SCOTUS DRAFT LEAK: PROTESTS ERUPT IN US

Building Bridges Beyond Boundaries

VOL. 14 ISSUE NO. 17 06 - 12 MAY 2022 $1 ASIANERAONLINE.COM NEW YORK EDITION

People flooded streets in cities across the United States this week following a Politico report on Monday that a US Supreme Court draft opinion appears likely to overturn Roe vs Wade, the

landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion. Large protests and rallies were held outside the Supreme Court in

Washington, DC, and federal courthouses across the country by those on both sides of the issue, and abortion advocates far outnumbered those who favored the draft opinion.

The Scotus released a statement on Tuesday confirming the authenticity of the draft, written by Justice Samuel Alito, but insisted that it was not final decision. Chief Justice John Roberts condemned the breach and said he has directed the court marshal to conduct a full investigation into the source of the unprecedented leak to Politico.

Thousands turned up for protests for abortion rights in Manhattan's Foley Square on Tuesday, after a leaked Scotus decision to overturn Roe vs Wade (Photo courtesy: twitter)

2 The AsiAn erA 06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COMTheSouthAsianTimes.info August 21-27, 2021I ND IA DAY SPEC IAL

06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM The AsiAn erA 3TOp NEwS

Indian Prime Minister Naren-dra Modi met French Presi-dent Emmanuel Macron in

Paris on May 4 and discussed issues of bilateral and mutual interests as well as regional and global developments, amid Rus-sia's aggression against Ukraine. Modi embarked on a three-day visit to Germany, Denmark and France from May 2 to 4, in his

Modi, Macron discuss co-production of defense equipment

first trip abroad this year."PM @narendramodi and

President @EmmanuelMacron meet in Paris. This meeting will add momentum to the India-France friendship," the Prime Minister's Office tweeted along with a photograph of PM Modi and Macron hugging each other.

Macron held a tete-a-tete with PM Modi before the delega-

tion-level talks at the Elysee Pal-ace, the official residence of the French President.

The joint statement said both sides were committed to ena-bling a coordinated, multilater-al response to address the risk of aggravated food crisis because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The meeting also focused on the Indo-Pacific and defense cooper-ation as the two sides discussed co-development and co-produc-tion of defense equipment in India. Underlining the signifi-cance of their “premier” strategic partnerships for advancing peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, the two lead-ers said India and France shared a vision of a free, open and rules-based Indo-Pacific.

France has emerged as key partner of India in several sec-tors from defense, education to counter terror. Modi last visited France in August 2019 for the 2019 G-7 Summit, where India was one of the 'Goodwill' partners.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on May 4 (Photo courtesy: Reuters)

Germany has pledged to provide €10 billion ($10.52 billion) over the next

eight years to help India meet its target of raising its non-fos-sil energy generation capacity to 500 GW.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz signed a joint dec-laration of intent on Monday establishing the Indo-German partnership for green and sus-tainable development. The meet-ing between Modi and Scholz and the intergovernmental consulta-tion chaired by the two leaders were followed by signing of six other documents, including the ones for implementation of tri-angular development coopera-tion projects by India and Japan in third countries, cooperation in the field of renewable energy partnership and forest landscape restoration.

The two nations also inked an agreement on a comprehensive migration and mobility partner-ship as well as another on setting up a green hydrogen task force.

The partnership for green and sustainable development will intensify bilateral coopera-tion between India and Germany

as well as trilateral cooperation with the third countries and multilateral cooperation and link it with the strong commit-ment of both sides on the imple-mentation of the 2015 Paris Cli-mate Accords and Sustainable Development Goals. Considering that the time-line for the reali-zation of SDGs and some of the climate targets declared by India and Germany during COP26 in Glasgow culminate in 2030, they will work together to learn from each other and to facilitate the achievement of their respective objectives, according to a joint statement issued after the Prime Minister's meeting with German Chancellor. Germany intends to strengthen its financial and technical cooperation and other assistance to India with a long-term goal of at least €10 billion of new and additional commit-ments till 2030 under the new partnership, it added.

On Monday, Scholz invited Modi for the G-7 summit to be held in Germany in June, PTI reported. The G-7 includes the US, UK, France, Italy, Japan, Germany and Canada. Germany currently holds the rotating G-7 presidency.

Modi, Scholz agree on green partnership

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz signing the agreement, during the 6th India-Germany Inter-Governmental Consultations in Berlin on May 2 (Photo: PIB Handout)

Indian Prime Minister Nar-endra Modi and his Dan-ish counterpart Mette Fred-

eriksen on Tuesday reviewed progress of the India-Denmark Green Strategic Partnership and also exchanged views on region-al and global issues. He arrived in Copenhagen from Germany.

Discussions covered cooper-ation in renewable energy, espe-cially offshore wind energy and green hydrogen, as well as skill development, health, shipping, water and the Arctic, among others.

A record huge siege of fires is blazing in New Mex-ico, fueled by unrelent-

ing winds and unusually warm and dry conditions. However, the state's fire season is still far from over, and some of the most severe fire conditions may be on the way.

The blazes have made Presi-dent Joe Biden to declare a major disaster in areas of the state on Wednesday, allowing federal aid to reach those who need it. The Calf Canyon fire began in April, and the disaster zone covers Mora and San Miguel counties, which are about 60 miles east of San-ta Fe. The fire has since grown to 165,276 acres, making it the sec-ond-largest fire in New Mexico history.

Calf Canyon is also the larg-est fire in the United States so far this year. It has torched hundreds of structures and displaced thou-sands of people, and it is just 20% contained.

The Calf Canyon fire is among six large, active blazes in New Mexico, according to the Nation-al Interagency Fire Center. More than 243,000 acres have burned statewide so far this year, the second most in the past decade, according to the Southwest Coor-dination Center, while many weeks of fire season lie ahead.

The Whitewater-Baldy Fire, which burned 297,845 acres in southern New Mexico between May and July of 2012, is the state’s largest fire.

Large fires raging in New Mexico

Smoke rises from wildfires near Las Vegas, New Mexico, on May 4. (Photo courtesy: AP)

Later, addressing the Indian community in Denmark, Modi said Indians have had no role in harming the planet and the need of the hour is to promote "life-style for environment".

The India-Denmark Green Strategic Partnership was estab-lished during a virtual summit in September 2020. This partnership was translated into a result-ori-ented five-year action plan dur-ing then-PM Frederiksen's India visit in Oct 2021.

On Tuesday, several agree-ments covering sectors such as

green shipping, animal husband-ry and dairying, water manage-ment, energy, cultural exchange were inked after the bilateral talks. Over 200 Danish companies in India are actively engaged in taking forward key national mis-sions such as Make in India, Jal Jeevan Mission, Digital India, etc.

More than 60 Indian compa-nies in Denmark, mainly in the IT sector, are further cementing bilateral business-to-business ties. Denmark is home to a robust Indian diaspora of 16,000 people.

India-Denmark green partnership to get a boost

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen on May 3

4 The AsiAn erA 06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM

If warming is to be kept at 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-in-dustrial levels, slowing the rate of new emissions and damaging poor countries' growth prospects is not the

solution. The present level of carbon dioxide in the atmos-phere must be brought down, it has to be sucked out. This is referred to as carbon dioxide removal (CDR) in climate action lingo.

According to the International Energy Agency, there is no one cost for CDR; it is determined by the concentration of CO2 caught and it’s utility. Finding new uses for the car-bon collected can lower the cost of CDR. The Lawrence Liver-more National Laboratory described a method for converting CO2 collected from the air into ethanol. A Canadian univer-sity discovered a means to separate carbon fiber from the carbon collected. If a technique to transform the captured carbon into graphene or as a feedstock for a variety of organ-ic molecules can be identified, the financial value might outweigh the cost, while the environmental benefit would remain the same.

Clearly, the best way to fight climate change is not by reducing new emissions but by removing existing carbon dioxide. That will slow global warming while allowing devel-oping countries to expand and improve the desperately low living standards of the majority of their people. It’s time that we prioritized CDR over emission reduction as the principal instrument for climate mitigation. Everyone is responsible for reducing emissions. However, CDR has to be the responsi-bility of richer nations. After all, they are principally respon-sible for the majority of the carbon in the atmosphere.

REMOVE CARBON TO COMBAT

CLIMATE CHANGE

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TALkINg pOINT

Come to India to jointly find answers for the prob-lems of the planet," Prime

Minister Narendra Modi urged his ‘Danish Friends’ at an inter-active session in Denmark.

Prime Minister Modi on Wednesday attended the second India-Nordic summit that pri-marily focused on post-pandem-ic economic recovery, climate change, renewable energy and the evolving global security sce-nario.

Stressing on the climate action that India has taken Prime Minister Modi said at a meet with diaspora, “I talk about 'LIFE' - Lifestyle for the environment; we have to give up the consumption-oriented

approach, use and throw is neg-ative for the planet. Our con-sumption should be determined by our needs, not the size of our pocket."

PM Modi also talked about sustainable development at the summit, which Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederickson also attended. Modi said the Green strategic partnership between the two countries is guided by Frederickson's per-sonal priorities and values.

Modi mentioned the mass coverage by LED panel, climate action made strong, solar ener-gy. PM Modi emphasized on the fact that every government in his country has taken up cli-mate action as their responsibil-

ity and therefore India has been successful in achieving climate action nine years ahead of its deadline. He also urged others to join him in “Green Future".

The PM also said that whatev-er India is achieving today, it is achievement of about one-fifth of humanity. “India's role in damaging the climate is negligi-ble; Indians have had no role in damaging the planet."

PM Modi also held sepa-rate bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Norway, Swe-den, Iceland and Finland during which he discussed with them ways to further deepen bilater-al ties and also exchanged views on regional and global develop-ments.

He appreciated the Nor-dic countries as very reliable partners in the past 75 years of India's journey of growth and economic development, foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra said.

Kwatra said PM Modi's meet-ings with Nordic leaders started with his meeting with his coun-terpart from Norway where the principal focus of discussion and partnership was on: Blue Economy and its various facets, Renewable energy-in particu-lar, cooperative possibilities in hydroelectric and green hydro-gen technology and investment ties-in. PM Modi invited Nor-wegian Pension Funds to part-ner in India's growth story. In health sector, the two leaders

discussed cooperation relating to joint research in vaccines and the development of health infra-structure. The two leaders also talked about the cooperation in building and restoring water bodies in India. They also talked about continuing cooperation and coordination in the UNSC as well as bilateral, cultural cooperation, including in Yoga between the two countries.

The Foreign Secretary said the second meeting was with the prime minister of Sweden where the principal focus of dis-cussion and cooperation was on

India-Nordic summit focuses on climate

PM Modi and leaders of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway & Sweden pose for a photo ahead of 2nd India-Nordic Summit in Copenhagen

clean technology and sustain-able solutions. This was dis-cussed broadly under 2 rubrics, one relating to the investments by Sweden in India in clean technology and sustainable solu-tion. Partnerships in research and innovation in clean technol-ogy and sustainable solution, drawing on a very successful partnership under the lead IT program.

Kwatra said PM Modi's third meeting was with the prime minister of Iceland. Discus-sions were focused on coopera-tion in the field of geothermal energy and its various aspects including research, training, skill development, and innova-tion in this space, said the Indi-an foreign secretary. The two leaders also discussed coopera-tion in Blue Economy, including in the field of fisheries and food processing, he said. This year, India-Iceland are celebrating 50th year of their bilateral rela-tions, he further added.

