Raja Rajeswari, the first India-born judge in New York City April 28, 2015 07:38
India-born Raja Rajeswari has been sworn-in as a criminal court judge in New York by Mayor Bill de Blasio. She had immigrated to the US in her teenage. She had worked with the Richmond County District Attorney's Office. During her service, she worked in several bureaus including Criminal Court, Narcotics, Supreme Court, and the Sex Crimes Special Victims Bureau. She was deputy chief at Sex Crimes Special Victims Bureau. The 43-years old Rajeswari was sworn-in along with 27 other judges appointed earlier this month to the Family Court, Criminal Court, and Civil Court, which are part of the New York State Unified Court System. The ceremony took place on Monday in New York. The tenure of the judges will be 10 years in the New York City Criminal Court and the Family Court within the city. “To ensure New Yorkers have access to a fair, equitable justice system, we need judges who are qualified, honest and reflective of the people of this city,” said Mayor de Blasio. “With their wealth of legal experience, these appointees represent all five boroughs and all walks of life. From the first female South Asian-American judge in New York City to a former NYPD First Deputy Commissioner, these talented leaders truly reflect the diverse range of communities that make up our great city,” he said. Mayor has lauded the language skills of Rajeswari as she can speak in Indian, Middle Eastern and Southeast Asian languages and also praised the India-born judge for her extraordinary empathy for others. “For someone like me, an immigrant who comes from India, I’m beyond grateful,” Raja Rajeswari said. “I told the mayor this is not only my American Dream, but it shows another girl from a far away country that this is possible,” She said. She has worked on cases involving women and children and said they are the ones that touched her the most. She said that she hopes to use her new position to improve the judicial system by encouraging interpreters to have more access to aid immigrants. -Kannamsai
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Satish Vemana and his panel wins TANA Elections with huge majority April 27, 2015 05:11
The results of the Telugu Association of North America (TANA) elections have been announced on Saturday. Contestants have campaigned the elections as if the parliamentary elections. Satish Vemana has won the election for post of Executive Vice President with a majority of more than 5,000 votes. After serving two years in this post he will automatically become the President of the association. Satish Vemana has secured 8257 votes, and his opponent in the election Mr. Ram Yalamanchili got 3137 votes. Madhu Tata from Satish’ panel has won the election for the post of Secretary with 7039 votes while Baktha Balla got 4235 votes. For the Treasurer's post Murali Vennam got 7187 votes his opponent Mr. Paturi got 4033 votes. In the election for Joint Secretary Post, Ravi Potluri got 7934 votes and Mr. Bullaiah Chowdary who contested against him got 3293 votes.Laxmi Devineni has won the Regional vice presidential election for New York and New Jersey region in the tough fight on Vidyadhar Garapati. And Mr. Sivaram won Regional Vice President post for the North region and SK Vemuri won for the West. Doctor Chaudary Jampala will take the presidentship from the current president Mohan Nannapaneni at the 20th grand meet in Detroit. Satish Vemana will get the executive vice president charge on that stage. Other members will also take oath for their positions. -Kannamsai
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Indian-origin woman scientist wins USD 2,50,000 Heinz award April 27, 2015 04:28
The prestigious Heinz Award for Technology, the Economy, and Employment with USD2,50,000 was given to Indian-origin scientist Sangeeta Bhatia for her work in tissue engineering and disease detection. She has developed artificial human microlivers for drug testing. The prestigious Heinz Awards conferred on individuals for their extraordinary contributions to arts and humanities; environment; human condition; public policy; and technology, the economy, and employment. The MIT scientist has said, “This type of recognition helps to bring science into the public eye so that everyone can appreciate the dedication and innovation that is happening in laboratories all over the country.” Her team has excelled in the fabrication of artificial human microlivers, which are widely used for testing the toxicity of drug candidates by many biopharmaceutical companies. The Indian-origin scientist at MIT is also using the using microlivers in the lab to model malaria infection and test drugs that can eradicate malaria parasites completely. She will receive the award on May 13 at a ceremony in Pittsburgh. The recipients in four other categories include Roz Chast, a best-selling illustrator and cartoonist (arts and humanities); Frederica Perera, an environmental health researcher at Columbia University (environment); William McNulty and Jacob Wood, founders of Team Rubicon (human condition); and Aaron Wolf, a geoscientist and professor at Oregon State University (public policy). All the awardees will be honoured at the event. -Kannamsai
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Indian Woman’s brain has a baby inside with bone, hair and teeth! April 24, 2015 06:50
