Rashad Hussain Named U.S. Special Envoy for Counterterrorism
Rashad Hussain has been appointed U.S. special envoy and coordinator for strategic counterterrorism communications, the U.S. State Department announced Feb. 18. The Indian American will lead a staff comprised of a number of U.S. departments and agencies to “expand international engagement and partnerships to counter violent extremism and to develop strategic counterterrorism communications around the […]
Indian workers win $14 million in US labour trafficking case
A federal jury on Wednesday awarded $14.1 million to five Indian guest workers who claimed they were defrauded and made to live in squalid conditions after being lured to work for an Alabama-based marine and fabrication company following Hurricane Katrina. The jury issued its verdict against Mobile, Alabama-based Signal International LLC and its associates in a […]
Outrage in India after Hindu temple vandalized with hate message in US
WASHINGTON/NEW DELHI: There has been strong reactions in India after reports of a Hindu temple being vandalized in the US. A Hindu temple was vandalized with hate message and swastika spray-painted on its wall in the US state of Washington, the latest incident that has shocked the community ahead of the Maha Shivratri festival. The […]
Over $120K in Donations Raised for Sureshbhai Patel; Lawsuit Filed
Sureshbhai Patel, the Indian grandfather who was hospitalized and left partially paralyzed by an Alabama police officer, Eric Parker, has already received more than $120,000 in donations through crowd-funding efforts set up by the Indian American community on his behalf, according to the Web site inquisitr.com. Patel’s recovery fund has raised a total of $121,823 […]
Indian American researcher gets $500,000 Science Foundation award
WASHINGTON: Gurpreet Singh, an Indian American assistant professor of mechanical and nuclear engineering at Kansas State University, has received a $500,000 National Science Foundation Career award for his research on nanosheets. The prestigious award will also help Singh organize educational activities for high school students and teachers. Singh has received the award for his research […]
Physicist for India’s Mars Mission: ‘Worked Perfectly’
Richard Springer, India West Euphoria was the word of the day Sept. 24, as India’s space program took a huge leap forward by sending its Mangalyaan satellite into orbit around Mars, making it the first country in Asia to do so and the only country to succeed on its first try (see separate story). One of the […]
Obama Joins Narendra Modi on Visit to Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
Arun Kumar, India west Washington: In a spontaneous gesture, U.S. President Barack Obama joined Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a visit to the Martin Luther King Jr. memorial, the American civil rights leader who drew inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi. Modi, who had started his day with a visit to the Gandhi memorial in front of the Indian embassy, […]
Scientist’s Speedy Wound-Healing Products to Launch in India
By IANS , India west Kolkata — An Indian American researcher plans to introduce her pioneering range of speedy wound-healing products in the country to benefit the poor. Molecular biologist Chanda Zaveri ran away from Kolkata 30 years ago to escape an arranged marriage and became a top scientist after training under two-time Nobel prize winner […]
Two Indian Women Named to UN Foundation Advisory Council
By PTI, India west New York — Two Indian American women are among 12 people named to an advisory council of the United Nations Foundation’s campaign that focuses on young American girls and raises awareness about issues facing adolescent girls. Akila Somasegar and Anjula Acharia-Bath are among the 12 people on the advisory council of the […]
U.S Pledges $4.8 M to Fight Child Marriages
By Lalit K. Jha, Indiawest WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States has announced $4.8 million to fund projects in over half a dozen countries, including India, to end child and forced marriages. Other countries include Nepal, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Yemen. “We know the fight against child marriage is the fight against extreme […]
Colin Lobo Receives ASTM International Award of Merit
By a Staff Reporter, Indiawest Dr. Colin Lobo, a senior vice president, engineering, at the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association in Silver Spring, Md., recently received ASTM’s highest organizational recognition for individual contributions to standards activities, the Award of Merit and accompanying title of ASTM fellow. A member of ASTM International since 1992, the Indian […]
Mumbai-Based Kanika Mishra Wins Editorial Cartoonist Award
By Richard Springer, India West Kanika Mishra, a Mumbai-based editorial cartoonist, has won the “Award for Courage in Editorial Cartooning for 2014,” an annual honor bestowed by Cartoonists Rights Network International, a U.S.-based nonprofit seeking to protect the creative freedom of social and editorial cartoonists. CRNI said the award goes to “a cartoonist in great […]
Texas Mom Suspected of Killing Son Found Dead With Husband
In a tragic ending to a prolonged police investigation, Pallavi Dhawan, suspected of killing her young son Arnav last January, and her husband Sumeet, were found dead Sept. 3 in their Frisco, Texas home. Initially, Frisco police did not identify the two bodies found in the home, but late Sept. 4, authorities confirmed that Sumeet […]
Former Hindu Temple Leader Annamalai Convicted of Fraud
By India West Staff After a two-week jury trial, Annamalai Annamalai, also known as Dr. Commander Selvam and Swamiji Sri Selvam Siddhar, the former leader of the now-defunct Hindu Temple of Georgia, was convicted in federal court in the Northern District of Georgia Aug. 25 on 34 felony counts. “This defendant traded on his perceived religious […]
New Yorker Arrested for Mowing Down Sikh Man
New York — A 55-year-old man has been arrested here on charges that he called a Sikh man a “terrorist” and mowing him down with his pick-up truck, in an apparent hate crime. Police in Queens arrested Joseph Caleca of Setauket in Suffolk County and charged him with attempted murder and hate crime, ABC 7 News reported. Caleca had […]
Ex-Attorney Loses Death Sentence Appeal in Penn. Shooting
By Associated Press, India west Harrisburg, Penn. — An unemployed immigration attorney lost an appeal Aug. 5 of his conviction and death sentence for shooting to death five people during a 2000 attack that targeted ethnic minorities, who included Anil Thakur, then 31, at an Indian grocery store, in western Pennsylvania. The high court’s 60-page […]
Indian-Origin Manjul Bhargava Wins ‘Nobel Prize of Maths’
New York: Two Indian-origin academicians have won prestigious global prizes in the field of mathematics with one of them being awarded the Fields Medal – known as the “Nobel Prize of mathematics”. Manjul Bhargava won the Fields Medal while Subhash Khot won the Rolf Nevanlinna Prize, awarded by the International Mathematical Union (IMU), at the […]
Virginia GOP Official Resigns over Anti-Muslim Comments
Bob FitzSimmonds, the outspoken treasurer of the Virginia state Republican Party, resigned Aug. 6, after making controversial statements on Facebook in which he scoffed at the contributions that Muslim Americans and other religious groups have made in America. FitzSimmonds had earlier blasted President Barack Obama for praising Muslim Americans for their positive contributions in the […]
Four Indian Americans Win Local Awards at Google Science Fair
By Indiawest Four Indian American youths recently received “Local Awards” during the 2014 Google Science Fair, a global online science and technology competition open to individuals and teams from ages 13 to 18. Sasha Thomas, 14, won for her project “Effect of Amylase on Different Grains”; Nihar Sheth, 15, and Harshal Sheth, 14, were recognized […]
‘Police Have Nothing,’ Says Attorney of Mom Accused of Killing Son
Six months after arresting Pallavi Dhawan, suspected of killing her 10-year-old son Arnav, Frisco, Texas police have come up with nothing, stated defense attorney David Finn, who has called for an examining trial, scheduled for Aug. 13. Pallavi Dhawan was arrested Jan. 29 after police found Arnav’s body in a bathtub packed with ice in […]
