Voice of Asia June 20 2014 by VoiceOf Asia

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FRIDAY, June 20, 2014

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40 Indians kidnapped in Iraq, employer says they are safe

Wheat researcher Sanjaya Rajaram named World Food Prize laureate ing program. Borlaug, a Nobel Peace Prize winner known as the “Father of the Green Revolution,” founded the World Food Prize in 1987. The award has special meaning this year, the 100th anniversary of Borlaugh’s birth. In announcing the award, World Food Prize President Kenneth Quinn noted that Borlaug himself called Rajaram “the greatest present-day wheat scientist in the world” and “a scientist of great vision.” His work is credited with increasing world wheat production by more than 200 million tons over 25 years.

Sanjaya Rajaram by Sarah Gonzalez

ASHINGTON, June 18, 2014 - Sanjaya Rajaram, whose research led to a “prodigious” increase in world wheat production, was named the winner of the 2014 World Food Prize today in a ceremony at the State Department in Washington. Born in India and raised in Mexico, Rajaram worked alongside Norman Borlaug at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico, eventually succeeding Borlaug as the head of the center’s wheat breed-

“It is an honor to recognize Dr. Rajaram today for his development of an astounding 480 varieties of wheat, bred to offer higher yields, resistance to the catastrophic rust disease and that thrive in a wide array of climates,” Quinn said. Rajaram, who was traveling and unable to attend the ceremony, said he was honored to be named a World Food Prize laureate, which includes an award of $250,000. “I believe that the challenges of 21st-Century agriculture and food

There is no information yet on the identity of the abductors, who have so far made no demands for the release of the Indians. Source: AP

Continued on Page 3

he government has conﬁrmed that 40 Indian workers employed with a construction

company, mostly belonging to Punjab, have been kidnapped near the seized town of Mosul in Iraq.

Chandrababu Naidu Urges Swami Ramdev to establish Yoga Centre in Tirupati

ndhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu has offered all possible assistance to Baba Ramdev in establishing a world class herbal park in Tirumala and a spiritual center in Tirupati for yoga, herbal medicine, naturopathy and ayurved.

There is no information yet on the identity of the abductors, who have so far made no demands for the release of the Indians.

“Yes, I can conﬁrm to you that 40 Indian workers have been kidnapped in Mosul,” Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin told reporters Wednesday. “We have not received any calls of any nature from anyone who have inContinued on Page 9

City Council elects Elackatt as Missouri City Mayor Pro Tem

It is only ﬁtting that the center is opened in Tirumala, the abode of Kaliyuga Venkateshwara, which attracts Hindus from all over the world, Naidu said. Naidu paid rich compliments to Baba Ramdev, for not only spreading yoga, but for serving the cause of the nation, for a corruption free India, and for striving to make the country number one in the world. Because of Baba Ramdev’s relentless campaign, the Congress Party disappeared without an address in recent elections, Naidu said. Ramdev called on the chief minister in Hyderabad on June 10 to congratulate him on his election and becoming the chief minister. During their meeting, Naidu asked Baba Ramdev to set up

Mayor Pro Tem Robin Elackatt. Image courtesy of Missouri City

Baba Ramdev being greeted by Lokesh Naidu, younger brother of Chandrababu Naidu. a major yoga centre in the temple town of Tirupati along with a nursery of medicinal plants at Tirumala. Naidu wanted it to be the “world’s best herbal park.” “We will consider his proposal to set up the yoga center

through our Patanjali Trust,” Ramdev said. “I respect Chandrababu Naidu as my elder brother. He has kept the country’s interests ﬁrst. He has the ability to combine both prosperity and spirituality. People of Andhra have

given him a massive mandate. Hence I came here to congratulate him on his victory,” said Ramdev. “Whether it is making India a world power or bringing back black money he Continued on Page 6

Missouri City Councilman Robin Elackatt was elected Mayor Pro Tem June 16. The vote to approve his nomination earlier in the month was found to be invalid when newly elected Councilman Chris Preston had not been sworn in by a notary public. A councilman needs a majority vote to be elected Mayor Pro Tem and since Preston’s vote was invalid, Elackatt only had three votes in his favor.

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othing demonstrates more vividly the mess Iraq has become than the prospect of Iran and the U.S. discussing whether they can cooperate to ﬁx it.

FRIDAY, June 20, 2014

U.S. Needs Iran to Save Iraq

The U.S., after all, has designated Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism. As recently as 2011, the State Department accused Iran’s al-Quds force of training and equipping Shiite insurgents in Iraq to kill U.S. soldiers. In neighboring Syria, the U.S. and Iran are backing opposite sides in President Bashar al-Assad’s efforts to crush a Sunni rebellion. Indeed, the militant Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant now rampaging across much of Iraq operates on both sides of the border. And none of this takes into account the U.S.-Iranian conﬂicts over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, or the risk of alarming moderate Sunnis in Iraq and U.S. allies such as Saudi Arabia at the thought of U.S.-Iranian collusion. So no wonder U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has said military cooperation is not currently being considered -- which didn’t stop Republican Senator John McCain from calling any cooperation with Iran “the height of folly.” Related: U.S. and Iran, Frenemies in Iraq Yet if the last decade-plus of warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan have taught the U.S. anything, it is that even its military might cannot stabilize fractured states if neighboring powers are working to prevent it. Ignoring that lesson would be the greater folly: The U.S. has vital interests at stake in Iraq and very limited options.

The Enemy Of My Enemy Is My Friend. Photographer: Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP Photo Talking with Iran could also help the U.S. solve the problem that is Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who is currently playing Iran and the U.S. against each other. Both the U.S. and Iran have called on Maliki to reach out to Sunnis and Kurds in order to isolate ISIL, but he is instead militarizing Shiites and relying on their numerical majority to prevail. Given Maliki’s persecution and alienation of Sunnis over the past few years, any successful appeal across Iraq’s sectarian divide would have to come

from a new prime minister. The Iranian regime is in the best position to convince him of the wisdom of resignation. The bigger question isn’t whether the U.S. should try to work with Iran, but whether it can. Events are moving so quickly that the chance for a political settlement may soon pass. ISIL is boasting of executing 1,700 Shiite soldiers in a transparent attempt to provoke the Shiite retaliation that would inﬂame moderate Sunnis and ignite a Syria-style civil war. Hard-liners in Tehran may also prefer to replicate their success in propping up Assad in Syria,

pouring gasoline on the ﬁre rather than work with the Great Satan in Iraq. McCain’s usual partner in foreign-policy adventurism, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, has it right. Working with Iran to stabilize Iraq, he said, is akin to the Allies working with Stalin to defeat Hitler in World War II. Then, as now, the U.S. had to prioritize threats and try to work with any willing partner to counter them -- even when that partner was an enemy. Courtesy: by The Editors, Bloomberg (published on 31 Jun.17, 2014).

The least bloody way to stabilize Iraq is for the U.S. to bring all sides -- Sunni tribal and political leaders, Shiites, Kurds -together to ﬁght ISIL with the promise that the government in Baghdad will offer more autonomy and power-sharing. This strategy is likely to succeed only with Iran’s cooperation. The U.S. and Iran will not become friends or allies, but if they can work together on Iraq, they should. There is a precedent, albeit a brief one: The two countries shared intelligence to defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan, their common foe at the time, in 2001. ISIL is their common foe now.

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FRIDAY, June 20, 2014

Second Front Page

Friday, June 20, 2014

Page 3

Email: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com

Graduation Ceremony held at Chinmaya Mission Houston

Wheat researcher Sanjaya Rajaram named World ......

Continued from Page 1 production are surmountable compared to the past and can be overcome provided we can bring together new knowledge and delivery systems to farmers in a very sustainable manner,” Rajaram said in a news release. Secretary of State John Kerry delivered the keynote address at the ceremony, drawing a link between food security and world peace. “This is the time for a second Green Revolution,” Kerry said. “This is why Dr. Rajaram is being honored for his work in wheat, which will deliver 2 million more tons of wheat to the food market every year.” Kerry said the World Food Prize correlates with President Obama’s Feed the Future program, an initiative to address global hunger and food insecurity. He also took the opportunity to announce the appointment of Nancy Stetson as

Graduating Class of of 2014 with Acharyas Smt Darshana Nanavaty and Sri Gaurang Nanavaty. Photo by Nilesh Shah by Shalini Konde

lives from High school to diverse paths of higher education. As the children led by the Acharyas, returned from the temple, the Smrti Hall echoed with the beautiful melody of “Bhumi Mangalam” sung by Smt. Jamuna Murali and Sri Chirantan Vaidya. This song is an invocation for peace in earth, water, ﬁre, and air, the sun, moon, and planet, in all living beings, in body, mind and heart. The assembled gathering prayed for harmony and peace in everyone and everywhere. The Chinmaya Orchestra continued the beautiful strains with Guru bhajanas.

une 8th, a beautiful morning of joy, hope and goodwill, heralded the 2014 graduation day of Chinmaya Mission Bala Vihar. The 27 children from class of 2014 congregated early in Smrti Hall with their families and friends and the day began with photo sessions for the graduating class arrayed in bright colors. The graduation ceremony commenced in an auspicious manner in Sri Saumyakasi Sivalaya with the priest Sri Ganeshji conducting a puja for the wellbeing of the youngsters ready to make the big transition in their

On entering the Chinmaya Smrti foyer, the students placed

ﬂowers at the lotus feet of Pujya Gurudev, Swami Chinmayananda, before entering the Smrti Hall. Many parents in the assembled audience watched misty-eyed as the students took their place in the Hall and the Pujya Acharyas were seated. This was the big day to honor the culmination of hard work and dedication that point to bright future prospects. But above all, for the Bala Vihar class of 2014, this was a day of deep gratitude and recognition of the strong spiritual education received in Bala Vihar. For over 13 years this was made possible with the blessings of Pujya Gurudev, the love and guidance of Acharyas

Tel: 713-774-5140

at the Mission and the commitment of Bala Vihar teachers. In the words of Pujya Gurudev – “Success or achievement is not the ﬁnal goal. It is the ‘spirit’ in which you act that puts the seal of beauty upon your life.” To encourage the children with words of wisdom from the ancient vedic scriptures, Pujya Acharya Sri Gaurang Nanavaty gave a beﬁtting discourse based on Taittiriya Upanisad wherein the preceptor gives clear instructions to the aspirants on character building and imparts to them rules of right conduct and right living. The students were then treat-

ed to a message from a Chinmaya Bala Vihar alumnus Tarak Makecha. His words of encouragement and advice were well received by parents and students alike. Following this, the Acharyas of the Mission ascended the stage for the ceremonial lighting of the lamp. The next section of the graduation ceremony was the presentation of the graduates. Siblings of graduating class did the honors of introducing the class of 2014 and each graduate offered a lamp to Pujya Gurudev and received an award of recognition from the Acharyas Smt Darshana Nanavaty and Sri Gaurang Nanavaty.

the State Department’s special representative for global food security. Also in attendance at today’s ceremony were Julie Borlaug, Norman Borlaug’s granddaughter; Deputy Agriculture Secretary Krysta Harden, and Democratic Senator Tom Harkin from Norman Borlaug’s home state of Iowa. The World Food Prize is the foremost international award recognizing individuals whose achievements have advanced human development through food. Rajaram will receive the prize during the Borlaug Dialogue Symposium in Des Moines, Iowa, October 15-17. That’s the ﬁnal event of the Borlaug centennial year, which has included events in India, Mexico and the unveiling of a Borlaug statue in the U.S. Capitol Statuary Hall. Borlaug died in 2009. SOURCE: AgriPulse Signifying the completion of Bala Vihar education and as a mark of their deep gratitude for spiritual education received, the students offered Guru Daksina to the Acharyas. As the students lined up in their array of resplendent traditional clothing in front of the audience, the beautiful ceremony drew to a close in Smrti Hall with the resonance of ‘Abhinandanam’ – hearty congratulations to the aspirants. For more information on Chinmaya Mission Houston and its activities visit www.chinmayahouston.org or Jay Deshmukh 832 541 0059 or Bharati Sutaria 281-933-0233.