The medical case of a student from India, Yamini Karanam (26), was shocked the doctors in US, who diagnosed an embryonic twin complete with bone, hair and teeth in her brain. She has approached doctors when she started having trouble in reading and talking. The PhD student at Indiana University faced severe problem at eating and pain from top to bottom. According to the report of Washington Post, she was diagnosed with pineal tumour – a tiny pea-like structure in the centre of the brain. In March last year Yamini went to Hrayr Shahinian, a doctor performing radical 'keyhole' brain surgeries at the Skullbase Institute in Los Angeles. Dr Shahinian strung an endoscope into Yamini’s skull through a natural channel in her brain to the suspected tumor, after making a tiny incision in the back of patient’s head. The doctor then discovered that the tumor was a teratoma (a clump of bone, hair and teeth). According to some medical specialists, teratoma’s are believed to be a twin that never quite develop and are instead absorbed into the surviving baby's body. Dr Shahinian has successfully removed the teratoma and expecting Yamini to get full recovery. The Hyderabadi woman told NBC 4 that she was stunned to learn that her tumour wasn't just a lump of cells, but her "evil twin sister who's been torturing me for the past 26 years". The rare case really worried Yamini and her family. Image Credits: Telegraph.co.uk -Kannamsai
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Vivek Murthy is Highest Ranking Indian-American in Obama Administration April 23, 2015 04:48
British-Indian American Vivek Hallegere Murthy has sworn-in as the Surgeon General. The oath taking ceremony was administered by Vice President Joe Biden in Virginia on Wednesday. The 37- years old Murthy is youngest-ever in-charge of country’s public health. He is highest ranking Indian-American in the Obama Adminstration. The swearing-ceremony was attended by eminent Indian-Americans and the Health Secretary Sylvia Burwell, and Murthy took the oath on holy Gita. Murthy is an ex-officio Vice Admiral rank holder. Biden said that he was eminently qualified for the job and also described Murthy’s family as an incredible. Murthy felt the job as an honour and profound responsibility; he thanked President Obama for believing in him. He termed his family’s support as an asset for his growth. “My family was never supposed to have left our ancestral village. My father is the son of a farmer in rural India. He was supposed to have been a farmer, as was I. But for my grandfather’s insistence that his son get an education, even if that meant going into debt we might have never left that village to go out in the world and as my grandfather also insisted start fixing what needed fixing,” he said. “We were not supposed to have become Americans. My parents stopped in three other countries including a brutal dictatorship on their journey to get here. They saved up money and scrounged for information about job opportunities, always knowing that America was the destination,” Murthy said. He vowed to improve the public health in the country and said the Affordable Care Act can cover millions of Americans, and also said that much more is there to do. He said public health is an independent area and it is linked to education, employment, the environment and country’s economy. -Kannamai
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Indian Passport Ranked at 48 ! April 22, 2015 12:44
Indian passport is one among 50 most powerful documents in the world, it came at 48th place in a survey conducted by Germany-based Go Euro travel comparison website on the basis of passport's eligibility for visa-free entry, cost of application as well as number of hours worked to acquire the document. Among the list Sweden stood in first place, and Iraq and Afghanistan came at 49th and 50th position, while our neighbor Pakistan has not even placed in the list of 50 countries. India offered visa-free entry to 52 countries and $ 24 and 87 hours of working time. The topper in the list Sweden has 174 visa-free countries, costing $ 43 and just one hour of working time. Sweden, Finland, Germany, the UK, and the US came in top five respectively. Passport plays a vital role in International travel and it is an authentic identity card in abroad. -Kannamsai
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NRIs are Proud of PM, says Lord Swraj Paul April 21, 2015 13:57
NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul has praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remarkable initaiatives in connecting NRIs globally. He said that the new government has been moving in right direction and striving to uplift the poor. "PM is moving in the right direction. He has raised the profile of India and Indians all over the world. From an NRI's point of view, he is the first PM after 35 years who has recognised the strength and ability of NRIs. For that, NRIs are proud of Modi," Paul said, as per media report. The Chairman of UK-based Caparo Group, Mr Swaraj Paul, said that Modi has lots of ideas, desire and dynamism to strengthen the country. He lauded the government which created a buzz all around with good initiatives. He also extended his support to empower the education in Gujarat, India. He visited Caparo Group’s plant in Sanand, after meeting with Chief Minister Anandiben Patel. The Indian-born Paul has set up Ambika Paul Foundation in memory of his daughter. Recently the foundation has donated one million pounds (Rs 10 crores) to the University of Wolverhampton. -Kannamsai
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Indian Man Kills His Wife in US? April 15, 2015 13:17
A 24 year old Indian Bhadreshkumar Chetanbhai Patel allegedly had beaten his wife Palak Bhadreskumar Patel to death inside the kitchen of a Dunkin Donuts restaurant in Maryland in US. Both wife and husband were the employees in that restaurant. According to the police, the victim was found beaten to death and her husband as the suspect. As the suspect fled away, police are now taking the help of public, "We are treating this as domestic-related, not random. Again, they were husband and wife and lived together in the area here," CBS-Baltimore quoted Justin Mulcahy, Anne Arundel County police as saying. The police actually came to know about the incident when a customer who noticed none inside the Dunkin Donuts on Arundel Mills Boulevard. The CC cameras captured the couple while entering the restaurant. A manhunt and offer of USD 2,000 announced for any information leading to the suspect. Image Credits: NY Daily news -Kannamsai
