Voice of Asia May 31 2013

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VOICE OF ASIA 1

10,000 copies every week

VOICE OF ASIA The Leading Community Weekly from Texas since 1987

FRIDAY, May 31, 2013

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ANNIVERSARY 1987-2012

Vol. 26 No. 22 Friday, May 31, 2013 Published Weekly from Houston 713-774-5140 24 Pages ( 2 sections) 50 cents E-mail: voiceasia@aol.com

Robin Elackatt Re-elected US drone kills PakiU.S. Immigration Judge, Clarease Rankin Yates. Judge Yates was the first AfricanAmerican woman to be appointed to that judicial post. The Honorable Judge is a friend and a resident of Councilman Elackatt’s district in Missouri City, Texas. Councilman Elackatt was first elected in 2009, representing District C at the age of 37. He was re-elected back to a secondterm in 2011 being unopposed. Prior to being a Councilman, Elackatt served as the vice chairman and a member of Missouri City’s Parks Board. He also served on the Colony Lakes Homeowners’ Association Board and was the past president of the Homeowners Association Board. Robin Elackatt

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issouri City, TX: On May 11, 2013, Robin Elackatt was re-elected to serve on Missouri City, City Council for a third-term in office. Councilman Elackatt was sworn into office On Monday, May 20, 2013, by

Since he has been elected to City Council, he has contributed his time and energy to serve his district and City of Missouri City to ensure public safety, streets & sidewalk repairs has been his ticket to the City Hall. Councilman Elackatt currently serves as the Chair for the Sidewalks, Drainage/Utility and Solid Waste commit-

tees. He is also a member of the Budget, Finance, Communications/Facilities, Compensation/Benefit, Consultant Selection, Ethics, and International Relations committees. During the oath of office, Councilman Elackatt stated, “Over the past two years, we have made great strides towards our vision of making Missouri City, the best place to live, work and play in the nation. As I graciously accept the opportunity to be the voice of the people in Missouri City and District C, I look forward to working with City Council, to improve public safety, maintain property value, maintain fiscal responsibility; sustainable business development, public and private partnerships; and ensuring that Missouri City has a competitive, well-developed workforce.” He and his wife, Tina, have two young children and live in Colony Lakes subdivision, Missouri City, Texas. Councilman can be reached for comments at RElackatt@missouricitytx.gov or by visiting www.RobinElackatt.com

Greater Houston Tamil School Celebrates Annual Day

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OUSTON: Houston’s biggest South Indian language school, the Greater Houston Tamil School celebrated the completion of its academic year with a fantastic annual day program. The event was conducted at Mayde Creek Junior High School, Houston on Saturday, May 25, 2013 and was attended by more than 350 Tamil enthusiasts.

About 160 students, from the three branches at Pearland, Katy and Woodlands, completed their academic year 2012-13 and proficiently displayed the language skills. From Kindergarten to sixth level the students of each school gave a memorable quality performance. The show started with the Pearland kindergarten children talking about shapes and their favorite colors

stani Taliban deputy: officials

in their sweet naïve voice. This was followed by the kindergarten children from the Katy Tamil School reciting the songs learnt during the academic year. The students from the first level to third level of both schools melodiously sung the legendary poet Mahakavi Bharathiyar’s songs and Continued on Page 6

Waliur Rehman talks to local media representatives in South Waziristan on May 16, 2011 (AFP/File, Naseer Azam) by Hasbanullah Khan

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IRANSHAH, Pakistan, May 29, 2013 (AFP) - A US drone strike killed the deputy chief of the Pakistani Taliban Wednesday in the country’s lawless tribal northwest, officials said, dealing a major blow to the militant network. Waliur Rehman, the number two in the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) faction, died along with at least five others when an unmanned US drone fired two missiles on a house in North Waziristan district early Wednesday. Pakistani security sources told AFP that Rehman, who had a $5 million US government bounty on his head, was the target of the strike, which came a week after US President Barack Obama outlined new more restrictive guidelines on drone use. It was the first known drone strike since that announcement. Officials in several towns, as well as tribal and intelligence sources, confirmed Rehman’s death in the attack in Chashma village near Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan district, a stronghold of Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

Students of the Greater Houston Tamil School who participated in the Annual Day celebrations.

The United States refused to confirm that it had killed Rehman, despite Obama’s promise of more transparency on the drone war. “We are not in a position to confirm the reports of Waliur Rehman’s death,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said. But he added: “If those reports were true, or prove to be true, it’s worth noting that his demise would deprive the TTP of its second-in-command and chief military strategist.” Pakistani security officials said the others killed in the attack were TTP cadres, including two local-level commanders. There were no initial reports of civilian casualties. Washington had accused Rehman of organising attacks against US and NATO forces in Afghanistan and also wanted him in connection with a suicide attack on an American base in Afghanistan in 2009 that killed seven CIA agents. Rehman had been a key figure in the TTP since its inception in 2007 and was second-in-command of the national hierarchy behind Hakimullah Mehsud, as well as leading the group in South Waziristan. Continued on Page 10

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