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Free speech doesn’t mean speaking without consequence Q. Like many others, I am very dissatisfied with the way our country is being run. I expressed my views at work, and my boss proceeded to fire me. He said that there was a company policy against political speech in the office. How can this happen in this country? What ever happened to freedom of speech? Can I sue my employer? A. Free speech is alive and well, but so is a private employer’s freedom to choose how his business will be run, and whom he will hire. The Constitution’s right of free speech basically means that the government cannot restrict an individual’s speech. If the government punished you, censored you, or tried to prevent you from expressing your opinions, the restriction would be unconstitutional. The Constitution’s right of free speech, however, has nothing to do with a private employer’s right to discipline or fire an employee. For example, if the government were to pass a law stating that you could not express your opinion on a political issue, it would be an unconstitutional restriction on free speech. On the other hand, a private employer may have a policy that prohibits employees from discussing politics in the workplace. This policy would be constitutional and you could be fired for violating it. Q. I have a 20 year-old felony conviction. An apartment recently refused to rent to me based on this conviction. Is this legal? I served my sentence. Why should I continue to be punished? A. I am often asked this question, and although it may not seem fair, there are no laws protecting against discrimination based on a criminal record. A landlord is free to consider your past criminal record and act as he or she feels is appropriate. All you can do is explain that you have turned our life around, and ask the landlord to reconsider. Q. I have reason to believe that the child next door is being abused. I am considering reporting this. Who should I contact? A. First, let me emphasize that if you suspect child abuse the law requires that you report it. Abuse occurs when a person causes or fails to prevent injury to a child. It may involve mental or emotional injury, physical injury, sexual conduct, or child pornography. If you suspect or learn that a child is being abused you should report it immediately to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. You may contact the 24-hour toll-free abuse line at 1-800-252-5400. Q. Is it possible to live with someone for as long as ten years and not have a common law marriage? A. To have a common law marriage, you must do more than just live together. If a couple wants to live together and not be married, they may live together for as long as they want. To have a common law marriage, the couple must agree to be married, hold themselves out as married, and live together as married. No matter how long you live together, without all three elements there is not a common law marriage.

FRIDAY, June 20, 2014

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ABOUT L-1 VISAS Q: What is the L-1 Visa?

A: The L-1A visa is a temporary non-immigrant visa which allows US companies to transfer executives or managers from one of its affiliated foreign companies to its office in the United States or to enable foreign companies seeking to establish their affiliated US offices to send an executive or manager to the US for the purpose of establishing their US presence. The L-1B visa is a temporary non-immigrant visa for foreign professional employees with specialized knowledge who transfer to the US office to help impart specialized knowledge to the related US affiliate. Q:

How long is this visa valid for?

A: The L-1A visa has a maximum duration of 7 years and the L-1B has a maximum duration of 5 years. Q:

What are the general requirements for the L-1 visa?

A: To qualify for L-1 nonimmigrant visa classification, the US employer must have a qualifying relationship with the foreign company from where the foreign employee is being transferred (for example, parent company, branch, subsidiary or affiliate) and must be currently or will be doing business as an employer in the US and in at least one other country directly or through a qualifying organization for the duration of the foreign national’s stay in the US as an L-1 nonimmigrant. Q: In order to get the L-1 visa, what is the minimum educational requirement? I have worked as a Managing Director for a large corporation for the last 10 years and got to that position through years of hard work and I do not possess a bachelor’s degree. A: There is no minimum educational requirement for this visa. As long as all general requirements are met for this visa including the requirements that you have served at least one year as an executive or manager in the related foreign company in the last three years, you can probably qualify for the L-1 visa. Q: I manage a small company in India and wish to open up a subsidiary for my company in the US. Can I do this using the L-1 visa? A: Yes, you can if the general L-1 visa requirements are satisfied. Your new company in the US will petition for you to transfer to the US as an executive or manager to set up and operate your startup (or new office) US company. If all the conditions are satisfied, you will be approved for an L-1 visa for one year. This new office provision is designed for those offices which are, at the time of the filing have not been fully established. Q: In order to transfer to the US as an executive or manager, does the US company need to pay the transferee a prevailing wage like an H-1B beneficiary? A: There is no prevailing wage requirement for the L-1 visa transferee. However, the pay must be reasonable considering the nature of the occupation, size of the company and the general business practices for that kind of business. Q: My wife just received her L-1A visa and I received my L-2 visa. Being the dependent, can I work?

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A: In order to work, you must ﬁrst receive your employment authorization card (EAD). To get the EAD, you will need to separately ﬁle an application for employment authorization.

A. If you do not pay money you owe, the creditor has the right to sue, and can get a “judgment” against you. The judgment, however, is simply the ofﬁcial pronouncement that you owe the money. The creditor must then take steps to collect. In Texas, much of a person’s property is “exempt” and cannot be taken to satisfy a judgment. For example, the credit card company cannot force the sale of your house, can’t garnish wages, take social security income, or take your personal property, up to $30,000 for a single person or $60,000 for a family. To see a more on this topic, visit the debt collection section on my website, below.

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FRIDAY, June 20, 2014

Trinity Mar Thoma Church 40th Year of Thanksgiving Projects Introduced

by Jojy Jacob

ouston: Trinity Mar Thoma Church Houston, one of the first parishes in North America Europe Diocese is celebrating its 40th year of its foundation this year with various projects and programs. This parish began in 1974 as a small prayer group and it now became one of the major parishes in the diocese with a membership of more than 300 families. As a part of its 40th year of formation, Trinity Mar Thoma Church is planning several humanitarian and mission projects in Houston and India. On Sunday June 8th Rt. Rev. Dr. Thomas Mar Theethos Episcopa, of Mumbai Diocese celebrated the Holy Communion, when 13 of young members of Trinity church entered into full communion covenant with Christ for the first time. After the Holy Communion service the general meeting was started with a prayer by youth chaplain Rev. Roy A. Thomas. In his opening remarks Vicar Rev. Kochukoshy Abraham welcomed Theethos Thirumeni who is visiting the Trinity Parish for the first time. He noted that Thirumeni’s leadership has made tremendous improvement in humanitarian and mission projects of Mumbai Diocese. He also reiterated the significance of 40 in Biblical context.

from 13 submissions. Mr. Mathai Mathew introduced the formation of a fellowship called Trinity Healing Hearts, by individuals who experienced God’s healing touch from cancer, heart attack and other life threatening diseases to support similarly affected individuals in Houston and India. Mr. Shawn Oommen provided an update of Trinity Center, a multi- purpose facility and Theethos Thirumeni accepted checks from donors. Mr. Titty Simon and Mr. Varghese Samuel handed over souvenir sponsorship donations to Thirumeni, representing Anns Grocers and Apna Bazar Grocers respectively. Rev. Kochukoshy Abraham introduced the renewed website of the parish. In his closing remarks Theethos thirumeni commended the efforts of the parish in helping the neighbors here and the needy people in India. Rev. Saju Mathew, Vicar of Immanuel Mar Thoma Church also blessed the meeting with his presence.

Top: First Communicants. Below are Trinity Mar Thoma Church Houston, Ofﬁce Bearers.

Mr. Aldrin George, secretary of the parish offered vote of thanks and the meeting was dispersed after a prayer by Rev. AG Mathew followed by Theethos Thirumeni’s benediction. Fellowship lunch was arranged for all attended provided by ﬁrst communicant families.

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COMMUNITY

VOICE OF ASIA 6

FRIDAY, June 20, 2014

Guru Peyarchi Homam Chandrababu Naidu Urges Swami Ramdev to establish at Sri Meenakshi Temple Yoga Centre in Tirupati Continued from Page 1 stood behind us. We want to use yoga for character building. In Tirupati, which is a heaven on earth, a program is in the pipeline, which if initiated by Chandrababu Naidu, will ﬁnd our support. It will make Andhra Pradesh a famous place in yoga, naturopathy with a herbal garden of world standard,” he added. Ramdev also posted on the Twitter, that he has asked Naidu to include “Yog and Spiritual knowledge in the education curriculum in Andhra Pradesh and he agreed to the same.” Sri Mannicka Sundara Bhattar seen conducting the pujas assisted by Sri Doraiswamy Bhattar and Sri Kalyana Sundaram.

lanet Jupiter is also known as Guru or Brihaspathi. “Guru” is a Sanskrit word, and it literally means the remover of darkness and one who brings the light of knowledge. In Indian Vedic Astrology Guru is considered to be a beneﬁc planet. Performing special puja on Jupiter transition day – Guru Peyarchi is consider very auspicious, as invoking Brihaspathi’s blessings can give good effects. The famous Navagraha Sthalam of Guru (Jupiter) in South India is the Apatsahayesvarar Temple at Alangudi in the Papanasam Taluk of Thanjavur district, Tamilnadu, a divine place where one could propitiate Jupiter. Lord Shiva is manifested here in the form of Lord Guru. Sri Dak-

shinamurthy is worshipped, as Guru Bhagwan here. At Sri Meenakshi Temple Pearland, Guru Peyarchi Puja was conducted in an authentic ceremony over two days – the calendar Guru Peyarchi day on Friday June 13th with a Navagraha Abhishekam followed by Archana. On Sunday June 15th, a more elaborate Homam was conducted, and followed with the Abhsishekam and Archana in the Navagraha sannadhi. Over 100 devotees joined the two occasions to pray for good luck and fortune to the families and friends. Sri Mannicka Sundara Bhattar expertly conducted the pujas with assistance from Sri Doraiswamy Bhattar and Sri Kalyana Sundaram.

d an s u ho T ve Sa

Do s of

Shekhar Agrawal of Patanjali Yogpeeth (USA) Trust in Houston said “I am extremely happy that Hon. Chandrababu Naidu has asked Yogrishi Swami Ramdevji to build a world class Yoga Center in the temple town of Tirupati. We also hope to make faster progress in spreading the message of Yoga and Naturopathy in USA this year as Swami ji is expected to visit USA in the next three or four months.” Swami has been compared to Shivaji’s guru Swami Ramdas, even with King Chandragupta Maurya teacher, philosopher, and royal advisor Chanakya. This modern-day monk saw the rot that had set in in the administration of the Congressled UPA government and took up the task of cleansing the system. Swami Ramdev’s contribu-

tion in India’s recent epochal election, which brought Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party to power, cannot be minimized. In 2009, he established the Bharat Swabhiman Trust with a view to instilling pride in India’s rich heritage and a commitment to work for a better India. Swamiji started a road journey to awaken the masses with goal of liberating the nation from UPA rule. The Congress government

tried everything to discredit him, ﬁling several cases of fraud and arresting his trusted assistant. The worst and most draconian action against Ramdev came on the night of June 3/4, 2011 when the government unleashed a baton-wielding police force to evict Ramdev and 100,000 followers who were participating in a peaceful protest against corruption in the Ram Lila Maidan in Delhi. Ramdev also was the ﬁrst to suggest Narendra Modi for Prime Minister at a rally in

Haridwar on April 26, 2013 and later in August of the same year he said he had no doubt that Modi would tackle India’s problems earnestly and decisively. On January 5, 2014, Modi joined Swami Ramdev in celebrating the 5th anniversary of the Bharat Swabhiman Trust. Modi, along with several high ranking BJP leaders, like Arun Jaitley and BJP President Rajnath Singh have publicly acknowledged his contribution in making the elections a national movement.