Discussions also took place on expediting the India-Eu-ropean Free Trade Associa-tion (EFTA) trade negotiations. India's trade with Nordic coun-tries stands at over $5 billion.

The Ukraine issue figured prominently at the summit. The Nordic countries reiterated their support for India's perma-nent membership of a reformed and expanded UN Security Council.

“I talk about 'LIFE' - Lifestyle for the environment; we have to give up the consumption-oriented approach, use and throw is negative for the planet. Our consumption should be determined by our needs, not the size of our pocket"- Prime Minister Narendra Modi

06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM The AsiAn erA 5TheSouthAsianTimes.info August 14-20, 2021

6 The AsiAn erA 06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM UkRAINE

First Lady of the United States, Jill Biden is sched-uled to meet the Ukrainian

families who fled for their lives after Russia started ravaging war against Ukraine. Accord-ing to the White House, she will spend her entire day with the Ukrainian mothers and children on May 8, Mother's Day.

As per the schedule, the five-day trip will start on May 5. It said that the first lady will meet mothers in Slovakia, a coun-try that shares borders with Ukraine and has seen war "very closely". She also will be stop-ping in Romania, a Nato mem-ber.

She will meet with US mili-

Jill Biden to meet Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia, Romania on Mother's Day

Jill Biden (Photo courtesy: AFP)

tary service members at Mihail Kogalniceau Airbase in Roma-nia on Friday, before heading to Bucharest to meet with Roma-nian government officials, US embassy staff, humanitarian aid workers, and teachers working with displaced Ukrainian chil-dren.

The trip also includes stops in the Slovakian cities of Bra-tislava, Kosice and Vysne Nemecke, where Jill Biden will meet with government officials, refugees and aid workers. "On May 8, Jill Biden will travel to Kosice and Vysne Nemecke in Slovakia to meet with refugees, humanitarian aid workers, and local Slovakians who are sup-porting Ukrainian families who have sought refuge in Slovakia," the White House said.

Jill Biden’s visit is the latest show of support by top US rep-resentatives for Ukraine and neighboring countries that are helping Ukrainian refugees.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for a longer

ceasefire in order to evacuate more civilians from the bat-tered city of Mariupol in south-ern Ukraine, as Russia intensi-fies its assault on the Azovstal steel plant, the last holdout of Ukrainian forces there.

About 200 civilians, includ-ing children, are said to be tak-ing shelter in the sprawling plant’s underground bunkers and Zelenskyy said it was neces-sary to “continue the silence” to get them all out.

Zelenskyy again appealed for the assistance of the United Nations, after the UN and Red Cross evacuated hundreds of people from Mariupol and other areas this week.

Around 100 civilians were on Sunday evacuated from the Azovstal steelworks. More than 300 civilians were evacuated on Wednesday from Mariupol and other areas in southern Ukraine

as part of a joint UN-Red Cross operation, UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine Osnat Lubrani said. The UN evacua-tion exercise is being coordinat-ed with the International Com-mittee of the Red Cross, Ukraine and Russia.

A Ukrainian parliamentar-ian said Russian forces were inside the Azovstal plant, and the commander of the regiment inside the vast factory said the situation was “extremely diffi-cult” and that his soldiers were engaged in “heavy, bloody bat-tles” with the Russians.

“I am proud of my soldiers who are making superhuman efforts to contain the pressure of the enemy,” Lieutenant Colo-nel Denis Prokopenko said in a short video posted to Telegram.

Moscow has denied any assault on Azovstal is under way, and says its forces will cease fire to open a humanitar-ian corridor for civilians for three days from May 5 to 7.

Zelenskyy calls for longer truce to evacuate Mariupol civilians

Russia’s top uniformed officer, Gener-al Valery Gerasimov, visited dangerous frontline positions in eastern Ukraine last

week in a bid to reinvigorate the Russian offen-sive there, the New York Times has reported cit-ing Ukrainian and US officials.

During the visit, Gerasimov, chief of the Rus-sian general staff, narrowly escaped a dead-ly Ukrainian attack on a school being used as a military base in the Russian-controlled city of Izium late Saturday, the Times reported.

Around 200 soldiers including at least one general were killed in the strike, a Ukraini-an official told the paper, but Gerasimov had already departed for Russia.

The Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank, earlier said that Ukrainian forces had “likely conducted a rocket artillery strike on a Russian command post in Izyum on Apr 30 that struck after Russian chief of staff Valery Gerasimov had left but killed other senior Rus-sian officers.”

“Our working assumption is that he was there because there’s a recognition they haven’t worked out all their problems yet,” one of the US officials told the Times. The Russian offensive has been slow, with widespread disarray and poor morale reported among Russian forces.

The Kremlin appears to be focusing its operations around the city of Izium as part of renewed efforts to seize the entirety of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Gerasimov has reportedly been put in command of the push.

Russia's top uniformed officer visited Ukraine last week

General Valery Gerasimov (Courtesy: Reuters/Maxim

Shemetov)

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised support for Ukraine ‘until fight is done’ ”until vic-

tory is won” after she met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an unannounced visit to Kyiv. Pelosi is the most senior American lawmaker to travel to Ukraine since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb 24.

Footage posted by Zelenskyy on Twitter on May 1 showed him, flanked by an armed escort and dressed in mil-itary fatigues, greeting a US congres-sional delegation led by Pelosi outside his presidential office the previous day.

Zelenskyy presented Pelosi — who wore a blue suit the color of the Ukrainian flag —with a number of

gifts, including a Ukrainian flag signed by himself and female members of Ukraine’s parliament and the medal from the Order of Princess Olga, which he said showed his appreciation for her “significant personal contribution” in strengthening American support.

Zelenskyy praised as substantive four hours of talks with Pelosi focused on US weapons deliveries, adding he was grateful to all of Ukraine’s part-ners who visit Kyiv at such a difficult time.

”We stand with Ukraine until victo-ry is won. And we stand with our Nato allies in supporting Ukraine,” Pelo-si said on Sunday at a press briefing in Poland.

Pelosi revealed she visited Ukraine's president to show American support for the country's defense against Rus-sian aggression.

Nancy Pelosi promises US support for Ukraine

A series of military exercises involving tens of thousands of troops from Nato member-states

and backed by aircraft, tanks, artil-lery and armored assault vehicles will take place across Europe in the com-ing weeks as western countries seek to deter Russian aggression.

The exercises come amid concerns that the Ukraine war will not end soon and it could even spill over the borders to eastern Europe. The drills will take place in Finland, Poland, North Mace-donia and along the Estonian-Latvian border. Troops from non-Nato members Finland and Sweden, will also partici-pate in these exercises.

Spain said on Apr 29 that its larg-est shipment of military equipment to Ukraine so far is on track for delivery after a ship carrying 200 tons of mate-rial has docked at a port in Poland. Germany is also looking into sending self-propelled howitzers to the war-torn country.

Two explosions have tak-en place in the early hours of Monday in Belgorod, the

southern Russian region bordering Ukraine, Vyacheslav Gladkov, the region’s governor has written in a social media post.

“There were no casualties or damage,” Gladkov wrote, according to Reuters.

On Sunday Gladkov had said one person was injured in a fire at a Russian defence ministry facili-ty in Belgorod, while seven homes had been damaged. Posts on social media said fighter jets and loud explosions had been heard above the city overnight.

Russia last month accused Ukraine of a helicopter attack on a fuel depot in Belgorod, for which Kyiv denied responsibility, as well as shelling villages and firing mis-siles at an ammunition depot.

Nato to hold military exercises

Explosions reported in Russian city of Belgorod

An unconfirmed image of a fire at an ammunition depot in Belgorod, Russia. (Courtesy: Twitter)

06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM The AsiAn erA 7UkRAINE10 January 15-21, 2022 TheSouthAsianTimes.infoUS AFFA IRS

Atlanta: President Joe Biden challengedsenators Tuesday to “stand against votersuppression” by changing Senate rules topass voting rights legislat ion thatRepublicans are blocking from debate andvotes.

Biden told a crowd in Atlanta that heʼdbeen having quiet conversations with sena‑tors for months over the two bills ̶ a lackof progress that has brought him criticismfrom activists in his own party. “Iʼm tired ofbeing quiet!” he shouted to cheers from thecrowd.

Biden chastised Republicans for falling inline behind Trumpʼs election lies. “Today,we call on Congress to get done what histo‑ry will judge,” Biden said. “Pass the freedomto vote act.”

Current rules require 60 votes to advancemost legislation ̶ a threshold that SenateDemocrats canʼt meet alone because theyhave just a 50‑50 majority with VicePresident Kamala Harris to break ties.

“Not a single Republican has displayedthe courage to stand up to a defeated presi‑dent to protect Americansʼ right to vote,”Biden said. “Not one. Not one.”

Congressional Democrats have writtenvoting legislation that would usher in thebiggest overhaul of U.S. elections in a gen‑eration by striking down hurdles to votingenacted in the name of election security.The legislation also would reduce the influ‑ence of big money in politics and limit par‑tisan influence over the drawing of con‑gressional districts.

Washington DC: Members of Congress,police officers, and government watch‑dog groups argued in federal court onJanuary 10 that Donald Trump was liablefor major financial damages for his rolein inspiring the Jan. 6 attack onCongress, pressing an array of civil suitsagainst the former president amidmounting frustration that he has facedno penalty for the riot.

Over nearly five hours in the U.S.District Court for Washington, lawyerslaid out their cases against Trump, con‑tending that he deserved to be held

responsible for inflaming a violent mob,despite what are typically wide immunityprotections for a presidentʼs speech andactions while in office.

“Mr. Trump dispatched the crowd thathe assembled,” said Joseph Sellers, thelawyer for a group of House Democrats.“After he saw that they were engaged inbreaking into the Capitol, instead of try‑ing to calm them, he retweeted his incen‑diary remarks from the rally before.”

Judge Amit P. Mehta asked lawyers forTrump whether the presidentʼs slowresponse was not evidenced he agreed

with the siege afterte ll ing the crowd to“fight l ike hell” andmarch to the Capitol.

Trumpʼs lawyer, JesseR. Binnall, argued thatthe suits should be dis‑missed because hisremarks inflaming thecrowd were protectedby presidential immuni‑ty and his FirstAmendment right to freespeech. He asserted thatTrump had told thecrowd to “peacefully andpatriotically” march onthe Capitol.

Republicansunanimouslyoppose the

voting rights

measures. (Image

Courtesy: ABC

Chicago)

During a hearing over whether the suits can moveforward, Judge Amit P. Mehta focused on why

Trump did not act more quickly tocall off the mob. (Image Courtesy: USA Today)

Civil Suits Against Trump SeekDamages for Jan. 6 Attack

Biden challenges Senate on voting:ʻTired of being quiet!ʼVladimir Putin's health

continues to fuel spec-ulation in the western

media with rumors doing the rounds that the Russian Pres-ident may be suffering from either Parkinson's disease or cancer. There has also been gos-sip about a potential handing over of power in the event of his hospitalization even as Russian troops continue their assaults on neighboring Ukraine.

The 69-year-old leader might undergo a cancer surgery fol-lowing his doctors' advice,

Putin's health fuels fresh speculation

according to multiple reports that are yet to be verified. The anticipated surgery and recov-

ery are expected to incapacitate Putin for "a short time", the New York Post reported citing a Tel-egram channel purportedly run by a former Russian intelligence official.

The NYP report also claimed that Putin, a former operative of the Soviet spy agency, KGB, had been seen by a cancer doctor 35 times in recent years and that he had undergone a surgery last autumn.