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Indian-American Couple donates USD 1mn to University of Arizona April 15, 2015 04:35
An Indian-American couple has donated $1 million for the construction of a cancer treatment center at the University of Arizona in memory of late Dr Mandira Jalajakshi. Dr Ram, an orthopedic surgeon and his wife Meera Krishna have donated the amount towards the construction of the UA Cancer Center at St Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center outpatient facility that would provide comprehensive cancer services, along with infusion, radiation oncology, diagnostic imaging, endoscopic radiology, a prevention center, clinical lab space and several specialized cancer clinics. The five-story premises will have 2,20,000 square-foot facility in partnership between the varsity and St Joseph's Hospital, which is under construction in Phoenix city. The facility would be opened in September. The couple has chosen the UA as their two daughters graduated from the varsity and wanted to support UA medical education and research. "I was very impressed with President Hart's vision, and we wanted to give back. Education and research in the medical field are very important to us," a press statement quoted Ram as saying. The new center will have the name of the late Dr Mandira Jalajakshi, who was a physician practicing in England when she passed away in 2012. Mrs. Meera Krishna has recollected her sister Jalajakshi’s contribution in the field of health services. -Kannamsai
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17-year-old Indian Origin girl got admission in all 8 ivies! April 13, 2015 12:52
It is generally considered to be great achievement for any to get into Ivy college or university, as the universities carry that much craze in academics. An Indian-origin student from Virginia could able get admission in all eight ivies, which has become a greatest milestone. The Virginia girl, Pooja Chandrashekar (17) secured 4.57 grade-point average, scored a 2390 (out of 2400) on the SAT and topped in all her Advanced Placement exams, the Washington Post reported. She decided to apply for all the eight Ivies as the admissions were unpredictable. Fortunately she got listed in all the successful candidates’ board. The girl has to choose one among the Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Cornell, Dartmouth, Columbia, Brown, and the University of Pennsylvania. Besides the above list of universities, she got admission six other including Stanford and MIT. According to the reports she has finalized the list to Harvard, Stanford and Brown as there she can get into a programme that ensures her admission to the university's medical school. Pooja Chandrashekar also founded a national non-profit organisation that encourages middle-school girls to participate in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs. The girl has remarkable academic and technical achievements records, readers can go through her website poojachandrashekar.com -Kannamsai
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The Indian-origin Bombshell Bandit gets 66 months jail term April 10, 2015 13:18
"The Bombshell Bandit" was sentenced to 66 months imprisonment and fined tens of thousands of dollars for robbing the banks in state of Arizona. The 24 year old Indian-origin nurse, Sandeep Kaur was convicted in the robbery cases, where she robbed four banks by threatening the staff. On June 6 last year, she had robbed USD 21,200 at a Bank of the West branch in Valencia, California. That was her first time robbery. And in her second robbery at a bank Lake Havasu City in Arizona she grabbed USD 1,978. And in her third the nurse robbedUSD 8,000 at bank San Diego, before her strike on a St George bank which led to her capture in July, eight weeks after her crime spree began. Kaur was actually given up to 20 years in federal prison on each of the four charges against her, as well as fines of USD 250,000, and three years supervised post release on each charge. Defense attorney Jay Winward pleaded for lighter sentence of four years in prison, citing the challenges of Kaur's upbringing. "She is educated, she has great worth to society ... and she does want to make amends," Winward said. District Judge Ted Stewart shed some light on the closed discussions when he noted that Kaur had gone into debt with "a loan shark" and robbed banks to repay him. "She amassed a large gambling debt and, in order to repay a loan shark, she robbed the banks," Stewart said. FBI dubbed the California nurse "The Bombshell Bandit" after robberies last year she did in which a well-dressed woman approached and threatened the bank tellers and threatened to detonate a bomb. -Kannamsai
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Indian Man shot dead in US by Two Masked Men April 08, 2015 11:07
A 39 year old Indian man, Sanjay Patel, was shot dead at his working place as two masked men fatally fired him on his chest and hand. The incident took place around 7:30 pm (local time) on Tuesday in the US state of Connecticut. Raj Ali, the owner of the Gas-station (where Patel works as a clerk) told the NBC that the robbers took Patel's life just for couple of hundred dollars. And the NBC reported that the wounded man was taken to the Yale-New Haven Hospital where he died an hour later. According to the media reports the slain man’s wife was pregnant with their first child. Gas-station owner had said that Patel was a nice person and was friendly with everyone. It's not worth it. It's bad." Witnesses said they saw two masked men running from the scene after the incident. "We are looking for two people that may be involved," said New Haven police spokesman Officer David Hartman. Police said they were searching for the two men as the investigation continued. -Kannamsai
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