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Chandrababu Naidu during his meeting with Swami Ramdevji

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VOICE OF ASIA 7

FRIDAY, June 20, 2014

GOPIO-CT Honors Five Indian American Achievers Indian-American named White House’s Solar Champions of And Congressman Himes As Friend Of India

GOPIO-CT award recipients. From l. to r.: Prasad Chirnomula, Congressman Jim Himes, Dr. Subbarao Bollepalli, Arati Sureddi, Meera Vasudevan and Ashok Vasudevan

ONNECTICUT - At a packed Stamford Italian Center, the Connecticut Chapter of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) honored ﬁve Indian American achievers and those provide service to the community or the society at large. Several dignitaries attended the event including India’s Consul General in New York Dnyaneshwar Mulay, Rep Jim Himes (D, CT 4th District), Stamford Mayor David Martin, Norwalk Mayor Harry Rilling, New Jersey State Assembly Speaker Upendra Chivukula and Connecticut Assemblyman Dr. Prasad Srinivasan. The program started with a welcome by GOPIO-CT President Shelly Nichani who said the chapter initiated several new programs including a cancer walk fundraiser, participation in the Thanksgiving Day

Parade in Stamford, interactive sessionS with elected ofﬁcials in addition to the regular programS such as sponsoring and volunteering in soup kitchens, India Independence Day ﬂag hoisting and Diwali.

able and effective health care, a decent and safe home, and a supportive community. An undergraduate from Harvard, Jim earned a Rhodes Scholarship, and attended Oxford University in England.

Stamford Mayor David Martin extended a warm welcome to everyone and complimented GOPIO-CT for its outstanding community work.

There Indian Americans are honored for their achievements in business and profession. Dr. Subbarao Bollepalli, MD FAPA, is honored for his achievement in medicine. Dr. Bollepalli is a leading psychiatrist in the State of Connecticut. He retired as a Colonel from United States Army Reserve, which was activated during the Iraqi War. He is a member of the Governing Council of Connecticut Medical Society(CSMS). He is currently the President of Connecticut Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (CAPI). His interests include philanthropy, social service, spiritual reading and playing tennis.

This year, GOPIO-CT had selected U.S. Representative from Connecticut 4th District Congressman Jim Himes as Friend of India. A member of India Caucus, Jim has been a supporter of Indian American community. Congressman Himes had travelled several times to India while he was working for Goldman Sachs. As a Congressman Himes is committed to provide all children in America, access to a ﬁrst-rate public school, afford-

A husband and wife team in business, Ashok and Meera Vasudevan, have been selected to receive entrepreneurship award. Ashok is ‘corporateur’ turned entrepreneur who has co-founded with his wife Meera, Preferred Brands International, which makes Tasty Bite, a leader in the specialty food industry. He is the CEO of Tasty Bite and serves also on the Board of several NGOs both in India and the US. He is the Adjunct Professor of International Entrepreneurship of Great Lakes Institute of Management in Chennai, India. Ashok attended the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, Bajaj Institute Bombay and the Harvard Business School. Meera Vasudevan is a co-founder and Principal of ASG-Omni, a strategy-consulting firm that designs and develops entry strategies for large US corporations looking to do business in India. She has also worked closely on social research projects with the Indian government and UNICEF. She has a Bachelor in English with post-graduate qualifications in Marketing from the University of Madras and INSEAD, France. Arati Sureddi received an award for young achievers. Arati is the Founder of Lotus Alliance, a social enterprise addressing human trafficking and forced labor through the responsible tourism industry. She has also helped in launching the Not My Life Awareness Initiative, whose goal is to increase awareness of human trafficking among individuals who are in a position to influence policy and advocate for change. She is a graduate of Boston University’s School of Management. Prasad Chirnomula, an avid restaurateur, received a special award for promoting India

Change

WASHINGTON: An IndianAmerican professor was today named by the White House as the ‘Solar Champions of Change’ in recognition of his immense contribution towards developing alternate source of energy and promoting solar deployment in residential, commercial and industrial sectors. Rajendra Singh, the D Houser Banks Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the prestigious Clemson University, is among the 10 individuals declared as Solar Champions of Change. The White House said these individuals are driving policy changes at the local level to expand energy choices for Americans, grow jobs, and add new clean energy to the grid. With proven success in operations, project/programme R&D, Singh is a leading semiconductor and photovoltaic (PV) expert with over 35 years of industrial and academic experience of photovoltaic and semiconductor industries. After doing Masters from Meerut University and Bachelors from Agra University, Singh received the PhD from McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada, in 1979. From 1979 to 1980, Singh was a visiting Assistant Professor at both the University Of Waterloo, Canada and at Colorado State Uni-

versity, Fort Collins. In 1980, he joined Energy Conversion Devices, Inc as Senior Research Scientist and worked on amorphous silicon solar cells and thermoelectric devices. Singh’s research contributions have been primarily in the ﬁeld of rapid thermal processing, ultra-thin gate dielectrics, low and high-k dielectrics, superconductivity,?? manufacturing of silicon integrated circuits, and solar cells, thermoelectric devices, nanotechnology and local DC electricity. He was the ﬁrst one to report the fundamental differences between furnace processing and rapid thermal processing. His work on rapid thermal processing has led to various new applications, such as novel chemical vapour deposition techniques for the deposition of high- and lowdielectric constant materials and manufacturing of solar cells. His fundamental work has served as an initial incubator to the rapid thermal processing (RTP) technology and the related semiconductor equipment manufacturing industry is now valued at over one billion dollars per year, as he has discovered several of the concepts used in the commercial RTP tools. The use of RTP in solar cells manufacturing is mainly due to Singh’s contributions. (PTI).

cuisine to American society by helping community groups through media. Chirnomula creates delectable and imaginative food in each of his four Thali restaurants and Mexican in his latest venture - Oaxaca Kitchen. In addition to running his ﬁve restaurants, Chef Prasad leads tasting tours of India, hosts private tasting dinners, teaches cooking classes and offers his services at multiple charity events for such groups as the American Liver Foundation, Varli, James Beard House, the American Red Cross, Share

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COMMUNITY

VOICE OF ASIA 8

FRIDAY, June 20, 2014

HSS Organizes Annual Hindu Sangathan Six FBISD Karate Kids among the Best in Texas Divas (Unity Day) Conference American identity and the challenges facing it. Attendees agreed that well formulated action plans, focusing on more cohesive, smaller groups and appropriate execution would be the key to reaching out to more people.

teers, priests of the Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple, and all left fulﬁlled with big smiles on their faces enjoying the day’s activities. The conference provided an excellent platform for the organizations to network, get to know and learn from each other.

The second group concurred that one should put service above self and more community involvement with sewa related activities could increase awareness. Also, if different organizations collaborated and coordinated sewa related activities, it would have a greater

HSS conducts a structured values education program through its 150 chapters nationwide to develop strong character and teamwork and leadership skills and to organize a dynamic and ﬂourishing HinduAmerican community. For more information, visit www.hssus.org.

Pictured (front row, from left) are: Alvin Huang, Charlize Lopez, Allister Huang; and (back row) Sensei Nizar Albagdadi, Titania Huang, Nishant Kelkar, Devashish Akhare, and Sensei Ramon Veras.

ORT BEND ISD - Six Fort Bend ISD students were among 250 karate athletes from across the state to compete in the 2014 Texas USA National Karate-do Federation (USANKF) State Championships and National Qualiﬁer and earn top awards. Competing were: Devashish Akhare (6th grade, Dulles Middle School), Allister Huang (5th grade, Walker Station Elementary School), Alvin Huang (4th grade, Walker Station Elementary School), Titania Huang (Sartartia Middle School), Nishant Kelkar (10th grade, Clements High School) and Charlize Lopez (2nd grade, Settlers Way Elementary School).

Vijay Simha, delivers keynote address

Following are individual karate tournament results: A section of the audience at the event held at the Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple on June 14, 2014. Photos by Shrinivas. by Sanchali Basu

he Houston chapter of Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh USA (HSS) held its ninth annual Hindu Sangathan Divas conference on Saturday, June 14, at the Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple in Sugar Land. Representatives of over 40 Hindu organizations from the Houston area attended the conference. Hindu Sangathan Divas offered representatives of Houston area Hindu organizations the opportunity to network with each other with the goal of synergizing the work of different Hindu organizations. Because these organizations serve the Hindu and mainstream community with a common purpose, they could exchange ideas, share material and resources, and learn from each other’s experiences and mistakes, while at the same time maintaining their autonomy. After an introduction session, representatives attended one of three parallel breakout sessions, covering “Increasing American Hindu Identity and Awareness,” “Synergizing Sewa Activities in Houston Hindu Organizations,” and “Creating Second Generation Hindu Youth Leadership.” Each breakout session included a presentation from an experienced panel followed by discussion. The ﬁrst group developed the general consensus that organizing the Hindu Sangathan Divas conference itself took a large, positive step toward bringing the Houston area Hindu community together. The panelists raised the need for a Hindu-

impact. They also discussed sewa activities to address the needs and challenges of Hindu senior citizens, the Hindu Bhutanese refugee community, and Hindu families as well as how to engage and motivate volunteers. The third group comprising mainly of young individuals considered several issues including the need for secondgeneration leadership and the challenges that they are facing. As a threshold matter, secondgeneration Hindus have to selfidentify as Hindu. For secondgeneration Hindus to serve a leaders in Hindu organizations, the present leaders must engage and mentor them. Organizations should also consider sponsoring different programming tailored for different age groups to keep second-generation Hindu involved. Following the breakout sessions, attendees heard the keynote address delivered by Vijay Simha, National Assistant Executive Director for HSS. Mr. Simha emphasized that Hindu organizations should seek to promote the ideal of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – viewing the world as one family – by coming together with shraddha and vishwas. He notes that if conference attendees maintain a healthy dialogue among Hindu organizations, without ego and self-interest, they will serve the interests of not only the larger Hindu community but also the rest of the world – “Hindu jage to Vishwa jagega.” The hall was ﬁlled to capacity with very excited, enthusiastic members from all participating organizations, youth volun-

UnitedHealthcare awards 10 School-to-Work Internships to Fort Bend ISD Students Company donates $15,000 to Project SEARCH and provides job training for people living with disabilities FORT BEND ISD - UnitedHealthcare welcomed 10 Fort Bend ISD students to its Sugar Land ofﬁce to announce their selection as participants in the Project SEARCH school-towork program, which is designed to hire and train people living with disabilities. Project SEARCH provides real-life work experience through internships at UnitedHealthcare. The goal is to help young adults make a successful transition from school to productive adult life through employment training and learning independent living skills. People ages 18-22 living with disabilities who were enrolled in Fort Bend ISD were eligible to apply for the program. “We are grateful for the opportunity to support Project SEARCH in its efforts to not only help people ﬁnd sustainable employment that enables them to contribute to their communities, but support local businesses as well,” said Don Langer, president of UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Texas. “We look forward to empowering these interns with the skills they need to begin their path to employment.”