The UK daily, Mirror, on the other hand, speculated that Putin has "some kind of cen-

tral nervous system condition, such as Parkinson's", based on a video emerged in Feb in which the Russian leader is seen hold-ing one hand to his chest while the other is held in a fist dur-ing a meeting with his Belaru-sian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko. As his hand begins to tremor uncontrollably, Putin pulls it close to his chest, in an apparent attempt to stop the shaking, it said.

While Pentagon spokesper-son John Kirby said he could not verify these reports, it is quite unlikely that the Kremlin would comment on these specu-lations.

Putin's loyalist Nikolai Patru-shev, currently serving as the secretary of the country's Secu-rity Council, may be temporari-ly given power to run the show, according to some unverified reports. The President appar-ently had a two-hour "heart-to-heart" conversation with Patru-shev a few days ago.

The Security Council is an influential body that answers directly to Putin and issues guidance on military and securi-ty issues within Russia.

Like Putin, Patrushev is a career Russian intelligence agent, first with the KGB, then later with the Russian FSB.

A former US Marine was killed alongside Ukrain-ian forces in the war

with Russia, his family said in what's the first known death of an American citizen fighting in Ukraine.

Rebecca Cabrera told CNN her son, Willy Joseph Cancel, 22, was killed on Apr 25 while work-ing for a private military con-tracting company that sent him to Ukraine.

Cabrera said her son had been working as a corrections

Former US Marine killed fighting in Ukraine: Family

officer in Tennessee and had signed up to work with the pri-vate military contractor short-ly before the fighting began in Ukraine in late February. She told CNN he agreed to go to Ukraine.

“He wanted to go over because he believed in what Ukraine was fighting for, and he wanted to be a part of it to con-tain it there so it didn’t come here, and that maybe our Amer-ican soldiers wouldn’t have to be involved in it,” she said.

Turning up the heat on Moscow over its continued assaults

on Ukraine, the European Commission has proposed to ban in a month's time all shipping, brokerage, insur-ance and financing services offered by EU companies for the transport of Russian oil worldwide.

The measure is part of a proposed embargo that is meant to cripple Russia's oil industry. European coun-tries are Russia's biggest

energy customers. Moscow is currently offering its oil at heavy discounts.

The ban would apply to Russian exports of oil world-wide, potentially affect-ing Moscow's ability to find alternative buyers after the EU stops buying Russian oil.

The EU is also planning to remove Russia's largest bank, Sberbank, and two other companies from the international SWIFT trans-action and messaging sys-tem.

EU bid to cripple Russian oil industry

8 The AsiAn erA 06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM TRISTATE

Intuit, the California firm that owns TurboTax, must pay over four million people

after reaching a $141mn legal settlement with all 50 states. It comes after an investigation found the company misled low income Americans into paying to file their annual taxes.

Under the agreement, Intuit admitted "no wrongdoing", com-pany said.

Free services were available, but kept hidden by the company, officials said.

Americans earning below a certain threshold who used the company's paid software to file taxes between 2016 and 2018 are now eligible to receive $30 for each year that that they filed

with the company, according to a settlement announced on May 4.

The money will be paid to those who could have filed through the Internal Revenue Service Free File no-fee pro-

gram, but were instead steered towards the fee-charging soft-ware.

More than 4.4 million people earning less than $34,000 mis-takenly used the paid program,

TurboTax agrees to pay after 'misleading' low income US taxpayers

which was promoted through TurboTax's "free, free, free" ad campaign, according to New York Attorney General Letitia James, who led the lawsuit.

"Intuit cheated millions of low-income Americans out of free tax filing services they were entitled to," James said in a statement. "For years, Intu-it misled the most vulnerable among us to make a profit."

The practices were first revealed in a ProPublica investi-gation in 2019, which found evi-dence that company executives knew they were deceiving cus-tomers through their advertis-ing.

"The website lists Free, Free, Free and the customers are

assuming their return will be free," an internal company Pow-erPoint presentation said. "Cus-tomers are getting upset."

The Silicon Valley-based com-pany "agreed to pay $141m to put this matter behind it, and made certain commitments regard-ing its advertising practices", the Intuit statement said, adding that it expects "minimal" impact on its business.

TurboTax is the largest online tax preparer in the US. Intuit is still facing legal action from the US Federal Trade Com-mission (FTC) over the adverts.

The company said that Wednesday's settlement "also addresses the issues at the core of the FTC litigation, making that lawsuit entirely unneces-sary."

"Nevertheless, we are ful-ly prepared to litigate with the FTC to prove the merits of our case."

Families of victims of the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School

have agreed to remove InfoWars as a defendant in their defama-tion lawsuit, hoping to end what they've called the "charade" of InfoWars' bankruptcy filing.

The families accused InfoWars of "intolerable abuse" through bankruptcy, which the website sought after it and founder Alex Jones were found liable for dam-ages after claiming the Newtown, Connecticut, shooting that killed 20 children and six staff mem-bers was a hoax.

When an entity files for bank-ruptcy protection, it automatical-

ly suspends all litigation pend-ing against that entity.

"These cases were removed to this Court to serve one purpose and one purpose only: delay," the families said in new court doc-uments filed in Connecticut on May 2.

"Every day that these cases are frozen on the Connecticut Superior Court docket is a day that Alex Jones avoids accounta-bility and delays trial," the docu-ment states. "Every day they are removed harms these families' fight for justice."

Last month, Jones was fined $25,000 for declining to sit for a deposition for the lawsuit.

The Connecticut court ultimate-ly ordered the return of $75,000 in fines after Jones attended a rescheduled deposition later in the month.

Jones is facing a new lawsuit in Texas over accusations that the Infowars host hid millions of dol-lars in assets after the litigation in the Sandy Hook case began.

Jones himself did not file for bankruptcy, and it's believed he retains the bulk of the assets that could be used to pay the fami-lies' damage awards. The families called InfoWars and its offshoots "shell companies" that offered nothing.

"To ensure that this intoler-

able abuse of the removal pro-cess ends immediately, all of the plaintiffs in these case ... vol-

Sandy Hook families agree to remove InfoWars as defendant in defamation lawsuit

Alex Jones

untarily dismissed all of their claims against Infowars," the fil-ing said.

More than 200 people have signed an online petition demanding a public meet-

ing with state officials in New Jer-sey and federal authorities over con-cerns about a medical mystery at a high school following dozens of diagnoses of brain tumors.

Every inch of Colonia High School, part of the Woodbridge Township School District, from buildings to fields, is being tested for radiation to determine if there is a link between the school and the number of cancer cases diagnosed amongst former students and staff. But, according to the Change.org petition launched Tuesday, complete results aren't even anticipated to be received until the end of May.

The school has stayed open, with local officials apparently telling parents that "at this time, there is no discernable health or wellness threat to students, staff, or visitors at Colonia High School," according

Amazon workers at a Staten Island ware-house have rejected

joining the union. Workers at the LDJ5 warehouse vot-ed on Monday against join-ing the independent Ama-zon Labor Union, casting 618 votes against unioni-zation, compared with 380 votes in favor.

The union’s loss comes just weeks after it made history by organizing the first successful vote to unionize at an Amazon warehouse in the United States. The Amazon work-ers at the JFK8 warehouse on Staten Island had voted in favor of union early last month.

Labor organizers blamed, in part, Amazon’s union-busting tactics for the loss on May 2 and said

the blow will not be the end of the movement.

The effort to organ-ize workers at the coun-try’s second-largest pri-vate employer has had its share of ups and downs over the past several years as labor leaders worked to crack the tightly con-trolled warehouses. The movement gained signifi-cant momentum from its victory last month, but Amazon also ramped up its union busting efforts, workers say, at the smaller Staten Island warehouse in the weeks before the vote. The company held mandatory classes to dis-courage workers from vot-ing for the union and hired outside consultants to talk to workers on the ware-house floor.

Amazon workers vote against unionization in New York

to the petition writers.That, the "concerned Colonia

High School parents, alumni, and township members" petitioning on behalf of their school community say, isn't acceptable.

"We appreciate the NJDOH, NJDEP, ATSDR, and CDC assistance to the Woodbridge Township’s envi-ronmental investigation that is cur-rently ongoing, but strongly believe that this is not enough," the peti-tion says in seeking the involve-ment of more state and federal agen-

cies. "The agencies acknowledged their concerns regarding the poten-tial cancer cluster, but are not con-ducting any testing aside from radi-ation and radon that the Township undertook, even though the school remains open. Because the school remains open, we demand great-er urgency to find out if potential-ly harmful substances are harming our children and staff at Colonia High School."

At least 115 people over the last three decades have developed a rare form of brain cancer after attend-ing or working at a New Jersey high school, according to Al Lupiano, an environmental scientist who has spearheaded the effort in finding the cause behind this medical mystery.

Lupiano, 50, began investigat-ing his alma mater of Colonia High School in Woodbridge, NJ, after his sister died of glioblastoma multi-forme, an aggressive and malignant brain tumor.

NJ Parents Demand Swifter Action in School Cancer Probe After 100+ Brain Tumors Diagnosed

Aerial view of Colonia High School in Colonia, New Jersey (Photo courtesy: NBC New York)

06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM The AsiAn erA 9NEw YORk CITY

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Met Gala makes a comeback in New York

The Met Gala - one of fash-ion's biggest events - made a comeback with its tradi-

tional first Monday of May slot in New York.

Social media users have not been too pleased with the dress code this year, which was “gild-ed glamour, white-tie” in keep-ing with the theme, ‘In America: An Anthology of Fashion’.

Some poked fun at the choice of theme while American work-ing families are struggling to make ends meet amid the high-est inflation in four decades and an economy that just shrank in the last quarter.

The event was hosted and co-chaired by Blake Lively, Ryan Reynolds, Regina King and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

The fundraiser returned to its usual early May slot after the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 event and delayed last year's until the autumn.

Some 400 names from the worlds of music, film, fashion and sports strutted their stuff at the lavish costume parade on the steps of the Metropolitan

Museum of Art.New York City Mayor Eric

Adams made a bold fashion statement at the Met Gala 2022 red carpet by opting for a long black tuxedo coat that read "End Gun Violence." The Mayor, who arrived alongside his girlfriend, Tracey Collins at this year's big-gest fashion soiree, had his out-fit designed by Brooklyn-based artist Laolu Senbanjo, according to Bloomberg.

Among the guests was for-mer presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who said she was attending for the first time in 20 years to celebrate the fash-ion and spirit of America.

Entrepreneur Natasha Poonawalla was the only Indi-an at this year's Met Gala. She appeared on the red carpet in a golden Sabyasachi saree with statement jewelry. Nata-sha Poonawalla is an executive director of Serum Institute of India, which is the world's larg-est manufacturer of vaccines.

Tickets for the famously over-the-top do cost $35,000 and tables go for up to $300,000. The par-ty raises millions of dollars for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute, a fash-ion museum whose tens of thou-sands of exhibits are closed to the general public.

Mayor Eric Adams arrived alongside his girlfriend, Tracey Collins (Image: twitter/ @nycmayor)

Former presidential candidate Hilary Clinton worked with fashion designer Joseph Altuzarra on her dress, which has the names of 60 celebrated women of the past embroidered on it (Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

Entrepreneur Natasha Poonawalla was the only Indian at this year's Met Gala (Photo courtesy: twitter/ @NYCMayor)

Gigi Hadid attends The 2022 Met Gala (Photo courtesy: nbcnewyork.com)

Lizzo attends The 2022 Met Gala (Photo courtesy: nbcnewyork.com)

10 The AsiAn erA 06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM

life experience. The fact is he could have done anything, and he chose public service. In my opinion, you’ve heard me say this over and over. There is nothing more noble, noth-ing more sacred, than the bond that's created between an indi-vidual who runs for office. And they put their trust in you on Election Day. And that must never be severed,” she added.

