowing the upside of completing a task isn’t enough to make us put in the effort to actually do it. That’s because the present is concrete and the future is abstract. But you can short-circuit your procrastination tendencies by making the future feel more real. Here’s how: Visualize. Take a moment to paint a vivid mental picture of the benefits of completing the task. If there’s a phone call you’re avoiding or an email you’re putting off, imagine the sense of satisfaction you’ll feel when it’s over. Pre-commit, publicly. Most of us don’t want to look foolish or lazy to other people. So dare to say, “I’ll send you the report by the end of the day” — it can be just enough to make taking action more appealing. Confront the downside of inaction. Instead of telling yourself you can do the task tomorrow (or the day after), force yourself to think about the downside of putting it off. What are the real consequences of not getting it done today? Source: Adapted from “How to Beat Procrastination,” by Caroline Webb

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