“This is like a breath of fresh air knowing that my son has a place to come for career development,” said Karen Hargrove, parent of School-to-Work intern Jordan Hargrove. “This is a wonderful opportunity for him.” “We appreciate UnitedHealthcare for providing our students with exposure to the business world,” said Dr. Dawn Carlson, FBISD Director of Special Education. “The students are excited about being in a business environment instead of a school setting next year, and are eager to prove themselves and utilize the skills they’ve learned.” UnitedHealthcare, which employs more than 10,500 people in Texas, serves the health care needs of more than 3.8 million Texans, including people enrolled in employer-sponsored and individual plans, Medicare and Medicaid beneﬁciaries, as well as military service members, military retirees and their families. UnitedHealthcare partners with more than 51,000 care providers and 500 hospitals across the state. For more information about UnitedHealthcare, visit www.uhc.com or follow @ myUHC on Twitter.

Devashish Akhare – Gold

(Kata-Karate Form) Alvin Huang – Gold (Kumite) Allister Huang – Gold (Kata-Karate Form), Bronze (Kumite) Charlize Lopez – Silver (Kata-Karate Form), Bronze (Kumite-Fighting) Nishant Kelkar – Bronze (Kata-Karate Form), Bronze (Kumite) Student Titania Huang bravely completed the Kumite division in spite of injuries sustained during the competition. All six FBISD students practice and train at Traditional Karate Center under the instruction of Sensei Ramon Veras (Chief Instructor), Sensei Nizar Albagdadi (Senior Instructor), Sensei Pedro Gutierrez, Sensei Kathy Schilly, Kim Villegas and Rebecca Uzick.

VOICE OF ASIA 9

SOUTH ASIA

FRIDAY, June 20, 2014

40 Indians kidnapped in Iraq, employer says they are safe Continued from Page 1 dicated about ransom or any information that they have taken these people under their control,” he added. The Indians, employees of Baghdadbased Tariq Noor al-Huda company, are among scores of foreign workers abducted over the past few days as Sunni rebel forces have overrun several towns and the large cities of Tikrit and Mosul. While there are over 10,000 Indian nationals in Iraq, government officials said that around 100 are in a precarious situation due to the fighting. The Indian government is in touch with everyone in the combat zone, other than the kidnapped workers. “We are working with the (construction) company. Also we are working with the International Red Crescent which has confirmed the incident to

us. But they also at this stage do not know the location of these 40 Indian workers who have been kidnapped,” Akbaruddin said.

to. “We are trying to work with everybody on the ground who can assist us in these very difﬁcult circumstances,” Akbaruddin said.

A representative of Tariq Noor alHuda company told The Indian Express over the phone from Baghdad that the Indian citizens had moved to the Kurdish city of Erbil, which is unaffected by the war, and would be able to move out within a day or two.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had spoken to the families of some of the missing men, the MEA said.

The MEA, which through the day refused to conﬁrm reports that the workers had been kidnapped, said in the evening that the International Red Crescent has direct contact with the rebel ISIS, and had helped the Indian embassy in Baghdad get in touch with Indian nurses stranded in Tikrit. The spokesperson said efforts were on to get as much information as possible on the kidnapped workers, and several groups were being reached out

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, who rushed to Delhi, met Swaraj and said his state was ready to bear all expenses for the safe return of the abducted Punjabis. “We are very worried. I have met union minister Sushma Swaraj in this regard. I have asked the Centre to make all efforts to secure the safe release of the Indians, including those from Punjab. We are ready to bear all expenses for bringing them back,” PTI quoted Badal as saying. The MEA spokesperson said there

Family members of Gurcharan Singh, who is one of the 40 youths abducted in Iraq, in Bhoewal village of Amritsar on Wednesday. Source: Rana Simranjit Singh were no plans to shut down the Indian embassy in Baghdad, and efforts were being made to strengthen it by send-

ing seasoned diplomat Suresh Reddy to assist in efforts to trace and rescue Indian citizens. (Indian Express).

WORLD/US

VOICE OF ASIA 10

US sees no ‘major disruption’ to Iraqi oil supplies

ASHINGTON, June 18, 2014 (AFP) - Washington has not seen any major disruption in Iraqi oil supplies amid a militant assault on a large refinery, a US official said Wednesday, but warned Iraq may have to import fuel for its own needs. Oil markets were spooked Wednesday as militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) attacked the Baiji oil refinery, north of Baghdad, as they pressed an assault which has already seen them capture a large swath of northern Iraq. Iraqi officials said security forces controled the refinery,

but clashes were ongoing and several tanks containing refined products caught fire. “The refinery produces for domestic consumption,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters, adding production had already been halted for a few days “due to a combination of technical and security reasons.” The refinery was shut down on Tuesday and some employees evacuated due to a drop in demand caused by the militant drive which has caused hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. Analysts said a takeover of Baiji by the rebels could pressure domestic fuel supply in

FRIDAY, June 20, 2014

Cornyn Meets With Indian Ambassador to the United States

northern Iraq. “Iraqi authorities may need to import domestic fuel from neighboring countries,” Psaki said. But “there’s no impact on Iraq’s crude oil exports and we haven’t seen any major disruptions in oil supplies in Iraq,” she added. World oil producers have cautiously watched the unfolding chaos in Iraq, which exports around 2.5 million barrels of oil per day, and said the country’s vast crude supplies, mostly in the south, were safe for now. Washington was continuing to monitor “the global oil supply and demand situation,” Psaki added.

US investigates Chrysler ignition switches

ASHINGTON, June 18, 2014 (AFP) - US autosafety authorities said Wednesday they are investigating Chrysler vehicles for ignition switch problems that could prevent air bags from deploying. The National Highway Trafﬁc Safety Administration said it had opened two formal investigations related to the air bag system in certain Chrysler cars. The NHTSA is already investigating similar ignition-switch problems with General Motors vehicles that are linked to at

least 13 deaths.

ceived complaints of stalling.

The agency said that one Chrysler probe is looking to see if there is a safety defect in 2006-2007 Jeep Commanders and 2005-2006 Jeep Grand Cherokees.

“The investigations involve issues of inadvertent ignition key rotation from the run position to the accessory position,” the NHTSA said.

The second investigation involves further review of vehicles that already under recall: the Chrysler 2008-2010 Grand Caravan, Town and Country and Dodge Journey vehicles.

The NHTSA said it had received complaints of the Chrysler vehicles stalling, but that it was not aware of any related incidents involving airbag non-deployment.

Both investigations are looking at airbag design and performance related to the position of the vehicle ignition switch. The NHTSA said it had re-

Chrysler is now owned by Italian automaker Fiat, which took full control of the number three US automaker in January.

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), co-founder of the U.S. Senate India Caucus, met yesterday with Ambassador Dr. S. Jaishankar, Indian Ambassador to the United States. Sen. Cornyn and the Ambassador discussed the Indian national elections, India’s economy, U.S.-India trade relations, and the Senate India Caucus. A photo abpve is from the meeting . Senator Cornyn serves on the Finance and Judiciary Committees. He serves as the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee’s Immigration, Refugees and Border Security subcommittee. He served previously as Texas Attorney General, Texas Supreme Court Justice, and Bexar County District Judge.

Football: Stunned Spaniards gasp at World Cup exit by Jorge SVARTZMAN MADRID, June 18, 2014 (AFP) - Grim-looking Spaniards clutching beers in Madrid bars grasped for explanations Thursday as their heroes crashed out of the World Cup in the group stages, beaten 2-0

by Chile. “What do I think? Sadness. And I think they didn’t play at all. I think they were tired,” said Joaquin Lamas, 34, a salesman, who had painted his face in the Spain colours and donned a red Spain shirt ready for a victory party.

“It is a surprise. I was not expecting it. I thought we would get to the ﬁnal. I was hoping to celebrate today,” he said as half a dozen customers nursed drinks and glared glumly at a television in the city centre’s Taberna del Gijon bar. “From the ﬁfth minute I knew

Spain was not going to do anything,” he complained. “Bad, bad, very bad. I am too sad to say anything good,” he said.

daily El Mundo, as the defeat of the Roja relegated the story of King Felipe VI’s ascension to the throne to second place.

World Cup dreams.

Spain’s sporting press reﬂected the mood.

“Failed!” echoed Spain’s biggest-selling sports daily Marca after Chile’s Eduardo Vargas and Charles Aranguiz administered the killer blows to Spain’s

“Spain once again gave a very poor image, dominated by a Chilean team that barely had to make an effort,” Marca said.

“World failure” headlined the online edition of conservative

“A sad farewell to the champions of the world,” the paper said.

VOICE OF ASIA 11

LIFESTYLE

FRIDAY, June 20, 2014

ONLINE .COM voiceofasiaonline.com

Vol. 27

No. 25

Friday, June 20, 2014 Section 2

Page 11

Email: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com Tel: 713-774-5140

Indian doctors come home to medical tourism hub can save $50,000 to $70,000,” he said. Among those to make such a saving was Doug Stoda, who travelled to Chennai from the United States for a specialised hip procedure by an Indian surgeon who learnt the technique in Britain. Stoda’s wife Ann said it was a “big deal” for them to travel to India, having never previously been outside North America, but she said they had “a very good experience”. “We just had to get to the airport in Chennai and they had everything set up,” she told AFP by telephone from their home in Wisconsin.

see a more than 20 percent annual growth rate between 2013 and 2015, according to global consultancy ﬁrm RNCOS. Many patients come from countries “where they do really require quality expertise at a more affordable price,” said Anto Sahayaraj, 42, who returned from New Zealand in 2012 to work at the Frontier Lifeline Hospital in Chennai. Speaking to AFP after performing a heart procedure on a one-month-old baby from Bahrain, the specialist in paediatric cardiac surgery said foreign patients were encouraged by Indian doctors’ overseas experience. “They see a lot of Indians

prostate cancer, returned to India from Britain last year and pointed out the “million-dollar difference” between the two countries. While Britain enjoys universal healthcare coverage, many Indians struggle to pay for quality private treatment, while public services are poorly funded and governed. “Financial affordability is the biggest problem that India faces,” said Ragavan, 41, who hopes the country’s low health insurance cover will grow substantially over the next decade. He said the beneﬁts of working in one of India’s corporate hospitals include speedy medi-

Doctor seen examining the X-Ray of a patient. A consultant orthopaedic surgeon came back from Britain in 2011 and said there was “a regular stream of doctors coming back”.

by Rachel O’BRIEN

HENNAI - One of the multitude of Indian emigrant doctors, Paul Ramesh moved to Britain in the 1990s, keen to get the best surgical training and earn a generous pay packet. Today he is still treating Westerners -- but in hospital beds back in Chennai, his south Indian hometown in Tamil Nadu state. “When I came back it was quite exceptional to return. Now it’s the rule,” the 46year-old told AFP at the city’s Apollo hospital, soon after performing a heart transplant on a woman from the United States. In Chennai, known as India’s healthcare capital, medical workers describe a “reverse brain drain” as homegrown doctors return from the US and Europe -- at the same time as the city develops as a top budget destination for medical tourists. While the number of Indian doctors abroad remains substantial, Apollo staff say their national hospital chain now gets 300 applications annu-

ally from those working in Britain alone, encouraged by improved living standards and better medical technology at home. Traditionally drawn to the West to boost their expertise and earnings, doctors also cited tightening salaries under Britain’s National Health Service and increasingly tough US healthcare regulations as factors luring them back. “The trend is reversing,” said M. Balasubramanian, president of the Indian Medical Association in Tamil Nadu. “More corporate hospitals are coming up, especially in Chennai. Now (doctors) have an opportunity to use their expertise in their own place... and pull the patients from abroad also,” he said. - All corners of the globe Inside the Apollo, with a lobby bustling more like a marketplace than a typical hospital, K.P. Kosygan has just carried out a double knee replacement on an elderly Kenyan patient. The consultant orthopaedic surgeon came back from Britain in 2011 and said there was

“a regular stream of doctors coming back”. “Certainly when I left India there were not many joint replacement centres or surgeons in India who could train us,” he said. Now doctors want to “share our experience we have gained across the globe,” he said -adding that many were also pulled back to look after ageing parents, in a country where family ties are paramount. As well as treating Indians, Kosygan said he now treats patients “from almost every corner of the world” who are drawn by the cheap costs. Patients Beyond Borders, a US medical travel resource, says the cost of certain Indian medical procedures can be up to 90 percent lower than in the United States, making it one of the cheapest places for treatment. While most patients come to India from the Middle East, Africa and other parts of Asia, interest from America is growing, said Patients Beyond Borders CEO Josef Woodman. “On a heart operation they

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This photo taken on March 26 shows an elderly Omanian patient, center, waiting for a consultation with orthopedic surgeon and specialist in joint replacement and arthoscopic surgery K.P. Kosygan (not pictured) at the Apollo Hospital in Chennai. (AFP)

- ‘Million dollar difference’

At Apollo, a dedicated “international patients” area has clocks on the wall showing times in various cities including New York and Tokyo while various translators are present to deal with foreign arrivals who number about 70,000 a year, the hospital says. Country-wide, the medical tourism industry is expected to

in Western countries and they realise that some of us do come back. With us technology comes back, so they have increasing conﬁdence.”

cal investigations and hardly any waiting lists, but the lack of working directives means he is now at the hospital for up to 17-hour days.