Delgado, who has been rep-resenting New York's 19th Con-gressional District since 2019, will replace former Lt. Gov. Brian Benjamin, whose resig-nation last month came after he was indicted and arrest-ed on charges in connection to a bribery scheme. Benjamin was appointed to the position by Hochul after she took over the state's top job from Andrew

LOCAL gOVERNMENT

Governor Kathy Hochul has announced that she is appointing Represent-

ative Antonio Delgado to serve as Lieutenant Governor of New York. Representative Delgado currently represents New York's 19th Congressional District, which includes the Hudson Val-ley and Catskills.

Delgado is Afro-Latino, the first person of color to represent Upstate New York in Congress and a member of both the Black and Hispanic Congressional Caucuses.

“Today I'm announcing my nominee, my selection for the new Lieutenant Governor of the State of New York: Congress-man Antonio Delgado ... The Congressmen is no stranger to hard work and to public service. He has been serving New York's

Cuomo following his resignation last summer.

Delgado, 45, was among a group of New York Democrats in Congress calling for Cuo-mo to step down last year in the wake of sexual harassment alle-gations and his handling of Cov-id-19 deaths at state nursing homes.

In Congress, Delgado serves as the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee's Sub-committee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy and Cred-it, and also has seats on the Committee on Small Business and the Committee on Trans-portation and infrastructure. He has a record of bipartisan-ship, according to his biography, which said that in this Congress, nearly 90% of the legislation he's co-sponsored is bipartisan.

Rep Antonio Delgado appointed Lieutenant Governor of New York

19th congressional district, since 2018. And as we went down the list of candidates for this job, his name kept rising to the

top,” Hochul said on May 3“He's the right person for

the job. It's his background. It's his story to his family. It's his

Governor Kathy Hochul has signed a legislation to protect the rights of students in New York by elimi-

nating a sexist and racist term from cer-tain sections of education law.

Legislation (S.6744/A.7981) is intend-ed to address the stigma and historical racial bias of being labelled 'incorrigi-ble' by removing the term from ref-erence in education law. Additional-ly, Governor Hochul signed legislation (S.6529/A.9391), which explicitly prohib-its discrimination, intimidation, and retaliation against proprietary school students who file a complaint or exer-cise their right of private action.

"It is essential that New York's edu-cational institutions are places where all students, no matter how they look or express themselves, can pursue their fullest potential free from bias and intimidation," Governor Hochul said on May 4. "In New York, our diversity is our strength, and this legislation will help ensure that young women, especially young women of color, are not stigma-tized by this outdated term and are pro-tected from abuses of power."

'Incorrigible,' or 'incapable of being corrected, not reformable' as defined by Merriam-Webster, is a term that has his-torically been applied to girls of color for behavior that is not stereotypical-ly feminine. This bill aims to right the historical wrongs of racial bias and dis-crimination that stemmed from use of the word by removing reference to the term "incorrigible" in education law.

Legislation to Protect the Rights of Students

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Transportation (DOT) Commis-

sioner Ydanis Rodriguez launched a $4 million multi-platform, multilingual cam-paign to counter rising traffic violence and curb dangerous driving behaviors, like speeding, that have occurred at high-er rates since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The city’s largest and most concentrat-ed investment in public awareness since the start of Vision Zero in 2014, the cam-paign — titled “Speeding Ruins Lives, Slow Down” — also represents the larg-est education effort targeted at commu-nity and ethnic media with a $1.5 million commitment, helping to reach a range

of communities across the five boroughs, including communities of color that dis-proportionately suffer as a result of traffic violence. Video ads and other content will appear in a total of nine languages, includ-ing English and Spanish.

“Traffic safety is public safety, and today we are continuing to take action against traffic violence,” said Mayor Adams. “This unprecedented campaign will reach New Yorkers across the five bor-oughs in nine languages with one message: Slow down. And we are going to do all we can to focus on the ultimate goal of Vision Zero and eliminate traffic fatalities.”

DOT Commissioner Rodriguez said, “This campaign will be unprecedented in the extent of its outreach: It will be in

more communities, cover more commu-nity and ethnic media, and speak to New Yorkers in nine different languages.”

Mayor Adams launches campaign to tackle traffic violence

Mayor Eric Adams has appoint-ed Dilip Chauhan as the Depu-ty Commissioner, Trade, Invest-

ment, and Innovation in the NYC Mayor's Office for International Affairs, thus, add-ing a leading South Asian to his team and first to the coveted position.

Chauhan’s primary goal is to work to attract and retain businesses and foreign direct investments in the city as it recov-ers from the impact of the Covid-19 pan-demic.

Thanking the Mayor in a statement, Chauhan said he is honored to have been entrusted with the importance task of establishing strong relationships between New York City, the diplomatic corps, and the international business community. He will work to amplify New York City as a global economic center and a hub for innovation, Chauhan added.

“Specifically, I will work to attract and retain businesses and foreign direct investments across our five boroughs as we recover from the impact of the Cov-id-19 pandemic," he said in the statement, adding that through the management of relationships with Consulates, the United Nations, Permanent Missions, and Trade Commissions, he will ensure New York-ers benefit from the City’s innovative eco-

nomic programs, including the Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises.

In addition, he will also focus on strengthening partnerships related to Smart Cities, Sister Cities agreements, crypto-related developments and cross-state international business development, he added in the statement.

Chauhan comes to the Mayor’s Office for International Affairs from the Brook-

lyn President’s office, where he served as the Executive Director of Southeast and Asian Affairs. As the Executive Director, he worked towards empowering the South and Asian communities in Brooklyn.

Previously, Chauhan lead the Minori-ty Affairs office in Nassau County in New York as Deputy Controller, the first South Asian to hold this office. In that role, he worked on setting guidelines, and was able to empower the Community for prop-er participation of MWBE businesses. He contributed to this effort by arranging different boot camps for small businesses, which created community awareness and participation campaigns, and built last-ing strategic partnerships with various community organizations.

November 12, 2016, was declared as “Dilip Chauhan Day" in sixth US Con-gressional District New York in “honor of his work".

Chauhan is highly respected in the dip-lomatic corridors of South Asian coun-tries. He also served as a Board member of Services Now for Adult Persons, Inc (SNAP) New York. Chauhan is a unique combination of a successful entrepre-neur and a decorated public official with a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engi-neering.

Dilip Chauhan appointed NYC Deputy Commissioner for Trade, Investment & Innovation

Deputy Commissioner Dilip Chauhan with New York City Mayor Eric Adams

06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM The AsiAn erA 11TRISTATE COMMUNITY

Indian American groups ask CT Assembly to rescind its 'Sikh independence' citationProminent Indian American groups

have urged the Connecticut State Assembly to rescind its official

citation that congratulated a separatist Sikh body on the 36th anniversary of the so-called "declaration of Sikh independ-ence".

In an "official citation" dated Apr 29, the Connecticut general assembly had congratulated pro-Khalistan organization World Sikh Parliament "in recognition of the 36th anniversary of the declaration of Sikh independence".

Indian American groups and powerful community leaders have been writing letters to the members of the Connecticut State Assembly and its leadership under-lining that such a citation questions the territorial integrity of India and under-mines a growing India-US relationship.

"This citation will be detrimental to the interest of our Connecticut. Thus, we urge you to rescind this citation," Milan Cultural Association of Connecticut said, noting that this citation is a highly condemnable move by the Connecticut ad-ministration and is not at all acceptable.

"This citation proves how oblivious it's of the real issue. The state has waded into the unknown and unwanted territory without talking and consulting the larger Indian-American community in Connect-icut," it said.

Federation of Indian Association (FIA), Ohio, said the Connecticut State Assembly's decision to issue the citation is an "irresponsible act".

"We have noted with deep concern a Citation by the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut congratulating on Sikh independence. The irresponsible act calls into question the territorial integ-rity of India and lends credence to forces

which desire dismemberment of India," it said.

"This can never be the will or intent of the people of Connecticut," it said.

FIA, New England said that the cita-tion appears to have been issued based on misinformation by some fringe elements with a parochial, nefarious and deplor-able agenda of sowing discord in the community for their politically motivated subversive interests.

"It is a gross misuse, rather an abuse, of the august General Assembly of Con-necticut," it said.

FIA, Tri-State (New York, New Jersey and Connecticut) urged the elected members of the General Assembly of Connecticut to "mitigate this very sad and unfortunate action" and take the needed steps to "promptly rectify this illegitimate act of supporting subversive activities."

Ankur Vaidya, chairman of FIA, hoped that the facts will be checked, and that truth will prevail in the General Assembly of Connecticut.

"Such despicable and deplorable action by divisive elements with selfish hidden agendas must be collectively and strongly condemned," he said.

The Association of Indians in Ameri-ca, New York said that this "outrageous" citation is an affront to India's sovereign-

ty and territorial integrity."The so-called citation is nothing but

a nefarious attempt to sow division in the Indian-American community on religious lines and a manipulation of the platform of the General Assembly of Connecticut," it said.

"We strongly appeal to the lawmakers to recall the citation," it said.

Jagdish Sewhani, president of the American Indian Public Affairs Com-mittee, said this citation is "absolutely unacceptable".

"This irresponsible act of supporting the secessionist movement in India is absolutely unacceptable. The USA, the oldest democracy, and India, the largest democracy, share very close and strategic relationships," he said. Thomas Abra-ham, chairman of Global Organisation for People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) International, called on the Connecticut Assembly to put out a statement disasso-ciating itself from the citation.

"At this point, our state's interest is to attract Indian businesses and technology related companies to start their outfits in our state so as to create employment in the state. This public image of Con-necticut being anti-India goes against our interests. We request that you issue a public statement to dissociate from this citation," he said. (Source: PTI)

12 The AsiAn erA 06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM NATIONAL COMMUNITY

Krishna Edathil, Nikhil Deshpande among top 50 IT leaders of 2022Two Indian American tech-

nocrats, Krishna Kumar Edathil from Texas and

Nikhil Deshpande from Geor-gia, have made it to the covet-ed StateScoop Top 50 2022 list. While Edathil has been named State IT Leader of the Year, Deshpande has been declared the State Leadership of the Year, according to an announcement made this week.

The StateScoop 50 Awards annually honor the best and brightest who make state gov-ernment more efficient and effective. Edathil, who is the Director of Enterprise Solution Services for the Texas Depart-ment of Information Resourc-es (DIR), has led Texas ahead in cloud ranking in the US. He has also launched the state's Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence. His contribution to

emerging technologies qualified him to be nominated.

"Krishna's leadership has been pivotal in accelerating technology modernisation efforts here in Texas. He is a trusted partner for our cus-tomer agencies on their digital transformation journeys," said Amanda Crawford, state chief

information officer and execu-tive director of Texas Depart-ment of Information Resources (DIR). In the award notification letter to Krishna, Jake Williams, vice-president, Community and Content, Scoop News Group said, "These awards are com-munity driven and are decided by who receives the most votes

from across the state govern-ment IT community. This year, we received thousands of nomi-nations and the StateScoop audi-ence cast more than 3.5 million total votes to decide the top 50, and you were among those top leaders!"

