The president of Duke University in North Carolina Richard H Brodhead has announced that the university has established a fellowship in memory of slain Duke graduate student Abhijit Mahato, 29, who was killed on January 18, 2008, in his off-campus apartment in what was described as a senseless, violent crime.
For nearly seven years, Bhatia served in the first and second George W Bush Administrations, first in the department of commerce and then in the department of transportation, before finally enjoying a more than two-year stint as deputy US trade representative, the senior-most administration position ever served by an Indian American, before he resigned end October last year, to return to the private sector.
Two influential US Senators have renewed the campaign against the biggest users of H-1B visa workers in the US, including Indian heavyweights Infosys, Wipro, Satyam and Tata Consultancy Services. They fired off a missive to these companies asking how they employed professional and skilled workers, majority of whom hail from India.
"Every country, whether it be India, United States, other country, could be potentially part of this small network of countries where terrorists can obtain material or expertise," said a senior US official.
"We certainly believe it's still possible for this deal to move forward and for our Congress to have an opportunity to consider it," State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey said. "It ain't over until it's over. And Congress will be in session for quite a ways more this year and we would certainly hope to have an opportunity to present them with this agreement and give them a chance to vote on it," he added.
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton has unveiled a policy initiative, which seeks to incentivise 'insourcing' of jobs within US, while cutting tax benefits to companies shipping employment abroad. The 'insourcing' plan unveiled in Pittsburgh, billed by Hillary's campaign as 'groundbreaking', provides $ 7 billion per year in new tax benefits and investments to help companies create high-paying high-quality jobs in the US and to compete in the global economy.
Democrat presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton vowed that if she comes to power she will fight for every single job that is being shipped out of the US. She promised her government would create millions of employment opportunities "that can't be outsourced". She blamed President George W Bush for standing by & watching as "we have lost three million manufacturing jobs since he became president". She said loopholes in the US' tax code should be plugged to stop job outsourcing.
The high-powered US Congressional delegation led by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi that visited India last month and met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other senior Indian officials, has made it clear that it is the Hyde Act and not the 123 Agreement that is binding on the Indo-US civilian nuclear agreement that now remains stalled in New Delhi.
"Now, I did not thrash China when we were in India," Pelosi said, adding, "I spoke truths about what China is doing in Tibet and that China has not lived up to its statements made to the Olympic Committee about more openness and respect for human rights in order to attract the Olympics."
Nearly 65 Indian workers, who claim they were lured to move to the US by false promises of permanent jobs, have protested before the White House against the 'abuses' in the H2B visa system, which was used to traffic them in the US. Towards the end of their protest, the workers ripped up the enlarged photo copied page of their passport in which their visas had been stamped. The workers are demanding Congressional investigation of their former employer -- Signal International.
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton has vowed to plug tax loopholes for 'freeloader corporations' shipping jobs abroad and correct 'wrong' policies of the Bush administration, which were making Americans 'pay the price'. She claimed that that it was the average American who was paying the price for what she termed the wrong-headed policies of the administration. She said plugging tax loopholes will stop freeloader corporations from avoiding $50bn taxes every year.
The nearly 100 workers, who began their march -- Journey for Justice -- in New Orleans on March 18 to protest the "slave-like treatment" at a Mississippi shipyard, met Indian Ambassador Ronen Sen and also demanded that necessary steps be taken to prevent abuse of workers under H2B visa programme. The workers have also alleged that the Indian government is not doing anything to protect them.
Indian workers protesting against 'slave-like treatment' at a Mississippi shipyard met Indian envoy Ronen Sen and demanded a CBI probe. They also claimed that recruiters were indulging in alleged human trafficking and abusing workers, under H2B visa programme. Sen said the workers cannot breach established diplomatic protocol by directly interceding with such agencies like the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Immigration and Customs Services or the Department of Justice.
United States President George W Bush has decided to waive a domestic law for Pakistan to pump in US$ 300 million security assistance. Bush has decided to exempt Pakistan from a law, which restricts funding to countries where the legitimate head of state has been deposed in a military coup, with a view to facilitating the transition to democratic rule. Bush has given the waiver to Pakistan every year since 2003.
External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee met United States President George W Bush at the White House in Washington on Monday and discussed the entire gamut of bilateral ties, including the civil nuclear deal.Bush and Mukherjee are said to have exchanged not only pleasantries but also discussed the width and depth of the United States-India relations that included the civilian nuclear initiative.Specific details of the meeting have not been made available to the media.
"To ensure a fair and orderly distribution of available H-1B visas, USCIS will deny or revoke multiple petitions filed by an employer for the same H-1B worker and will not refund the filing fees submitted with multiple or duplicative petitions," the US Citizenship and Immigration Services said. The USCIS has sent the interim final rule for publication in the Federal Register for it becoming effective.
Over 100 Indian workers, who allegedly faced 'slave-like treatment' in a Mississippi shipyard and unhelpful attitude from the embassy here, have threatened to stage a satyagraha in Washington if New Delhi does not take up their cause with the US government. The protesters, who launched a 'long march' from New Orleans to Washington -- a distance of 1,500 km, on Tuesday, alleged that the Indian government failed to protect them.
The Microsoft founder told lawmakers that the immigration system would have to be revamped in such a fashion so as to allow more number of people to get into America on H-1B visas and it did not make sense for a bright foreign student to be educated using American tax-payers money and then sent home on some immigration requirement. "It makes no sense to educate people in our universities, often subsidised by US taxpayers, and then insist they return home," Gates said.
People in Mississippi joined 'millions of Americans from every corner of the country who have chosen to turn the page on the failed politics of the past and embrace our movement for change', said Obama, who has 1,596 delegates, including separately chosen party officials known as 'superdelegates'. It is the second straight defeat for Clinton, who scored stunning victories in Ohio and Texas last week to salvage a dying campaign. She now has 1,484 delegates.
"The Budget is in line with expectations. With the election year fast approaching, the Finance Minister has proposed a populist Budget aimed at using fiscal measures to boost growth and control inflation," said Anirudh Sarathy, analyst for StreetEdge Investments in San Ramon, California.
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