For all India’s advances on the global stage, doctors emphasised ways in which the country’s healthcare system is still sorely lagging.

“Working in India is a double-edged sword,” he said.

N. Ragavan, a consultant uro-oncologist specialising in

“It’s never organised here. What I’m going to do next week is not sure, and what I’m going to do this week is very chaotic.”

LEISURE

VOICE OF ASIA 12

FRIDAY, June 20, 2014

The Indian Festival of Colors Screaming ‘rape victim’ in van video prompts celebrated in Moscow reflection in India

The Indian Festival of Colors took place in Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium on Saturday, June 7. The festival which is observed on the last full moon of the lunar month, is primarily celebrated in India and Nepal. People throw colorful powder during the Holi Festival of Colours in Moscow. Originally, the festival was celebrated in north India by throwing colorful powers onto each other to celebrate spring and to drive away evil spirits. AFP

Japan to ease visa rules ahead of 2020 Olympics

The video, which has been viewed more than 1.2 million times since it was posted last week, shows a white van parked in a secluded area of Delhi with the windows blacked out at night. Link: The video can be viewed at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Dms1FCc4hc&list=TLAvL6b2LM3KStf61e IUjtnYf5O39ECfmv by Trudy HARRIS

EW DELHI, June 13, 2014 (AFP) - A screaming woman locked in a van sparks scant reaction from passersby in a social experiment in New Delhi, as India once again faces up to a series of gruesome rapes and murders. Experts and activists said the video posted on YouTube pointed to a general apathy in India about violence against women despite outrage in some quarters over the gangrape and lynching of two girls in the country’s north. “There’s still an apathy about what’s happening to women, an insensitivity on the issue, although attitudes are changing,” said women’s activist Ranjana Kumari. The video, which has been viewed more than 1.2 million times since it was posted last week, shows a white van parked in a secluded area of Delhi with the windows blacked out at night.

Streets of Tokyo

OKYO - Japan said Tuesday it would relax visa rules for tourists from Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam in a bid to double the number of foreign visitors ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Tourists with Indonesian epassports embedded with a microchip can be exempt from getting a visa, the foreign min-

istry said, while rules for those from the Philippines and Vietnam will also be “substantially relaxed”. “The objectives of these measures are to promote Japan as a tourism-oriented country with the... goal of attracting 20 million foreign visitors” annually, the ministry said in a statement. The new rules would come

into effect “as quickly as possible”, it added. Japan topped the 10 million visitor mark for the ﬁrst time in 2013 as its tourism sector recovers after the quake-tsunami and nuclear disaster three years ago. Ofﬁcials are hoping to boost the number of arrivals as part of a wider effort to kickstart the world’s number three economy.

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Although the screams of a woman are clearly heard coming from inside, a handful of men are seen walking and cycling past. Some stop to listen before calmly moving on. Finally, a young man tries to break into the van, clearly upset about the ‘staged rape’ occurring inside. An elderly man is also seen attacking the van with his stick. The video was posted by a

group called “YesNoMaybe” in what they said was a social experiment in the wake of the horriﬁc attacks on the two girls, aged 12 and 14, late last month in Uttar Pradesh state. The attacks reignited anger over violence against women with small-scale protests held in the state capital and in Delhi, while a political row erupted over a perceived lack of law and order in Uttar Pradesh. Since then, the media has highlighted a string of alleged rapes and hangings of women in Uttar Pradesh, the country’s most populous state. The attacks came just 18 months after the fatal gangrape of a student on a bus in Delhi, a case that made global headlines and left India reeling over its treatment of women. - Rapes go unreported The video sparked an outcry online, with some saying they were “ashamed”, while others said the lack of help was probably reﬂective of attitudes in most capital cities. The group that posted the video did not draw any conclusions. “We hear about rapes every day in India, which leads to widespread protest,” the group said in a message accompanying the video. “Thousands of people attend candlelight marches but only a handful of people act when it really matters.

“So we set out to find how many people would actually help if someone’s in trouble.” Kumari told AFP that many were reluctant to intervene, fearful of being dragged into a lengthy police investigation or even face charge themselves in India’s notoriously inefficient criminal justice system. “There is also still this rationale that the woman must have done something to deserve the attack. There must be some justification for what is happening to her,” said Kumari, director of the Delhi-based Centre for Social Research. Social scientist Shiv Visvanathan said he was wary of drawing conclusions from the video but he said many Delhi residents were scared of being attacked themselves if they intervened. Visvanathan, a professor at the Jindal Global University just outside Delhi, said the capital drew millions of young men from impoverished and remote rural areas searching for work. As a result, he told AFP: “There’s an absence of a community spirit in many parts of Delhi, a feeling that we should work together to stop these attacks happening. “It’s a city of strangers.” The video can be viewed at: www.youtube.com/watch?v= 9Dms1FCc4hc&list=TLAvL 6b2LM3KStf61eIUjtnYf5O3 9ECfmv

VOICE OF ASIA 13

BOLLYWOOD MASALA

Friday, June 20, 2014

Section 2

Page 13

FRIDAY, June 20, 2014

Email: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com

Tel: 713-774-5140

My films down South in- Pitbull wants to move it strumental in shaping my like Bollywood stars career: Yami Gautam

Yami Gautam

ollywood actress Yami Gautam has starred in several ﬁlms down south in the initial years of her career and she says those movies gave her much neede exposure and experience. The 25-year-old former TV actress, who made her Bollywood debut with Shoojit Sircar’s romantic comedy ‘Vicky Donor’ in 2012, starred in Kannada ﬁlm ‘Ullasa Utsaha’ in 2010 and Telegu movie

‘Nuvvila’ in 2011. “It is very difﬁcult to work in another language and it is also very challenging. Those projects were very important to me as they gave me that experience and exposure that was required at that time. It was very important,” Yami told PTI. The actress has also starred in Punjabi and Malayalam ﬁlms as well. Yami, last seen on the big

screen in ‘Total Siyappa’, is currently shooting for Prabhudeva’s ‘Action Jackson’ opposite Ajay Devgn. “The shooting for ‘Action Jackson’ is still on. Hopefully it should release by the end of this year. Otherwise next year it will hit theatres for sure,” the actress said. Yami was in the Capital to promote hair care brand Pantene’s new range.

Bollywood actresses: Course of Action!

umbai, June 17 -- In Bollywood ﬁlms, the genre of action has always the bastion of male actors. But things are all set to change, going by the number of action-oriented roles that actresses are taking up these days. And it’s not just the younger crop of heroines such as Anushka Sharma and Sonakshi Sinha that are leading this change, even senior actresses like Rani Mukerji and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan - both of whom are known for their romantic roles - will also be seen performing stunts in their upcoming ﬁlms. Earlier this year, Madhuri Dixit-Nene was seen performing challenging stunts in Gulaab Gang. “If actresses are trying to move out of their comfort zone, I think it’s a welcome move, and should be applauded,” says trade expert Taran Adarsh.

Rani Mukerji Rani will be seen performing some daring stunts in her next, Pardeep Sarkar’s Mardaani. She play a police ofﬁcer in the ﬁlm, which is being produced by her husband, Aditya Chopra. Bipasha Basu Bipasha will be seen in an action avatar in Hollywood director Roland Joffe’s long-delayed The Lovers (previously called Singularity). Priyanka Chopra The actor, who plays boxer Mary Kom in her next, had to undergo vigorous training to look the part. “The biggest challenge has been to develop a body like that of a boxer’s. It’s an athletic-yet-masculine look...I’ve been injured on the ankles, my head, stomach and knees,” says Priyanka. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan The actress will be making a comeback to the big screen af-

ter five years with Sanjay Gupta’s Jazbaa. “The whole charm of watching actresses doing action on the big screen comes from the fact that we have never seen them in that avatar before. And that’s why it looks fresh and exciting,” says Gupta Sonakshi Sinha She has teamed up with south director AR Murugadoss for a womancentric action drama. We’ve heard that most of Sonakshi’s action scenes will be based on a martial arts tradition from Kerala. “My film is based on a story which is close to my heart and has a very personal and powerful message for all Indian women,” says Murugadoss in an official statement Anushka Sharma She will be seen in an action role in her maiden production, NH10, which is a thriller. Apparently, the makers brought a team of Hollywood action directors on board for the project. (HT).

Kapoor sisters at the music launch of upcoming ﬁlm

Singers Jennifer Lopez and Armando Christian Pérez aka Pitbull, . File Photo DNA

merican rapper and Latin Grammy winner Armando Christian Pérez, better known as Pitbull, in an exclusive with dna, talks about creating the 2014 FIFA World Cup ofﬁcial song, We Are One (Ole Ola,) his chemistry with Jennifer Lopez, passion for football, and how he’d love to try out some Bollywood moves. Brazinga about football The 33-year-old rapper who has been a football fan since childhood, said that it’s not just a sport. It teaches a sportsman the importance of leadership and management. “It teaches you to believe in yourself, makes you disciplined, and the more you practice, harder you work, the better you get.” Jennifer, Claudia and I Talking about his collaboration with the two famous singers, he said that he shared a great chemistry with both. “I have done a number of tracks with JLo earlier, and we have created some amazing music together. Everytime I’m around

her, it’s all about watching, learning, and studying. It’s a natural combination, like a student and teacher. I always play the student. I feel it would be an honour for JLo to watch me grow.” Ole Ola and FIFA He says that along with American pop singer Jennifer Lopez and Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte, he wanted to conﬂuence the amazing culture of Brazil with the world. The song has attracted mixed reviews from across the globe. Pitbull said that he and his team are happy with the kind of response they have received for Ole Ola. He said that it’s tough to say who’ll be the player of the tournament, he will support his country and wishes all the teams well. Ticket to Bollywood Pitbull was last seen with actor and Bollywood’s ofﬁcial pop star Priyanka Chopra in her third international single, Exotic. He shook a leg with Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif

during the opening ceremony of Indian Premier League in Kolkata last year. “My visit to India to perform at the IPL was an amazing experience. Sharing the stage with Shah Rukh was a lot of fun. I didn’t know Priyanka until we worked on Exotic. She has a wonderful voice and is a super great person to work with.” Pitbull and Indian music He ﬁnds Indian musicians extremely talented and would like to associate with them in future. “Indians artists are a lot of fun to work with. I will also get a chance to learn some Bollywood dance steps once I come there.” To all the FIFA teams While sharing his message for the players in the world cup, which begins today, Pitbull said, “All my life, I have tried to make people understand that we all come from the same place. I believe in ﬁghting hard for what you believe in and never giving up. And this is what I would like to tell all the teams.”