"This award is the recogni-tion for all the technology adop-tion advances made in cloud and artificial intelligence through the Texas Tiger Team move-ment," said Krishna who has emerged as one of the most influential and inspiration-al State IT Leaders in the USA, attributing the recognition to teamwork and a collaborative movement to accelerate inno-vation in Texas. "Texas leads public sector innovation and emerging technology adoption," he added. Nikhil Deshpande, Georgia's longtime chief digi-

tal officer, has played key roles in establishing the state's social media presence and leading the move to an enterprise wide open-source publishing system.

Deshpande's team has been recently working with agencies to improve their digital servic-es. "We cannot just be offering online services with technolo-gy in mind, we have to... (keep) users at the center and then build the services around user needs," he said.

Deshpande said that a part of ensuring citizens can use state services is being able to search and find them.

The ninth annual awards were presented at a reception in conjunction with the National Association of State Chief Infor-mation Officers midyear confer-ence in National Harbor, Mary-land.

Krishna Kumar Edathil; Nikhil Deshpande

Meet Usha Chilukuri, JD Vance’s wife

Author and commenta-tor JD Vance, who won the Republican Ohio pri-

mary elections for US Senate on May 3, has an Indian connect. Vance is married to Usha Chi-lukuri, an Indian American.

Chilukuri and Vance met while they were both law stu-dents at Yale. The couple has been married since 2014, making their home in Cincinnati. They have three children — two boys and a girl.

Chilukuri is currently a liti-gator in the San Francisco and Washington DC offices of Mung-er, Tolles & Olson, a law firm, her practice focuses on complex

civil litigation and appeals in a wide variety of sectors, includ-ing higher education, local gov-ernment, entertainment, and technology.

Chilukuri is from San Diego, CA where she attended Mt. Car-mel High School. She received her BA degree in history from Yale University in 2007 and an MPhil from the University of Cambridge in 2009, where she was a Gates Cambridge Schol-ar. Before entering law school, she taught American history as a Yale-China Teaching Fel-low at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China. She was admitted to the DC Bar in May

2019, according to the organi-zation’s public records show. According to the Supreme Court Of Ohio Attorney Directory, she has been licensed in Ohio since May 2019. Chilukuri has served on the board of the Gates Cambridge Alumni Association and as secretary of the board of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra.

At the Ohio GOP Senate pri-mary, Vance defeated six others including former state treasurer Josh Mandel and Indian Amer-ican businessman Neil Patel. He will now face Democrat Tim Ryan in November to replace retiring Sen. Rob Portman.

Vance was best known for his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” with the movie version on Netflix making him a star. At the time his hard scrabble life was held up as something to aspire to. He was

also openly critical of Trump. Now, his politics have shifted, probably in keeping with polit-ical needs where he has the full endorsement of the former Pres-ident and his policies.

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Astronaut Raja Chari to return home from space on Friday

About 70 Indian American kids are among 234 spellers joining the national rounds

of the 2022 Scripps National Spell-ing Bee competition to be held from May 31-June 2.

Indian American kids had won America’s largest and longest-run-ning educational program for 12 straight years, until last year when it was won by 14-year-old Zai-la Avant-garde, the first African American champion.

The competitors advanced through local and regional bees that took place through April. The pre-liminaries are May 31, the quarter-finals and semifinals June 1 and the finals on June 2, according to a Bee press release.

The semifinals and finals to be held at National Harbor, Maryland, will be telecast on ION and Bounce.

70 Indian American kids among 234 spellers at 2022 Spelling BeeIndian-American astro-

naut Raja Chari, who has been in space for nearly

six months, is set to return home after completing his scientific missions in the fly-ing laboratory. Chari, who commanded the SpaceX Crew-3 mission, will return to Earth with Nasa astro-nauts Tom Marshburn, Kay-la Barron, and European Space Agency's Matthias Maurer on Friday.

Raja arrived at the Space Station in November last year and has been part of the Expedition 66 mission on the flying outpost. The return comes in the backdrop of four other astronauts dock-ing with the Space Station to replace Crew-3. Current-ly, there are 11 astronauts of American, European, and

Russian descent working on the station.

The four astronauts will strap themselves to the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft Endurance that brought them to space last year. The spacecraft will undock from the Harmony module’s forward port, then splashdown off the coast of Florida about 24 hours later.

SpaceX Crew-3 Commander Raja Chari poses for a portrait in his spacesuit during a training session. (Photo: Nasa)

Victoria Virasingh running for Congress from Virginia

Victoria Virasingh, daugh-ter of a Punjabi Sikh father and an Ecuadorian moth-

er, is running for the US House of Representatives from Virginia’s 8th Congressional District.

Virasingh, a progressive Dem-ocrat, is both the first Latina and first Asian and the second wom-an to ever be on the ballot for this race. She is also the youngest to ever run for this position.

Born and raised in Arling-ton, Virasingh is the daughter of immigrants. “My mom grew up in Ecuador and my dad was born to Punjabi Sikh refugees in Thai-land. They both came to Ameri-ca in hopes of a better life — but every day was a struggle, a fight,” recalls Virasingh on her campaign site.

Her campaign is breaking bar-riers, inspiring new voter partici-pation in the political process, and

getting backed by organizations across the country, she says ahead of the only Democratic primary in Virginia on June 21. Early voting in Virginia begins on May 6.

Given that 48% of residents in VA-08 are minorities, her lived experience as a Latina-Asian American provides her with unique insights to the everyday struggles that many in her com-munity face, Virasingh in a press release.

She is running for Congress to address these challenges once and for all, and she’s leading the way for more young women of color to follow, her campaign says.

With a bachelor’s degree in international relations and a mas-ter’s degree in Latin American studies, Virasingh has valuable professional experience in govern-ment, non-profit, and private sec-tors, it says.

06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM The AsiAn erA 13NATIONAL COMMUNITY

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US President Joe Biden has announced his intent to appoint Indian American Richard Verma

as a member of his Intelligence Advisory Board, the White House said.

The President's Intelligence Adviso-ry Board is an independent element with-in his Executive Office and exists exclu-sively to assist the President by providing an independent source of advice on the effectiveness with which the intelligence community is meeting the nation's intel-ligence needs and the vigor and insight

with which the community plans for the future.

Biden also named retired Admiral James A. "Sandy" Winnefeld as chair of the body - President's Intelligence Advi-sory Board, - and Janet Napolitano, a former secretary of the department of homeland security (a cabinet position) and Gilman G. Louie as members, like Verma.

Verma, the first Indian American to become US ambassador to India, was an active member of Biden's 2020 presi-dential campaign and led the team's out-reach to the Indian American commu-nity.

Verma is currently the general coun-sel and head of Global Public Policy for Mastercard. He had earlier served in the state department as assistant secretary of state and National Security Advisor to the Senate Majority Leader.

He was a member of the WMD and Terrorism Commission and current-ly serves on a number of boards includ-ing those of Ford Foundation, Lehigh University and National Endowment for Democracy.

Verma is a Senior Fellow at Har-vard University's Belfer Center for Sci-ence and International Affairs, and he holds multiple academic degrees, includ-ing a doctorate (PhD) from Georgetown University and a law degree (J.D.) from American University.

Biden names Richard Verma to Intelligence Advisory Board

Nand Mulchandani appointed CIA’s first Chief Intelligence Officer

Indian American and Former US Ambassador to India Richard Verma

Nand Mulchandani, an Indi-an-American Silicon Valley IT expert, has been appointed the

Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) first Chief Technology Officer (CTO). The new post of CTO was created by the CIA earlier this summer.

The announcement for the coveted position was made by Director William J Burns on social media. According to the CIA, Mulchandani has over 25 years of expertise working in Silicon Valley.

"CIA Director William J. Burns appoints Nand Mulchandani as CIA's first Chief Technology Officer (CTO). With more than 25 years of experience, Mr. Mulchandani will ensure the Agen-cy is leveraging cutting-edge innovations to further CIA's mission," the CIA said in a tweet.

"With more than 25 years experience working in Silicon Valley as well as the Department of Defense (DoD), Mr. Mul-chandani brings substantial private sec-tor, startup, and government expertise to CIA," the CIA said in a statement on Apr 29.

“Since my confirmation, I have pri-oritized focusing on technology and the new CTO position is a very important part of that effort. I am delighted Nand has joined our team and will bring his extensive experience to this crucial new role,” Director Burns said.

“I am honored to join the CIA in this

role and look forward to working with the Agency’s incredible team of technol-ogists and domain experts who already deliver world-class intelligence and capa-bilities to help build a comprehensive technology strategy that delivers exciting capabilities working closely with indus-try and partners,” said Mulchandani.

Prior to joining the CIA, Mulchan-dani most recently served as the CTO and Acting Director of DoD’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center. He also co-founded and was CEO of several successful start-ups– Oblix (acquired by Oracle), Deter-mina (acquired by VMWare), OpenDNS (acquired by Cisco), and ScaleXtreme (acquired by Citrix).

He has a degree in Computer Science and Math from Cornell, a Master of Sci-ence degree in Management from Stan-ford, and a Master in Public Administra-tion degree from Harvard.

14 The AsiAn erA 06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM DIASpORA

Whatever the language, our culture is Indian: Modi tells diaspora in Denmark Wherever an Indian goes,

he contributes to his karmabhoomi (land of

action) with full honesty, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in address to Indian communi-ty in in Copenhagen. Modi, who is on a three day visit to Europe, reached Denmark at the second leg of the journey.

"Many times when I meet world leaders, they proudly tell me about the achievements of the Indian community settled in their countries," the prime min-ister added, while noting that the number of Indians settled abroad was higher than entire population of some countries.

"Inclusiveness and cultural diversity is that strength of the Indian community which gives us a sense of liveliness every moment...It might be any lan-guage, but the culture of all of us is Indian....," the Prime Minis-ter further said he feels grateful to the Indian community in Den-mark for their warm reception.

A video of the visit showed an enthusiastic Indian diaspora welcoming the PM with chants of ‘Modi, Modi’. They would also break into enthusiastic ‘Vande

Invoking tourism for India, Modi urged Indians in Denmark to inspire at least five non-Indian friends to India. he asked them to praise the country and not point out the faults of the coun-try. “People will say 'Chalo India'. This is the work you all Rashtra-doot (ambassadors) have to do," he added.

"Whatever be the language, but we all have Indian culture. Our food plate changes, our taste changes. But the Indian way of repeatedly pleading with affec-tion does not change," Modi said. "We stand together for the defense of the nation and join hands in the nation-building," he added.

"When India pulls its citizens out of poverty, the poverty across the world goes down. When poor in India are given several facil-ities like housing, sanitation, clean drinking water, free health care and financial inclusion, it gives a new trust to several coun-tries of the world," Modi said

"Yahi hain Naye Bharat ka real story” (This is the real sto-ry of new India), the Prime min-ister said to loud cheers and applaud.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi playing drums at the Indian Community Reception, in Copenhagen on Tuesday

Mataram’ and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ every time the Prime Minis-ter logged an achievement.

The Prime Minister also laud-ed India's role on vaccinating the world during the Covid-19 pandemic waves. He said India becoming a trusted and reliable partner in global supply chain. “Imagine, if we wouldn't have been able to take vaccination to every family in India, what would've been its impact on the world. Had India not worked on made in India & effective vac-

cines, not had a large scale pro-duction, what would've been the situation in several countries," he further mentioned.

“India was among most back-ward countries in per capita data consumption 5-6 years back, things have changed now," said PM Modi. “When I had spoken of Digital India, some people had raised all kinds of questions. Digital, in India?'" he reiterated.

