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VOICE OF ASIA Commemorating 25 years of dedicated service to the community
FRIDAY, January 3, 2014 Understand Small Business Health Care Tax Credit. Read more on Page 15 OR Call 713-771-2900
Vol. 27 No. 1 Friday, January 3, 2014 Published Weekly from Houston 713-774-5140 20 Pages ( 2 sections) 50 cents E-mail: voiceasia@aol.com
Indian capital’s new chief felled by ‘Delhi Belly’, tweets symptoms ply.
Kejriwal, whose pledge to fight for India’s “common man” won over voters in New Delhi state polls, had been set to start governing the capital on Monday after being sworn in at the weekend.
Dr. Renu Khator named Deputy Chair of Dallas Federal Board
But after weeks of rallies in a gruelling election campaign that pitted him against the two main political parties, Kejriwal said he been taken ill with diarrhoea and a severe fever. “When the chief minister gives you a minute-by-minute update on his bowel movements -- hail democracy,” said Priyanka Chaturvedi, a Congress party spokeswoman. Kejriwal, whose Aam Aadmi party was born out of an anti-corruption mass movement two years ago, had pledged to give free water to households in New Delhi. He has also vowed to slash consumers’ electricity bills. Kejriwal’s party asked well-wishers and supporters in a tweet to stop flocking to his home in the suburb of Ghaziabad, saying he needed to rest. Anti-corruption champion and Aam Admi (Common Man) party leader Arvind Kejriwal addresses supporters after taking his oath of office at a ceremony in New Delhi, on December 28, 2013 (AFP, Raveendran)
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EW DELHI, December 30, 2013 (AFP) - The Indian capital’s new chief minister caused a sensation Monday when he tweeted about missing his first day at the office due to a stomach upset -- but he battled through to fulfill a top campaign pledge of supplying free water. The news that Aam Admi (“common man”) Party chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had honored one of his major promises was overshadowed by his candour about his symptoms. The anti-corruption champion, sworn in at the weekend, swept to power on a promise to provide greater transparency and he was true to his word, tweeting freely about the “Delhi
belly” that had spoiled his first day. “Running 102 fever since yesterday. Severe loose motions. Sad that I won’t be able to attend office today,” the former tax official said on his verified Twitter account. He has more than 961,000 followers on Twitter and regularly tweets to share his views. His latest comments were an instant hit on the micro-blogging social media network, with plenty of offers of sympathy -- and jokes. “Wow (you’re) such a wonderful Aam Aadmi (common man). Talking publicly about loose motions. History is made!” said social worker Suryanarayan Ganesh.
True to his famed workaholic nature, Kejriwal ignored a high fever and diarrhoea to chair a meeting of water board officials at his modest apartment. “It was decided all domestic consumers with metered connections will get 20 kilolitres (20,000 litres) of free water every month,” the head of Delhi’s water board, Vijay Kumar, told reporters outside Kejriwal’s apartment. That decision by the Aam Aadmi Party government, sworn in at the weekend, works out at nearly 700 litres per day. Critics have said giving out free water will encourage wastefulness in a country where water is in short sup-
Unlike his predecessors, Kejriwal, whose backers range from taxi drivers and teachers to business proprietors and servants, has said he and his ministers will not occupy the sprawling bungalows surrounded by lush lawns built by India’s former British colonial rulers. Congress’s rout in Delhi and three other state polls has been seen as one more sign the powerful Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, which has given India three premiers since independence, may be about to lose office in national elections due in May. Kejriwal’s party is leading the Delhi government with outside support from the Congress party, which rules nationally but was pushed to a distant third place in the Delhi elections. “Will Arvind Kejriwal pass the motion? That is the question we are asking tonight,” tweeted television editor Ritupana Chatterjee.
Dr. Renu Khator, HOUSTON: (29 Dec, 2013 ) Dr. Renu Khator, the highest ranking Indian-American in the education sector and the Chancellor of University of Houston, has been named deputy chair of the Dallas federal reserve branch for 2014. Khator served on the Dallas Fedral Board since 2011. The Federal Reserve Board in Washington DC on December 13 made the appointments for the 12 Federal Reserve Banks nationwide. Each Federal Reserve Bank has a nine-member board, and every year the federal board of governors appoints three of the local directors and designates a chair and a deputy chair. JC Penney Inc CEO Mike Ullman was named chair of the Dallas federal reserve. Khator took the dual position of chancellor and president at University of Houston in 2008, becoming the varsity’s first foreign-born president and the first Indian immigrant to head a comprehensive research university in the US. (PTI)
Doctors have grim outlook on Michael Schumacher’s condition
File picture shows German Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher skiing during a press day in Madonna di Campiglio, northern Italy on January 15, 2004 (AFP/File, Vincenzo Pinto)
GRENOBLE, France (AP) -- Doctors offered a grim assessment of Michael Schumacher’s head injuries Monday, providing no prognosis for the Formula One driving great after his skiing accident in the French Alps. Schumacher has been placed in a medically induced coma to relieve pressure on his brain, which suffered bruising and bleeding when the retired seven-time world champion fell and struck a rock Sunday while skiing during a family vacation. “We cannot predict the future for Michael Schumacher,” Dr. Jean-Francois Payen, the doctor in charge of Grenoble University Hospital’s intensive
care unit, said at a news conference. “He is in a critical state in terms of cerebral resuscitation,” said Payen, the chief anesthesiologist treating the 44-year-old German driver. “We are working hour by hour.” Schumacher’s wife, Corinna, daughter Gina Maria and son Mick were at his bedside. “The family is not doing very well, obviously. They are shocked,” his manager, Sabine Kehm, told reporters. Schumacher earned universal admiration for his uncommon driving talent, which led to a record 91 race
wins. His single-minded dedication to victory sometimes meant he was denied the same affection during his career that he received Monday. Schumacher “gave the image of someone indestructible, powerful,” France’s four-time F1 champion Alain Prost said on iTele TV channel. “It’s a banal accident compared to what he’s done in the past . It’s just a dumb thing that ended badly.” Schumacher and his 14-year-old son were skiing Sunday morning in the French Alpine resort of Meribel, where the family has a chalet. He fell and hit the right side of his head on a rock.