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VOICE OF ASIA 14

Friday, June 20, 2014

Section 2

Page 14

Email: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com

Triggers Colts Cricket League Launched in Houston for Juniors

FRIDAY, June 20, 2014

Tel: 713-774-5140

Starbucks offers employees university aid

ASHINGTON, June 17, 2014 (AFP) - Starbucks has announced that it will introduce a university education aid plan for its employees in a reflection of the skyrocketing cost of higher education in the United States. The global chain of coffee shops said its full- and parttime US-based employees will be eligible for aid to complete a bachelor’s degree with Arizona State University (ASU), one of the country’s most active in providing on-line college degrees. Nearly 70 percent of Starbucks US employees are college students or young people who want to go to college. It said that nearly half of Americans who begin college these days will not finish, largely because of high costs and difficulties in juggling jobs with the rest of their lives. “Supporting our partners’ ambitions is the very best investment Starbucks can make,” the company said on its website.

Members of Junior Cricket League of Houston with thier coach

ith its ever increasing global fan base, playing and enjoying cricket is enjoyed by many, but the game is seemingly out of reach for many of its enthusiastic little fans – children in America! While many children in cricket playing nations are able to learn and play the game easily, such opportunities are very limited for youngsters in America. To address this huge unmet need in Houston, the Triggers Cricket Club (TCC) a 501(c) (3) non-proﬁt organization has initiated plans to develop a Triggers Colts Cricket League (TCCL) in Houston, aimed at giving young children an opportunity to formally learn and play Cricket in a fun-loving environment of camaraderie,

respect and sportsmanship. To achieve this goal, the TCC has organized the inaugural 8-12 age group TCC Colts Summer Tournament held over 10 weeks from May to July, 2014. The TCCL had planned active weekly training sessions where dedicated coaches would teach participating children the art of batting, bowling and ﬁelding to prepare them quickly to participate in competitive matches. There was an overwhelming response to the invitation to join the TCCL, with 70 children coming forward to learn the game, and leading to the formation of ﬁve teams named the Cubs, WildCats, Knight Riders (Katy), Super Kings (Katy) and New Territory (Sugarland). The children participate in weekly

practice sessions which also include mock games together with their team-mates. In this ongoing tournament, it has been exciting to see youngsters quickly grasp all aspects of the game and develop a strong team spirit, tremendous enthusiasm, and a driving desire to win. The Grand Finale to crown the TCC Colts Summer Champions of 2014 of this inaugural season concludes on July 19th at Matzke Park and is intended to be a not-to-bemissed spectacle celebrating the arrival of a TCC Colts Cricket League in Houston over an evening of fun conducted in the format of a huge family picnic. While these ﬁnals signal an end to TCCL’s inaugural Summer Tournament, the club intends to build on this enthusias-

tic beginning with exciting plans for consolidation and expansion. Their vision is to identify and groom talented youngsters toward more competitive forms of the game including National Level participation, while simultaneously introducing the game to children at the entry level. Formal training will be available for all children by dedicated coaches, and advanced training will be include coaches with international experience such as Rajeshwari Antani (former player of the Indian Women’s International Cricket team) and Sushil Nadkarni (Current player in the US International Cricket team). TCCL intends to work in collaboration with the children’s parents who will coordinate these efforts and be actively involved in their children’s progress. The TCCL will also have a dedicated website to keep everyone informed, motivated and connected. The exciting news is that TCCL is now planning to continue this momentum with a Winter 2014 TCCL Tournament to be hosted September – November with 5 teams, and expand to two tournaments in 2015 with 8 participating teams playing in 4 grounds. An effort of this magnitude requires support, and Nanda Kumar (President TCC) and Surya Saladi (Program Director, TCCL) thank Wells Fargo and KPIT for their generous support for the inaugural TCCL tournament, and invite additional sponsors to come forward and support children’s cricket in Houston. Junior Cricket has arrived in Houston let the games begin! Like us @ https://www.facebook.com/TCCcolts. Visit us @ http://www.triggerscricket.com/ colts/

The cost of higher educa-

tion is a red-hot topic today in America. Universities have become so expensive -- tens of thousands of dollars per year is a common ﬁgure even at non-elite schools -- that students take out loans to get degrees and are saddled with huge debts they carry with them for years. And economists warn these debts hinder the economy by preventing these young people from doing economy-stimulating things like starting families and buying big-ticket items like houses and cars. Employees who join the program in their third or fourth year as per ASU’s admission requirements will earn full tuition reimbursement for each year of coursework they complete toward an undergraduate degree, Starbucks said. First and second year students will receive a partial scholarship and need-based ﬁnancial aid toward “the foundational work of completing their degree. Partners will have no commitment to remain at Starbucks past graduation,” the company added.

Golf: Lucy Li, 11, ready to make USLPGA Women’s Open history

Eleven-year old Lucy Li of the US hits a shot during a practice round prior to the start of the 69th US Women’s Open, at Pinehurst Resort and Country Club in North Carolina, on June 17, 2014 (AFP Photo/Scott Halleran)

INEHURST - In pigtails and polka-dots, pint-sized Lucy Li displayed plenty of poise on Tuesday as she talked about taking on the US Women’s

Open at the age of 11. The California sixth-grader, whose family is from Hong Kong, booked her place in the second women’s major of the year by taking medalist honors in sectional qualifying. Her status as the youngest qualiﬁer in the history of the event has put her in the spotlight, but Li said it won’t put her under pressure this week at Pinehurst. “The perfect week, I just want to go out there and have fun and play the best I can and I really don’t care about the outcome,” Li said. “It’s just I want to have fun and learn. “I want to learn a lot from these great players.” Li didn’t think she’d be intimidated by the crowds she’s sure to draw this week. She’s already appeared at one of golf’s iconic venues this year, winning the 1011 girls age group in the inaugural Drive, Chip and Putt Championship at Augusta National in April.

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HEALTHY LIVING HEALTH

VOICE OF ASIA 15

Friday, June 20, 2014

Section 2

Page 15

Email: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com

Mammograms may cut breast cancer deaths by 28 per cent

ONDON, (PTI -Wednesday, June 18, 2014) - Modern mammography screening may reduce deaths from breast cancer by about 28 per cent, a new long-term study suggests.

Researchers in Norway set out to evaluate the effectiveness of modern mammography screening by comparing the effects on breast cancer mortality among screened and unscreened women.

The study published in the British journal, BMJ said this means that for every 10,000 women invited to screening, about 27 deaths from breast cancer might be avoided during their lifetime.

They analysed data from all women in Norway aged 50 to 79 between 1986 and 2009 - the period during which the Norwegian mammography screening programme was gradually implemented.

An accompanying editorial said the study largely conﬁrms what is already known - that the beneﬁts of breast screening “are modest at best” - and calls for women to be given balanced information including the screening harms of overdiagnosis, psychological stress, and high healthcare costs.

They compared deaths from breast cancer among women who were invited to screening with those who were not invited, making a clear distinction between cases of breast cancer diagnosed before (without potential for screening effect) and after (with potential for screening effect) the ﬁrst invitation for screening.

Randomised trials from the 1970s and 80s suggested that mammography screening prevents deaths from breast cancer. But the methods used by some of these studies have been criticised, and this has raised doubts about the validity of the ﬁndings.

Based on more than 15 million person years of observation, breast cancer deaths occurred in 1,175 of the women invited to screening and in 8,996 of the women who were not invited. After adjusting for factors such as

age, area of residence, and underlying trends in breast cancer mortality, the researchers estimated that invitation to mammography screening was associated with a 28 per cent reduced risk of death from breast cancer compared with not being invited to screening. The screening effect persisted, but gradually declined with time after invitations to screening ended at 70 years of age. Using the simulation model, they also estimated that 368 women aged 50-69 would need to be invited to screening every two years to prevent one death from breast cancer during their lifetime. “In our study, the estimated beneﬁt for breast cancer mortality (28 per cent) associated with invitation to mammography screening indicates a substantial effect,” the study authors said. But evolving improvements in treatment “will probably lead to a gradual reduction in the absolute beneﬁt of screening,” they said.

‘Super’ banana to face first human trial

YDNEY, June 16, 2014 (AFP) - A super-enriched banana genetically engineered to improve the lives of millions of people in Africa will soon have its ﬁrst human trial, which will test its effect on vitamin A levels, Australian researchers said Monday. The project plans to have the special banana varieties -- enriched with alpha and beta carotene which the body converts to vitamin A -- growing in Uganda by 2020. The bananas are now being sent to the United States, and it is expected that the six-week trial measuring how well they lift vitamin A levels in humans will begin soon. “Good science can make a massive difference here by enriching staple crops such as Ugandan bananas with pro-vitamin A and providing poor and subsistence-farming populations

with nutritionally rewarding food,” said project leader Professor James Dale. The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) project, backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, hopes to see conclusive results by year end. “We know our science will work,” Professor Dale said. “We made all the constructs, the genes that went into bananas, and put them into bananas here at QUT.” Dale said the Highland or East African cooking banana was a staple food in East Africa, but had low levels of micro-nutrients, particularly pro-vitamin A and iron. “The consequences of vitamin A deﬁciency are dire with 650,000700,000 children world-wide dy-

FRIDAY, June 20, 2014

ing ... each year and at least another 300,000 going blind,” he said. Researchers decided that enriching the staple food was the best way to help ease the problem. While the modified banana looks the same on the outside, inside the flesh is more orange than a cream colour, but Dale said he did not expect this to be a problem. He said once the genetically modified bananas were approved for commercial cultivation in Uganda, the same technology could potentially be expanded to crops in other countries -including Rwanda, parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya and Tanzania. “In West Africa farmers grow plantain bananas and the same technology could easily be transferred to that variety as well,” he said.

Soy Foods Might Not Protect Against Uterine Cancer After All

Understanding Long Term Care Long-term care is a range of services and supports you may need to meet your personal care needs. Most longterm care is not medical care, but rather assistance with the basic personal tasks of everyday life, sometimes called Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), such as:

Researchers looked at 49,000 Japanese women who were given two surveys over a ﬁve-year period that outlined their “diet, lifestyle, medical history and food consumption of eight soy food items, including miso soup, tofu and soy milk,” HealthDay reported After the ﬁve year study 112 of the study subjects were diagnosed with uterine cancer, but no association was found between the consumption of soy and these diagnoses. The researchers observed that women who consumed more soy-based food products also tended to eat more vegetables, had less health problems such

as diabetes, and were less likely to consume tobacco or caffeine. There was still no association between soy consumption and a reduced risk of uterine cancer even after the researchers adjusted for factors such as “age, alcohol consumption, smoking, BMI, menopausal status, coffee intake and number of deliveries,” a Wiley news release reported. “Our study found that intake of soy and isoﬂavones were not associated with the risk of endometrial cancer,” study co-author Doctor Motoki Iwasaki, of the National Cancer Center in Tokyo, said in the news release. “This large population-based study found no evidence of a protective association of soy food or isoﬂavone intake and previous studies have been incon-

sistent,” John Thorp, BJOG Deputy-Editor-in-Chief, said in the news release. “Conﬁrmation of these results needs further investigation and larger more diverse studies.” The rate of uterine cancer is generally lower in Asian countries, but the rate has been increasing over the years. The consumption of soy also tends to be more prevalent in Asian countries. “We need further studies with a greater number of cases to verify these ﬁndings and add to the research base,” Iwasaki said. Source: HealthDay, Jun 18, 2014

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Using the toilet Transferring (to or from bed or chair) Caring for incontinence Eating Other common long-term care services and supports are assistance with everyday tasks, sometimes called Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) including: Housework Managing money Taking medication Preparing and cleaning up after meals Shopping for groceries or clothes Using the telephone or other communication devices Caring for pets  Responding to emergency alerts such as ﬁre alarms Who Needs Care? 70% of people turning age 65 can expect to use some form of long-term care during their lives. There are a number of factors that affect the possibility that you will need care: Age The older you are, the more likely you will need long-term care Gender Women outlive men by about ﬁve years on average, so they are more likely to live at home alone when they are older Disability Having an accident or chronic illness that causes a disability is another reason for needing long-term care Between ages 40 and 50, on average, eight percent of people have a disability that could require long-term care services 69 percent of people age 90 or more have a disability

A new study suggests there is no evidence that soy-based foods reduce the risk of uterine cancer. oy foods contain isoﬂavones, which is an estrogen derived from plants that has been shown to protect against cancer, HealthDay reported.