He also mentioned the fact that India's mobile data con-sumption had become the high-

est globally. “India consumes more mobile data than com-bined data consumed by sever-al big nations. New users are not from cities but from far off vil-lages. It hasn't only empowered villages & poor of India but also opened the gate to a major digi-tal market," he said.

Indian government started Start up India, a start up eco-system around 75 days ago, and now India stands at number three for unicorns, start-up sys-tem, Modi said.

Indian American NGO thanks Modi for praise

An Indian American non-profit body working for the cause of per-sons with disabilities applauded

Prime Minister Narendra Modi for men-tioning its activities in his latest “Mann Ki Baat” address.

In his monthly address to the nation on April 24, Modi recognized the Voice of SAP’s technology initiatives and its impact for Divyangs (persons with disa-bilities). “VOSAP is honored, feels more responsible and very thankful for this recognition, appreciation,” said Pranav Desai of VOSAP in a statement.

Modi in his address appreciated the work of the body and shared how it has been promoting newer opportunities in the area of assistive technologies and its 3D VOSAP art gallery, world’s first virtu-

al art gallery on the theme of disability.Modi stressed on how extraordinary

capabilities, skills of Divyangs are har-nessed with technology to benefit the entire nation and the world, VOSAP said in a media release. “VOSAP vision is to leverage technology solutions for large-scale impact, empowerment and main-streaming of millions of specially abled people to achieve economic expansion,” it said. “VOSAP is working with policy makers at NITI Aayog, UN and innova-tors to accelerate adoption of technolo-gies, making them affordable and poten-tially putting India on a path to emerging as an export hub for a better world for the 1 B+ global population of persons with disabilities in next two-three decades,” the statement said.

Indian American Muslims join White House Eid celebrations

Sickening to see the violence against Muslims celebrated in India: Padma Lakshmi

Indian-American actress Padma Lakshmi took to Twitter and con-demned the violence against Mus-

lims which is allegedly being celebrated in India.

In one of her many tweets, Lakshmi penned, "Sickening to see the violence against Muslims celebrated in India. The widespread anti-Muslim rhetoric preys on fear and poisons people. This propaganda is dangerous and nefarious because when you consider someone less than it's much easier to participate in their oppression."

She further appealed to "fellow Hin-dus" and added that their religion is fac-ing no "threat". A part of her tweet read, "Fellow Hindus, don't succumb to this fear-mongering. There is no threat to Hin-duism in India or anywhere else. True

spirituality doesn't include any room for sowing hatred of any kind."

Towards the end, she added that peo-ple in India should respect people of all faiths and live in peace with one another. Lakshmi also shared a couple of articles by international publications on commu-nal violence in India and urged her fol-lowers to read the same.

Indian American Muslims joined the White House celebrations of Eid-ul-Fitr, marking the end of the holy

month of Ramadan. The Indian Ameri-can Muslim Council (IAMC) Executive Director, Rasheed Ahmed and Rashad Hussain, the first Indian American and the first Muslim Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom, were among those who attended.

Speaking to Muslims from across US at the May 2 event in the East Room, Pres-ident Joe Biden, referring to Hussain, noted he had “appointed the first Mus-lim to serve as Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom.”

many Muslims being targeted with vio-lence. No one — no one should discrimi-nate against oppressed — or be oppressed for their religious beliefs. Nobody. Nobody,” he said amid applause. “At the same time, we have to acknowledge that an awful lot of work remains to be done abroad and here at home,” Biden said.

“Muslims make our nation strong-er every single day, even as they still face real challenges and threats in our socie-ty, including targeted violence and Islam-ophobia that exists,” he added. Congress-man Andre Carson and Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib and others from the legis-lative and executive branches, as well as

leaders of the American Muslim commu-nity also joined the celebrations.

“We are grateful to the US President for recognizing and celebrating Islam and Muslims as an integral part of the Amer-ican life,” said IAMC’s Ahmed at the event. “On behalf of IAMC, the largest civil rights organization of Indian Mus-lims in America, it is my honor to repre-sent the community at the White House on this holiest of days.”

Ahmed also met Hussain as well as other officials from the State Depart-ment and the United States Commis-sion on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), according to an IAMC release.

President Joe Biden poses for a selfie while hosting a reception to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr at the White House (Photo courtesy: Reuters)

“And it’s especially important because today, around the world, we’re seeing so

06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM The AsiAn erA 15DIASpORA

Indian diaspora in Germany gives grand welcome to Prime Minister Modi Prime Minister Narendra

Modi arrived in Berlin on May 2 to a resounding

welcome from members of the Indian diaspora. Germany is the first stop of Modi’s three-nation Europe tour that also includes Denmark and France.

Despite the fact that the prime minister arrived early in the morning, there was a large gathering of passionate Indians ready to greet him. On sighting the prime minister, the commu-nity members, who had been waiting for him since 4 am at Hotel Adlon Kempinski, chanted "Vande Mataram" and "Bharat Mata ki Jai."

Members of the community were excited at such an intimate interaction with Prime Minister Modi. Several people took selfies with the PM, and one even touched his feet.

“We reached here at 4 o’clock in the morning,” one person said. “He has done so much for the country in the last eight years. Very excited to meet him in person here,” another person said. “It's a very proud moment for all of us, we were all speech-less that the PM met us,” said an Indian women. “When he said namaste we all felt so happy,” said another. “We never thought we will have such a close encounter with him, we are all speechless. We felt emotional when he came so close, and we

all feel so proud as Indians, he has brought so much of pride regarding India,” said another Indian. “He is a charismatic leader, it's a wonderful oppor-tunity to meet the PM,” said another.

The Prime Minister said in a tweet, “It was early morning in Berlin yet several people from the Indian community came by. Was wonderful connecting with them. India is proud of the accomplishments of our diaspora.”

The enthusiastic diaspora performed traditional Indian

Two Indian-origin chil-dren in Germany received praise from Prime Minister Narendra Modi as they won his heart by their talent. Ashutosh and Manya Mishra were among kids who were waiting for the prime minis-ter at Hotel Adlon Kempinski along with the elders of the Indian community.

Ashutosh sang a patriot-ic song for Prime Minister Modi, who listened with rapt attention to the poem in Hindi. Modi patted him affec-tionately, praising his recital with a “shabash” (well done).

Two Indian-origin kids in Berlin win Modi’s heart

Ashutosh sang a patriotic song for Prime Minister Modi, and Manya presented the Prime Minister his portrait she made

Manya presented the Prime Minister a pencil sketch she made of him. He autographed the drawing and also took a picture with Manya.

“I made it for him… with my mother’s help,” said Man-ya, who studies at a Berlin school. “It was a wonderful experience meeting Prime Minister Modi. He is my icon. He signed the painting I made of him and said to me Shabash,” she said. Sharing her experience of meeting Prime Minister Modi, Manya told PTI, “My dream came true.”

The diaspora organized dance & other cultural programs to greet the Prime Minister at the Brandenburg Gate on May 2

Prime Minister Modi with Indian community members in Berlin on May 2

it by achieving desired goals,” Modi remarked.

The Prime Minister acknowl-edged the diaspora's contribu-tion to Germany's economy and society, and urged them to support India's "Vocal for Local" effort by promoting Indian prod-ucts around the world. He spoke about how changes are altering the country.

“I'm fortunate that I received the opportunity to meet the children of 'Maa Bharti' in Ger-many. It feels great to meet all of you,” Modi told the diaspora.

The jubilant audience sang 'Bharat Mata ki Jai,' 'Modi hai toh mumkin hai,' and '2024, Modi Once More' during the Prime Minister's hour-long address to the Indian community.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, there are approximately 2.03 lakh Indian passport holders and Indi-an-origin persons in Germany (roughly 1.60 lakh NRIs/Indian Passport holders and around 43,000 PIOs). Professionals, researchers and scientists, busi-nessmen, nurses, and students make up the majority of the Indian diaspora. The number of qualified Indian professionals in industries such as IT, bank-ing, and finance has increased significantly in recent years, as per MEA.

(With inputs from agencies; Photos courte-sy: twitter / Narendra Modi @narendramo-di, PMO India @PMOIndia)

Prime Minister Modi addressed an Indian diaspora event at Theater Am Potsdamer Platz in Berlin on May 2

dances and other cultural pro-grams at the Brandenburg Gate to greet the Prime Minister.

“The colours and diversi-ty of India are on display at Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate,” the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted along with some pictures of the colorful cultur-al event. “A flavour of India at the Brandenburg Gate! Have a look…,” it said in another tweet.

Later in the day, speaking to around 1600 members of the Indian diaspora at Berlin's Theater Am Postdamer Platz, Modi said that a resurgent India has made up its mind to move forward with determi-nation and urged the Indian diaspora to help the country take big strides globally.

Modi claimed that the young and aspirational India under-stood the need for political stability to achieve faster development and had ended three decades of instability by mere touch of a button. "This time of the 21st century is very important for India. Today's In-dia has made up its mind, it is moving ahead with determina-tion. When the country makes a resolve, then that country walks on new paths and shows Prime Minister Modi with Indian community members in Berlin on May 2

16 The AsiAn erA 06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM US

Trump-backed JD Vance clinches Ohio Senate raceA candidate endorsed by Donald

Trump has won the Republican Senate nomination for Ohio, in a

sign of the former US president's contin-ued influence on his party.

Author and venture capitalist JD Vance beat six other candidates in a race that set a record for the most money, $66mn, ever spent on an Ohio election.

He trailed his more established polit-ical opponents for much of the prima-ry campaign but saw a late surge follow-ing Trump's endorsement. Vance is best known for authoring the 2016 book Hill-billy Elegy, which was later made into a feature film. The book was about his upbringing in a small Kentucky town and the plight of poor rural white Americans.

It was heralded as a clear-eyed look at the political and cultural environment that helped explain Trump's appeal in rural and struggling industrial states.

Vance also benefitted from more than $10mn in campaign support from billion-aire technology entrepreneur Peter Thiel, one of Trump's deep-pocketed allies.

In his victory speech before a small but festive Cincinnati crowd - some adorned in Trump's red "Make Ameri-can Great Again" hats - Vance thanked the former president for his endorsement and underlined the importance of his vic-

ers in a tight field for the Republican Sen-ate primary in Pennsylvania. The fol-lowing week in Georgia, a Trump Senate pick, former football star Herschel Walk-er, appears headed for victory, while his choice for governor, David Perdue, trails incumbent Republican Governor Brian Kemp by a sizable margin.

At the moment, Republicans across the US continue to demonstrate respect for, or fear of, Trump's political influence more than a year after he left the White House under a cloud of controversy. Over the four years of his presidency, he filled out much of the Republican establish-ment with loyalists and ideological aco-lytes. If he can continue to do so through these upcoming mid-term elections, it will be a strong sign that his grip on par-ty power is enduring.

tory for Trump's agenda."They wanted to write the story that

this campaign would be the death of Don-ald Trump's America-first agenda," he said. "It ain't."

Vance campaigned with his own spin on the former president's populist rheto-ric, repeatedly criticizing what he viewed as unfair trade competition from China and the threat undocumented migration posed to the safety and economic liveli-hood of Americans.

Alabama hunt for missing prison inmate, guardUS police are searching for

an escaped inmate who is facing murder charg-

es, and a guard who may have helped him.

Inmate Casey White and cor-rections officer Vicki White were last seen on Apr 29 morn-ing at the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office in Alabama. Ms White said she was taking him to a mental evaluation, but offi-cials later realized it had not been scheduled.

Police now believe Ms White helped orchestrate the escape and have issued a warrant for her arrest.