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Health Status Chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure make you more likely to need care Your family history such as whether your parents or grandparents had chronic conditions, may increase your likelihood

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living with a partner

If you live alone, you’re more likely to need paid care than if you’re married, or single, and

How Much Care Will You Need? The duration and level of long-term care will vary from person to person and often change over time. Here are some statistics (all are “on average”) you should consider: Someone turning age 65 today has almost a 70% chance of needing some type of long-term care services and supports in their remaining years Women need care longer (3.7 years) than men (2.2 years) One-third of today’s 65 year-olds may never need long-term care support, but 20 percent will need it for longer than 5 years. Who will provide the care? Support typically come from: 1)An unpaid who may be a family member or friend 2)A nurse, home health or home care aide, and/or therapist who comes to the home. 3) Can be your family member, partner, friend or neighbor who helps care for you while you live at home. About 80 percent of care at home is provided by unpaid caregivers and may include an array of emotional, ﬁnancial, nursing, social, homemaking, and other services. On average, caregivers spend 20 hours a week giving care. More than half (58 percent) have intensive caregiving responsibilities that may include assisting with a activity, such as or feeding. Information on caregivers show that: About 65.7 million people in the US (one in four adults) were unpaid family caregivers to an adult or child in 2009 About two-thirds are women Fourteen percent who care for older adults are themselves age 65 or more Most people can live at home for many years with help from unpaid family and friends, and from other paid community support (To Be Continued..) For Long Term Care Planning contact…. For selection health plan of your choice contact 713-771-2900.

ADA Revises Blood Sugar Level Target for Type 1 Diabetics

he American Diabetes Association (ADA) has released a new statement recommending a new blood sugar (glucose) target level for children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. The experts are now advising type 1 diabetics under the age of 19 to maintain their A1C blood sugar level, which is a test used to measure a patient’s average blood sugar levels over the span of a few months, at less than 7.5 percent. “The new targets should help redouble efforts at improving glucose control in the patient group that is currently most challenging -- adolescents,” commented Dr. Robert Rapaport, director of the division of pediatric endocrinology and diabetes at Kravis Children’s Hospital at Mount Sinai, New York City, reported by WebMD. Dr. Rapaport was not involved with drafting the new guidelines. Prior to this new statement, experts believed that A1C levels as high as 8.5 percent was safe for children under sixyears-old. For the age groups of 6 to 12 and 13 to 19, experts had considered eight percent and 7.5 percent as safe A1C levels, respectively. However, new evidence suggested that high blood sugar levels, known as hyperglycemia, can be extremely dangerous for children

Experts are now advising type 1 diabetics under the age of 19 to maintain their A1C blood sugar level at less than 7.5 percent. (Photo : Flickr/ GovernmentZA) with type 1 diabetes. Experts used to believe that complications caused from this condition affected adult diabetics only. Hyperglycemia can cause serious health complications, such as heart and kidney disease. “The evidence shows that there is a greater risk of harm from prolonged hyperglycemia that would occur if children maintained an A1C of 8.5 percent over time,” co-lead author of the statement, Dr. Jane Chiang, the ADA’s senior vice president for medical and community affairs, said. “This is not to say we are no longer concerned about hypoglycemia, but we now have better tools to monitor for hypoglycemia.” Hypoglycemia occurs when blood sugar levels dip danger-

ously low. Experts that were not involved with writing the statement added that management and care for type 1 diabetes should be personalized. Parents with diabetic children should consult with their doctors to ﬁnd the best treatment plan for their children. “Considering the risk of hypoglycemia in the young children, the management should be personalized,” said Dr. Siham Accacha, director of the pediatric diabetes program at Winthrop-University Hospital in Mineola, N.Y. “More than any other condition, treating children with diabetes requires special consideration.” The new guidelines were released at the ADA’s meeting in San Francisco, CA.

VOICE OF ASIA 16

HEALTH, TECH & SCIENCE

FRIDAY, June 20, 2014

Gene mutation affects breast Amazon introduces 3D cancer survival chance: study Fire Phone PARIS, June 17, 2014 (AFP) - Women with a speciﬁc gene mutation have a higher risk of dying from a type of breast cancer, said a study Tuesday that raised prospects of targeted drugs. Previous research had shown that the chances of surviving breast cancer after treatment were partly inherited. It was suspected that genes in the body’s immune system were involved, but it was unclear which ones. Now scientists link a variant in CCL20 -- a gene involved in immune response -- to a higher risk of death for women who have undergone chemotherapy for so-called oestrogen receptor negative (ER-) cancer. The discovery “can represent ideal targets for tailored therapeutics, and may also enhance our current prognostic prediction capabilities,” said the results published in the journal Nature Communications. The team used data from numerous studies involving more

than 2,600 women in different countries. They looked at protein-coding changes in genes among women who had received chemotherapy for ER- cancer, a category that affects a minority of patients and is harder to treat than ER+ cancer. The team adjusted the results for possibly confounding traits like a patient’s age at diagnosis and tumour size. The discovery explained only a small fraction of the variation associated with breast cancer survival, and more mutations must be uncovered to fully understand the genetic basis of ER- prognosis, wrote the researchers. In a separate breast cancer study published online by the British Medical Journal (BMJ), researchers from Norway and the United States found that mammograms carried out once every two years may reduce death risk by about 28 percent. About 27 deaths from breast

cancer can be avoided for every 10,000 women who did mammography screening -- or about one in 368, said the team after analysing data from all women in Norway aged 50 to 79 between 1986 and 2009. “Breast cancer deaths occurred in 1,175 of the women invited to mammography screening and in 8,996 of the women who were not,” the team wrote, calling the link “substantial”. The ﬁnding adds to the ongoing debate about the value of such scans versus the dangers of overdiagnosis, which sees some women undergo invasive treatment for cancers that would never have made them ill or even been found without a mammogram. In a comment also carried by bmj.com, two American professors of medicine, Joann Elmore and Russell Harris, said the team had by no means put the issue to bed. “The

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s expected, Amazon introduced its smartphone, called the Fire Phone, at an event in Seattle on Wednesday. The phone has a 4.7-inch screen, aluminum buttons, a high-deﬁnition LCD display, among other features. As previously reported, the phone has some 3D functionality, which Bezos called “dynamic perspective.” This allows, among other things, the user to scroll through applications (let a set of phone numbers) just by tilting the phone, rather than touching the screen.

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VOICE OF ASIA 17

ONLINE .COM voiceofasiaonline.com

Friday, June 20, 2014

BUSINESS

FRIDAY, June 20, 2014

Section 2

Page 17

Email: editor@voiceofasiaonline.com

Tel: 713-774-5140

New Corporate Diversity survey shows APA employees are loyal to their companies while their corporate board representation remains low APAs in corporate America value rich work-life and companies that embrace their individual strengths New York, June 9, 2014 –

In terms of leadership AsiaPOPULATION Society, aNEEDS leading FASTEST GROWING MOREglobal ATTENTION FROM CORPORATE AMERICA moveand pan-Asian organization working to strengthen relationships among the United States and Asia, issued today its fifth annual Asian Pacific Americans (APA) Corporate Survey at its Diversity Leadership Forum in New York. Asian Americans comprise close to 6% of the U.S. population, and are the fastest growing minority. The study surveyed employees from Fortune 500 companies to measure the sentiments of Asian Pacific American employees, and highlights the distinctive qualities and talent APAs bring to American corporations and how they perceive working in their respective company.

“Asian Pacific Americans are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population and yet are perhaps the least well understood. Five years ago the Asia Society set out to fill that gap in understanding experiences of APAs in the corporate world,” says Dr. Michael G. Kulma, Executive Director, Global Leadership Initiatives at Asia Society. “Today, the Asian Pacific American Corporate Survey serves as the authoritative resource in this area, providing a unique look at vital data that examines barriers to and best practices for the career advancement of APAs.” The 5th generation Corporate Survey findings reveal that 95.4% of APA employees care about the success of their companies, with 60% committed to staying with their employers for at least 5 years. Additionally, there is a noticeable jump with an 8.8% increase from 2013 when it comes to feeling a sense of belonging as an APA employee.

This survey makes the case for organizations to authentically connect with APAs, invite them into the business conversations, and demonstrate the possibilities for progress on a local and global scale. During the Diversity Leadership Forum, top employers that demonstrate a commitment to APA employees and others are awarded, and their insights and learning of leveraging APA employees’ talent for the corporation business growth are shared and discussed. About the Asia Society Asia Society is the leading educational organization dedicated to promoting mutual understanding and strengthening partnerships among peoples, leaders and institutions of Asia and the United States in a global context. Across the ﬁelds of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, the Society pro-

Pakistan Taliban warn foreign firms to get out PESHAWAR, June 16, 2014 (AFP) - The Pakistani Taliban on Monday warned foreign ﬁrms to leave the country and vowed retaliatory strikes against the government after thousands of troops launched a long-awaited offensive in a troubled tribal district.

Shahidullah Shahid said in a statement.

The statement came as Pakistan’s major cities braced for a backlash by deploying thousands of soldiers and paramilitaries while placing hospitals on high alert for incoming casualties.

The Islamist group also vowed to take revenge on the government.

The offensive on North Waziristan, a stronghold of Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants, was launched a week after a brazen insurgent attack on Pakistan’s main airport in Karachi which left dozens dead and marked the end of a troubled peace process. “We warn all foreign investors, airlines and multinational corporations that they should immediately suspend their ongoing matters with Pakistan and prepare to leave Pakistan, otherwise they will be responsible for their own loss,” spokesman

FASTEST GROWING POPULATION NEEDS MORE ATTENTION FROM CORPORATE AMERICA

ment and recognition, APAs continue to move upwards. However, representation at the board level remains a major challenge with only 40% of those surveyed believing there is adequate APA representation on company’s board of directors. Especially when the future of business is vivid with Asia in the land of opportunity, 50% of all survey participants are either not included or unaware of their company’s strategy for penetrating the APA market both domestically and internationally. Furthermore, the survey reveals that the more educated an APA employee is, the less satisﬁed. APAs with advanced degrees report lower favorability ratings for diversity, professional growth and development, and opportunities.

“This thing is clear to all that the capital gained (by Pakistan) through your activities and trade falls on innocent tribal women and children like ﬁre and iron,” he added.