Speaking at a news confer-ence on Friday, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton noted that Ms White had sold her house about a month ago and had "talked about going to the beach".

The warrant against Ms White is for first-degree permit-ting of facilitating escape.

The US Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to Casey White's recapture and the location of Vicki White.

Singleton described the 6ft 9in Casey White as "extremely dangerous" and advised police officers to not "take any chanc-es" with him. "He has nothing to lose," he added. "I will empha-size as much as I can: we're con-cerned about everybody."

Authorities are now review-ing video footage and phone calls to determine whether she had a relationship with Casey White before the escape took place.

Ms White has been with the department for about 25 years. Sheriff Singleton had previ-

ously said Ms White had been voted employee of the year several times and was an "exemplary employee". "This is not the Vicki White we know, by any stretch of the imagina-tion," he said on Monday.

In an interview with Ala-bama network WAAY-TV on Monday, Ms White's mother appealed for her to daughter to come home. She said that her daughter had been living with her for the past five weeks since selling her home, add-ing that she had never before heard of the inmate she is now accused of aiding.

Casey White, 38, was charged with two counts of capital murder in Sept 2020 over the stabbing of 58-year-old Connie Ridgeway, accord-ing to the US Marshals Ser-vice.

Inmate Casey White (L) and corrections officer Vicki White

Friday - the day the pair went missing - was supposed to be her final day at work. Despite their matching surnames, the pair are not related. Authorities say Casey White should be considered "armed and extremely danger-ous" - in part because he may now have access to the officer's gun.

On Monday, Sheriff Single-ton said that authorities believe the escape was "orchestrated", and that Ms White participated, although the exact circumstanc-es remain unclear. "Whether she did that willingly or was coerced somehow, we're not really sure," he said.

IS militant Kotey sentenced to life for murders in Syria

Alexanda Kotey, an Islam-ic State group militant from the UK, has been

sentenced to life by a US court for his involvement with a noto-rious hostage-taking terror cell.

Kotey, 38, pleaded guilty last Sept to eight criminal charges relating to the abduction, tor-ture and beheading of IS hostag-es in Syria.

Kotey, originally from Lon-don, showed no emotion as judge Thomas Selby Ellis deliv-ered his verdict. Judge Ellis described his actions as "egre-gious, violent and inhumane".

found guilty of being a senior member of a terrorist organisa-tion and currently jailed in Tur-key, is also believed to be part of the cell.

The group's actions are said to have resulted in the deaths of four US hostages: journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff and aid workers Kayla Mueller and Peter Kassig.

They are also blamed in the deaths of British aid workers David Haines and Alan Hen-ning, and Japanese journalists Haruna Yukawa and Kenji Goto.

Kotey was captured by a

Kurdish militia in Syria in Jan-uary 2018 and handed over to US forces in Iraq, before being flown to the US in 2020 to face trial.

Elsheikh, 33, who was recent-ly convicted of lethal hostage taking and conspiracy to com-mit murder, also appeared at the sentencing.

He is to be sentenced in August but Judge Ellis ordered him to be present at the hearing on Friday so statements need not be delivered twice by griev-ing families speaking in the Alexandria, Virginia courtroom.

Alexanda Kotey

the sentencing.In the 25-page handwritten

letter, Kotey said he took "full responsibility" for his actions and remains committed to meet-ing with the families of his vic-tims, adding he is "optimistic" about any dialogue he might have with them.

Hostages said Kotey, El Sha-fee Elsheikh and Mohammed Emwazi were members of an IS cell they nicknamed "the Beat-les" - after the band - because of their British accents. Emwazi was killed in Syria in 2015.

A fourth man - Aine Davis -

Kotey declined an invitation to speak in court, saying he had nothing more to add to a letter he had sent to the judge before

"People who are caught between the corrupt political class of the left and the right, they need a voice. And we're going to give it to them."- Vance

"People who are caught between the corrupt political class of the left and the right, they need a voice," Vance said on Tuesday night. "And we're going to give it to them."

This race was the first test in a month that will go a long way toward demon-strating the power Donald Trump's endorsement has in Republican poli-tics. In two weeks, another Trump-en-dorsed celebrity candidate, television doctor Mehmet Oz, will stand before vot-

06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM The AsiAn erA 17US

Text and PixPrastuti Designs

The festive season in thepost‑pandemic era hasbrought in new hopes and

optimism. After almost two yearspeople have now gradually startedto organize festive gatheringswhich spread cheer.

Festivity and traditional clothinggo hand in hand. The saree is thefavorite choice for Indian women,specially during the festivity as itshowcases elegance and grandeurof every woman.

Owing to the high demand,there is a wide variety of sareeoptions available in the market,starting from chiffon, silk to geor‑gette, kanjivaram, and more. Everystate in India has a different sareestyle, however, in the currenttimes with the ever‑expanding

intercultural connect, women havenow begun to create their ownstyles and trends.

Here are the 5 trendiest tradi‑tional saree styles for this festiveseason:

Kanjivaram SareesThe grandeur of Kanjivaram

sarees is well‑known. Weaversfrom Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu,design these sarees. Dip the silkthreads in melted gold and silverto include the gold in the designs.Kanchipuram's weavers are con‑sidered to be descendants of thesage Markanda (the master weav‑er of Gods). A Kanjivaram saree isyour finest pick for any festiveevent.

Ikat SareesFor Ikat sarees, the warp and

weft are tie‑dyed before weaving.During the tie‑dye process, theknots in the beautifully wovensaree are tied into the fabric.Odisha (Sambalpur) is where thesesarees are manufactured with out‑standing workmanship.

Bandhani Sarees'Bandhan' means tying a knot.

The fabric of these sarees is tied ina particular way before dyeing thefabric which gives them thedesired design. Bandhani sareesare popular in Gujarat andRajasthan as they make the mostauthentic Bandhani. Bright colorsin the Bandhani print makes it anapt choice for festivities.

Gara sareeA traditional Parsi Gara's time‑

less charm is unmistakable. The

Gara sari, which is embroideredwith photorealistic perfection, isunique among the country's vastarray of crafts. The magnificentstyle, which is mostly worn by theParsi community for weddingsand special celebrations, shouldnot be kept hidden away for spe‑cial occasions.

Petit Point embroideryPetit point embroidery is a type

of canvas embroidery that is com‑

parable to cross‑stitch embroiderybut finer due to its smaller scale.At normal viewing distance, thesquareness and regularity of theoutlines of the forms representedare less visible. The stitch is indiagonal or horizontal rows acrossthe intersection of the canvasthreads and is also known as petitpoint or tent stitch. This beautifuland intricate pattern on sarees iswhat adds to the grace in yourfestive look.

5 Saree Styles for the Festive Season

45November 6-12, 2021TheSouthAsianTimes.info FASH ION

WARNING: MAY CONTAIN LEAD

Spices bought in South Asian countries can contain lead, which can cause learning and behavior problems in children, miscarriage in pregnant women, and infertility.

� Buy your spices locally. � If you use spices bought in

South Asia, ask your doctor for a blood lead test.

Call 311 or visit nyc.gov/leadfree for more information.

Bill de Blasio

Mayor

Dave A. Chokshi, MD, MSc

Commissioner

Donald Trump Jr. speaks with Jan 6 committee

The oldest son of former President Donald Trump has met with the congressional committee inves-

tigating the Jan 6 insurrection at the US Capitol, according to a report by the Associated Press.

The interview with Donald Trump Jr. on Tuesday comes as the bipartisan House committee moves closer to the for-mer president’s inner circle of family members and political advisers.

The younger Trump is of likely inter-est to the committee because of his prox-imity to his father on the day of the riot. Donald Trump Jr. was seen backstage at the rally on the White House Ellipse that took place shortly before supporters of

the then-president marched to the Capitol and breached the building.

In several social media vid-eos posted at the time of the Jan 6 attack, Trump Jr. was seen with Kimberly Guilfoy-le — then his girlfriend, now his fiancee — and other mem-bers of his family as his father prepared to make a speech that investigators believed rallied supporters to act violently that day.

The House committee has also released text messages from Jan. 6 in which Trump Jr.

pleaded with the White House to get his father to forcefully condemn the riot.

“We need an Oval address. He has to lead now. It has gone too far and gotten out of hand,” Trump Jr. wrote to then-White House chief of staff Mark Mead-ows.

Trump Jr. is one of nearly 1,000 wit-nesses the committee has interviewed as it works to compile a record of the worst attack on the Capitol in more than two centuries. He is the second of Trump’s children known to speak to the commit-tee. His sister Ivanka Trump sat down with lawmakers for eight hours in early April. Her husband, Jared Kushner, has also been interviewed by the committee.

Judge approves Derek Chauvin plea deal for violating George Floyd’s rights

A federal judge on Wednesday accepted a plea deal that will sen-tence former Minneapolis police

officer Derek Chauvin to between 20 and 25 years in prison for violating the rights of George Floyd, whose murder in 2020 was followed by mass protests.

Chauvin is already serving a 22½-year sentence for Floyd’s murder and last month asked a state appeals court to over-turn his conviction. The killing of Floyd, a Black man, helped trigger a national movement against racism and police vio-lence after viral video captured Chauvin kneeling on the handcuffed man’s neck for more than nine minutes.

Chauvin, who is White, initially plead-ed not guilty to federal charges that he violated Floyd’s constitutional rights.

But late last year, he pleaded guilty to one count of violating Floyd’s civil rights and one count of violating the rights of a teenager in another case; prosecutors said they would dismiss other charges and recommend a sentence to be served concurrently with his prison time for the murder conviction.

Former police officer Derek Chauvin

Former child star Kailia Posey dies at 16

Kailia Posey, former child star of US reality TV show Toddlers & Tiaras, has died at the age of 16,

her family said.Posey's mother Marcy Posey Gatter-

man announced the news online on May 2. "I don't have words or any thoughts," Gatterman wrote, sharing a picture of her daughter dressed for a school prom. "A beautiful baby girl is gone."

Posey was also known after her cheeky grin at the age of five became a wide-

ly-shared gif on social media. Toddlers & Tiaras, which aired on the TLC network between 2009 and 2013, followed the fami-lies of contestants in a child beauty pag-eant. After her stint on the show, Posey continued to compete in pageants. Earlier this year she announced she was compet-ing in Miss Washington Teen USA.

The Whatcom County Sheriff's Office in Washington told entertainment web-site People that an official investigation had been launched into her death.

18 The AsiAn erA 06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM INDIA

The Election Commission (EC) on Monday issued a notice to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant

Soren seeking his stand on charges that he issued a mining lease in the state in his favor.

If the charges are proved, he may stand disqualified as a member of the state assembly.

"The commission wanted to give him a

fair chance to present his stand on these serious charges. He has been given time till May 10 to respond to the notice," a functionary said.

The poll panel had received a rep-resentation from the state governor on the issue. The EC will send its opinion to the governor.

The notice has been issued keeping the provisions of the Section 9A of the Rep-resentation of the People Act in mind. The commission prima facie has found he violated provisions of the section that deals with disqualification of a lawmak-er for government contract. "A person shall be disqualified if, and for so long as, there subsists a contract entered into by him in the course of his trade or business with the appropriate government for the supply of goods to, or for the execution of any works undertaken by, that govern-ment," reads the section.

The EC had recently written to the state government to share the documents related to the mining lease.

The issue has already triggered a polit-ical controversy in the mineral-rich state.

EC issues notice to Jharkhand CM over mining lease

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren

Rahul Gandhi reaches out to ‘upset’ Hardik Patel

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has reached out to disgruntled Gujarat Congress Committee working pres-

ident Hardik Patel to sort out differences in the party unit ahead of state assembly polls, according to NDTV.