“We hold Nawaz Sharif’s government and the Punjabi establishment responsible for the loss of tribal Muslims’ life and property as a result of this operation,” the statement said. “The retaliatory actions of the Mujahedeen will make you a cautionary tale in history.” Shahid added the Taliban would “burn your palaces in Islamabad and Lahore” referring to the capital city and Sharif’s hometown from where he derives his support base. “Remember that you will once again crave for negotiations and peace, but then it would be too late,” he added.

2014 ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICANS CORPORATE SURVEY

Top Engagement Drivers for Overall APA Employee Satisfaction

APA Population & Growth Rate

Asian Americans comprise close to 6% of the U.S. population

50%

growth rate in the US. Fastest growing minority

Comfortable bringing authentic self to workplace Opportunities for career growth and development Positive image of company with APA consumers and customers Company accommodating of cultural/religious traditions and needs Recognized for individual strengths, not based on stereotypes

Commitment to Employer

95.4%

of APA employees care about the success of their companies

60%

committed to staying with their employers for at least 5 years

Company supports APA community-based, nonprofit organizations & APA suppliers Company activities with the APA community are business-relevant

Company practices diversity initiatives

APAs are not getting enough recognition and attention Corporate Mentorship & Sponsorship

55% of APA employees get mentored, and 24.5% are sponsored

Corporate APA Marketing Strategy

50% of all survey participants are either not included or unaware of their company’s strategy for penetrating the APA market both domestically and internationally

Representation at the Board Level

Although APAs continue to move upwards, representation at the board level remains a major challenge with only 40% of those surveyed believing there is adequate APA representation on the company board of directors

Asia Society Partnered with Hypothesi, a third-party survey vendor, to facilitate a two-part evaluation process. In one part, a targeted employee survey provided APA employees with an opportunity to communicate their experiences around how well their company develops and promotes Asian Pacific American employees, and how well it supports APA culture and community. Simultaneously, Corporate Diversity Officers from each participating company described the programs, policies, and activities they are most excited about that support Asian Pacific American employees. The Asia Society's 2014 Asian Pacific Americans Corporate Survey process included responses from thousands of Asian Pacific American employees from the ranks of Fortune 500 and similar-sized companies. The employee survey measured key dimensions of the work environment for Asian Pacific American employees, including Leadership and Company Image, Professional Growth & Development, Involvement in the Asian Pacific American Community, Diversity, Work-Life, and Overall Satisfaction.

vides insight, generates ideas, and promotes collaboration to address present challenges and create a shared future. Founded in 1956, Asia Society is a non-

partisan, nonproﬁt educational institution with ofﬁces in Hong Kong, Houston, Los Angeles, Manila, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, Shang-

hai, Sydney, and Washington, D.C. Asia Society is on the web at www.AsiaSociety.org

Fed slashes 2014 US growth forecast WASHINGTON, June 18, 2014 (AFP) - The Federal Reserve slashed its 2014 growth forecast for the US economy Wednesday to 2.1-2.3 percent after a deeper-than-expected contraction in the first quarter of the year. But the Federal Open Markets Committee left its forecast for interest rates largely intact, predicting as earlier that an initial increase of the benchmark federal funds rate from the current zero level would take place only next year, and the rate would not rise rapidly after that. The FOMC, as expected, decided to ratchet down its bondbuying stimulus program by another $10 billion, taking it to $35 billion a month from $85 billion in December. The central bank policymakers said economic growth “has rebounded in recent months” from the first-quarter contraction. Household spending and business investment are both rising, they said in their policy statement. But they also said that unemployment, even with the rate now at 6.3 percent, “remains elevated”, and that the recovery of the housing sector is slow. In March the Fed forecast gross domestic product growth at 2.8-3.0 percent, before the depth of the winter setback, partially due to extremely harsh weather across much of the country, was known. But central bank officials stuck to their prediction for GDP growth of 3.0-3.2 percent in 2015, with inflation holding at around 2.0 percent. They also see the unemployment rate, a key indicator for monetary policy, falling from the current 6.3 percent to 6.06.1 percent by year-end, and 5.4-5.7 percent in 2015, both slightly lower than previously forecast.

HOROSCOPE

VOICE OF ASIA 18

FRIDAY, June 20, 2014

Your Horoscope for the Week of June 20, 2014 by Hardik Vyas, Astrologer Cell : 832-298-9950

READ YOUR COMPLETE HOROSCOPE ONLINE WWW.VOICEOFASIAONLINE.COM

Libra (R,T) 23 Sept to 22 Oct

Aries (A,L,E) 21 March to 20 April Make the effort to understand what is going on by having sensitive discussions. You need to get ready to accept all the good things that are coming your way, because this is a perfect time for new starts and there are indications of fabulous ﬁnancial conditions. Your mate could seem unpredictable to you. You might be tempted to let go of the relationship for all the wrong reasons. Look deeper in order to understand motivations. Start projects that bring more beauty into your home and lifestyle.

Friends and associates could prove to be very unreliable. New responsibilities could seem burdensome now. You need to make an effort to adjust to the demands of you. If you’re under too much pressure, your health could suffer. You need to be needed and you may have to carefully structure your time to accommodate everything you want to do. With some patience and understanding on your part, however, you’ll realize what could occur in the lives of others to cause them to have to completely re-adjust their routines.

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

Scorpio (N,Y)23 Oct to 21 Nov

Explore the waters of new partnership activity as well. Life may be more abundant than you could have ever imagined. Don’t put on the blinders just yet. Sensitivity can be a positive and valuable commodity but when those feelings are close to the surface, they can turn into feelings of insecurity. Your sensitivity may come in handy when it comes to an appeal to others for aid. You may be called to distant shores. If you feel an urge to travel, contact someone at a distance or follow your impulses about international projects.

Working situations could seem very stressful. Others may try to give you more than your share of the load. Learn to say no, especially if you’re tired and need rest. You may need to get extra rest to keep nervous reactions under control. Try not to get upset over misunderstandings. Others may tend to think out loud & cause you to lose your temper. You may need to blow off some steam. Utilize your natural sense of humor to help yourself to see things from a different perspective. Look for humor everywhere, especially in those who are closest to you.

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

Gemini (K,CHH,GH) 21 May to 20 June As Neptune enters its retrograde phase in your career sector, you could get an insight into a situation that’s been bothering you for some time. Clarity may dawn, helping you to make an informed decision. Relationships get a boost as the Full Moon in Sagittarius brings lively dynamism to your love life. Thursday can be a great day for a special date night, but try to avoid unnecessary drama if you can. If someone is tempted to overstep the mark on Sunday, be patient.

Changes even though you want your life could stay exactly the same. After all, that makes you feel safe and secure. Change doesn’t have to be frightening, in fact, major changes taking place in your creative life, could awaken you to new talents and abilities. Remember that there is always another step to take and that things may not actually be as they seem. Don’t resist these changes. You are developing new levels of consciousness, and these changes are part of that development.

Capricorn (KH,J) 22 Dec to 20 Jan

Cancer (D,H) 21 June to 22 July Your partners may paint a rosy picture but if matters don’t work out the way you expect, you could be very upset. Take a look at the truth of any situation, no matter what anyone else might say. Try not to go overboard with promotional efforts or the additional expenses. Be sure you don’t let ﬂattery lead you down the wrong road. You may be counting on unreliable sources of income now. If you trust that checks will arrive on time, hedge your bets and make sure they were mailed as promised.

Uncertainty in your career. You may want to bury your head in the sand. Your awareness of something that is not fair or just at your job could make you want to walk away from some career situations. Be sure you don’t cut off your nose to spite your face. If some associates behave like traumatized children, treat them that way. Give people the attention they require. Then you’re free to go on your way, unfettered and clear of resentments. You should have good luck selling or purchasing property.

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

Leo (M) 23 July to 22 August You may be unwilling to confront the cost of an entertainment project until it’s too late. If you are disappointed as a result, you may blame yourself and may even become ill over it. Anything that is related to partnership activities or your home life could be a source of uncertainty. You may be uncertain whether you should take the next step toward a more exciting life or maintain the status quo. Some situations could be very beneﬁcial to you, but you may be tempted to zig when you should zag.

Strong emotional & physical ties. You may be so high on life that you forget to look at the reality of some things. Be especially careful with ﬁnancial matters, because you could be overconﬁdent of your success. You may be very vulnerable and sensitive, especially when it comes to your own creativity and your need for self-expression. Don’t let anyone tell you what you can and can’t do. Show your leadership and avoid overly aggressive behavior.

Pisces (D,CH,Z) 20 Feb to 20 March

Virgo (P) 23 August to 22 September If you are resentful toward friends or associates, you may have to struggle with those feelings. You may find it difficult to keep a smile on your face when you see funds slipping through your fingers. A partner or your mate may appear to take the easy way out and ignore your struggle to balance everything that’s going on around you. Don’t let stress tempt you to play games or plan ways to get even. Do yourself and others a big favor by investing in some background checks & research. Your deep emotional feelings are apparent to you. What you say privately to those concerned, will have more of an impact than words from higher-ups.

Need to get yourself organized, You need to prepare for changes in your personal life as well as in public or professional situations. Your social consciousness could lead you to situations that might help resolve 360 degree of problems. You may feel as if you are plugged into a source of very high energy. Considering the opportunities that await you, you have good reason to be excited. Pay attention to gut instincts that tell you where the treasures/happiness of the world are buried. Even the best-laid plans can go awry and you could feel that your equilibrium being disturbed unless you ﬁnd alternatives.

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FRIDAY, June 20, 2014

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SALES ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE KTRK-TV, an ABC-TV Owned Television Station located in Houston, Texas is seeking to fill a Sales Account Executive position. Candidate must be able to develop new business and increase station revenue/share on existing accounts. The ability to successfully sell advertising on KTRK, ABC13.com, WATCH and other mobile platforms is paramount. Candidate must be a self-motivated team player with the ability to grow their business. Applicant must have a thorough knowledge of the daily television business including Traffic, Promotion, News and Marketing. A proven track record and prior broadcasting sales experience is required. Candidates must apply on-line at www.disneycareers.com by uploading a resume file. Reference Job ID: 193534BR . Equal Opportunity Employer – Female/ Minority/ Veteran/ Disability. No Telephone Calls.

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VOICE OF ASIA 20

FRIDAY, June 20, 2014

Celebrate July 4th We are Indian-Americans Come, Join and Celebrate The 4th of July! Voice of Asia invites all fellow citizens to join and honor this great nation that we live in

The United States of America! For the first time, Voice of Asia will be releasing a Special supplement commemorating the 4th of July and is giving you an unique opportunity to convey your message of solidarity. Let us take this opportunity to salute the founding fathers of this country, who decided to frame the constitution of the people, by the people and for the people, which includes you and me. Let us reach out beyond our language, religion, color, race, gender and regional differences. This is our country. Let us all stand united and use our education, influence and resources, our ability and skills, to unify our next generation to achieve greater things. Many Indian Americans have already made inroads and are serving this great nation in many different ways: in the political arena, as CEO’s, CFO’s and community leaders. You are the parents of a future Congressman or woman, Senators, Governors, law enforcement officers and President. Our children and grandchildren are going to be future Generals and Commanders in the armed forces, future scientists, Chancellors of Universities, and Educators. And we owe it all to this nation. It is time to give back. Let us join our neighbors and community and celebrate American Festivals, events and holidays. July 4th like all American festivals and holidays has more relevance and significance in the special freedom that we enjoy. Let us all be a part of it.

Watch for more announcements Please send your articles, advertisement and messages by June 25, 2014. Keep your e-mail subject Line as: July 4th Message Sign up for our Weekly E-blast to keep udated on more Community News and Participate in the July 4th event!

For more information Call: 713-774-5140 • Email: ads@voiceofasiagroup.com