Angered by the lack of preference giv-en to him by state leadership, Patel on Monday removed "Congress" from his Twitter bio and a picture of the party symbol from his profile picture.

Speculations were rife about Patel join-ing the BJP which the Congress leader repeatedly dismissed stating that he has no such plans, while also adding that he is upset with the state party leadership.

In April, Patel had not only criticized the functioning of the Gujarat Congress, but had also praised the BJP for its 'terrif-ic decision taking leadership'. He had also lauded the BJP government for revoking Article 370 and the construction of Ram Mandir.

Patel has issued a clarification that he is not upset with party leaders Rahul Gan-dhi or Priyanka Gandhi but he is upset with the state leadership. "I am not upset

with Rahul Gandhi or Priyanka Gan-dhi. I am upset with the state leadership. Why am I upset? Elections are coming up and in such times work should be done together with honest and strong people. They should be given positions," he add-ed.

According to reports, Patel who rose to prominence in July 2015 by leading a Patidar reservation movement, is upset with the party leadership for a long time now.

Noting that it "cannot agree that there was fac-tual error", the Bombay

High Court (HC) on Wednes-day rejected a plea filed by three accused in Bhima-Koregaon case, seeking review of the HC’s refusal of automatic bail in Dec last year.

In their plea, three of the accused in the Bhima-Koregaon violence case — Varavara Rao, Arun Ferreira and Vernon Gon-salves — contended that they had filed their bail pleas on Nov 30, 2018, which was four days after another co-accused, Sudha

Bombay HC again rejects bail plea of three Koregaon accusedBharadwaj filed her bail appli-cation.

In its Dec 1, 2021 order, the HC had granted bail to Bharadwaj, noting that Rao, Fereira and Gonsalves had not filed their bail application within the stip-ulated 60 day period after arrest and before filing of chargesheet — which the trio had cited as factual error that would lead to "gross miscarriage of justice".

The HC, which had in its Dec 2021 order noted that Bharad-waj's plea for default bail was pending on the date that Pune Police submitted its application

seeking extension of time for fil-ing the chargesheet, asked the trio if they had pointed out the so-called factual error when their applications were being heard.

Observing that "the appli-cations of bail were not placed before the court", the HC ruled that "no case for exercise of review jurisdiction is made out" as the accused did not apply for bail in the stipulated period and therefore, the three accused — Rao, Fereira and Gonsalves — could not avail the order which had been upheld by the Supreme Court.

The Mizoram govern-ment has issued tem-porary identity cards

to more than 29,000 Myan-mar refugees who have tak-en shelter in the north-eastern state following a military coup in the neigh-boring country and subse-quent crackdown on pro-de-mocracy protesters, state home minister Lalchamlia-na said.

In a rare move, Miz-oram chief minister Zoramthanga had last year defied a central government order asking NE states not to give shelter to refugees from Myanmar. Mizoram shares a 510-km unfenced border with the Southeast Asian nation.

India is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Con-vention or its 1967 Proto-

col, and does not officially accord refugee status to for-eigners.

The CM then wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi stating that "it was not possible for Mizoram to refuse shelter to our own brethren who fled Myan-mar fearing for their lives". He also highlighted that the Mizo people have ethnic ties with those seeking shelter in the state.

The temporary identi-ty certificates issued to the refugees contain details such as name of the bearer, father's name, date of birth, place of origin, present address in Mizoram.

The majority of the ref-ugees are Chins, who share the same ancestry, ethnicity and culture with the Mizo people.

Mizoram issues IDs to Myanmar refugees

Fast patrol vessel ICGS ‘Kam-la Devi’, named after social reformer and freedom activist

Kamladevi Chattopadhyay and built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd in a public-private partnership with TWL for the Indi-an Coast Guard (ICG), was launched

Indian Coast Guard launches Fast Patrol Vessel Kamla Deviin Kolkata on Monday.

‘Kamla Devi’ was scheduled to be the fourth ship in the series of five such FPVs that GRSE was con-tracted to build for the ICG, but became the fifth as the fourth one was exported to the Republic of Seychelles as the ‘SCG PS Zoroast-

er’ in 2021, an official said.“ICGS Kamla Devi is named

after… ‘Kamladevi Chattopadhyay’ who worked towards the upliftment of artisans and craftsmen across the country and development of the performing arts,” the GRSE official said.

The continuation appeal hear-ing in the extradition case of Nirav Modi is listed to be

heard in the High Court in Lon-don on June 28, confirmed the Roy-al Courts of Justice administrative office last week.

The 51-year-old fugitive diamond merchant is wanted in India to face charges of fraud and money laun-dering amounting to an estimated USD 2-billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) scam case. He had lodged an appeal against his extradition order

on mental health grounds.Lord Justice Jeremy Stu-

art-Smith and Justice Robert Jay presided over an initial hearing at the court in Dec last year to deter-mine whether District Judge Sam Goozee's Westminster Magistrates' Court ruling from Feb 2021 in favor of extradition was incorrect to overlook the diamond merchant's high risk of suicide.

The hearing next month is for the continuation of that appeal. According to officials familiar with

the case, the Indian government has given assurances about the condi-tions in which Modi will be detained if surrendered to India and the facil-ities that will be available to care for his physical and mental health.

Modi remains behind bars at Wand-sworth Prison in south-west London since his arrest in March 2019.

Nirav Modi extradition appeal to be heard in UK court

06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM The AsiAn erA 19INDIA

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Wednes-

day said his party workers will continue to play the Hanuman Chalisa at higher volumes as long as loudspeakers at mosques are not silenced.

Speaking at a press confer-ence in Mumbai on May 4, he also hit out at the Maharash-tra Police for detaining his par-ty workers and `letting off ’ those who do not follow law. About 250 MNS workers have been detained across the state.

The MNS chief had warned of starting his agitation against mosque loudspeakers from May 4. Mumbai has 1,104 mosques of which 135 used loudspeakers during the morning namaz on Wednesday, he claimed, seeking

Communal tensions gripped Rajasthan chief minis-ter Ashok Gehlot's home-

town Jodhpur hours before Eid on Tuesday, the second such inci-dent in the state in a month. 140 persons have been arrested in connection with the violence.

A curfew has been imposed till May 6 in the area and mobile internet services were suspended to check the spread of rumors.

The tensions broke out past midnight after Eid flags were put up at the Jalori gate circle. The situation was brought under con-trol with heavy deployment of police but the tensions escalated in the morning after prayers at an Eidgah.

The issue snowballed into stone-pelting and clashes, in which 16 people including four policemen were injured. Police

had to lob tear gas shells to dis-perse the mob.

While the chief minister has appealed to people to maintain peace and harmony, the opposi-tion BJP turned the heat up on the Congress-led government over the law and order situation. Assembly polls are due in the state in 2023.

The BJP alleged an Islamic flag was put up alongside the stat-ue of freedom fighter Balmuku-nd Bissa at a roundabout replac-ing a saffron flag that had been installed there on the occasion of Parshuram Jayanti.

This is the second such inci-dent in Rajasthan after the Karauli violence, which erupt-ed on April 2 when some people hurled stones at a bike rally being taken out by Hindu outfits on the occasion of Nav Samvatsar.

Communal tensions in Jodhpur, 140 arrested

to know what action was being taken against these mosques which violated the law.

“This issue is not restrict-ed to the morning azaan alone. If a loudspeaker is being used for namaz four-five times a day, our people will continue to play the Hanuman Chalisa at double the volume. This (protest) is not restricted for a day,” he said.

Aurangabad Police has regis-tered a case against Thackeray for allegedly delivering a provoc-ative speech two days ago. Mum-bai Police have issued a notice to the MNS chief under Section 149 of CrPC, invoked to prevent a cognizable offence.

The face-off between Thac-keray's party and the state gov-ernment helmed by his cousin Uddhav Thackeray comes ahead

of the civic elections in Maha-rashtra, in which the BJP is attempting to get the control of the Mumbai civic body. The rul-ing Shiv Sena has accused the MNS of being the "B Team" of the BJP, attempting to cut into the Sena votes with its aggres-sive stance on Hindutva.

Raj Thackeray says loudspeaker protest won't stop

Police fired 15 rounds in the air to control clashes that broke out between Shiv Sena and alleged

pro-Khalistan activists in Patiala on Apr 29, leaving four people, including a policeman, injured.

According to initial reports, the Hin-du outfit took out a march from the city's Arya Samaj Chowk to Kali Devi Mandir against Khalistan. The city's DSP was quoted by news agency ANI as

Clashes in Patiala over anti-Khalistan slogans

The Gauhati High Court Monday stayed some observations made by the Barpeta District and Sessions

Court while granting bail to Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani. The expunged remarks, the high court said, were made “without there being any materials on record”.

The Assam government had challenged the District and Sessions Court order, both the bail as well as the observations made by the judge regarding the Assam Police.

Granting bail to Mevani on Apr 29, the local court in Barpeta had cited “ongoing police excesses in the state” and urged the Gauhati High Court to direct the police force to “reform itself”.

In the case related to the alleged "assault" of a woman police officer, the court pulled up the state police for lodg-ing a "false FIR". The court observed that the intent to outrage the modesty of the woman police officer in the presence of two other police officials cannot be held against the accused while he was in their custody and which nobody else had seen.

Assam move HC against Mevani bail

Shah Faesal, former Indian Adminis-trative Service (IAS) officer and the first person from Jammu and Kash-

mir (J&K) to top the civil services exam, has been cleared to rejoin the IAS. The J&K government also cleared him to be deputed to the Centre.

Faisal, who had topped the 2010 IAS exams, served for 9 years almost before quitting the service in Jan 2019 in protest against the "unabated killings" in Kash-mir and the "marginalization of Indi-an Muslims" to launch his own political outfit, the Jammu and Kashmir People's Movement (JKPM) though it did not con-test any elections.

Detained in the aftermath of the abro-gation of Article 370 and the change in the special status of J&K for 10 months

from August 14, 2019 till June 3, 2020, Faesal resigned from his own party JKPM and quit politics just a couple of months after he was released and the Public Safety Act (PSA) on him was revoked.

Faesal said In a tweet, "Eight months of my life (Jan 2019-Aug 2019) created so much baggage that I was almost fin-ished. While chasing a chimera, I lost almost everything that I had built over the years. Job. Friends. Reputation. Pub-lic goodwill. But I never lost hope. My idealism had let me down."

He added that he "would undo the mistakes" of the past — which could also be a reference to his 2019 recom-mendation for a Nobel Peace Prize for former Pakistan PM Imran Khan for

Former IAS officer to rejoin service

saying that the Shiv Sainiks, led by their chief Harish Sin-gla — who was lat-er arrested — didn't have permission to hold the protest march.

Clashes — which included brandish-ing of swords and stone throwing — broke out when rad-ical Sikh elements accosted the march

to oppose the sloganeering. In one of the videos circulating on social media, a man is shown throwing stones from a rooftop of a building that appears to belong to the Shiv Sena, with two Trishuls clearly visible.

According to Patiala range inspec-tor general of police Rakesh Aggarw-al, "the tension started following rum-ors that some of the protesters had been attacked."

Mevani was arrested in this case for allegedly "assaulting" the woman police officer while he was being brought by a police posse from Guwahati to Kokrajhar.

The Barpeta District and Sessions judge also urged the Gauhati High Court to direct the state police force to "reform itself", referring to the slew of police encounters over the past one year.

averting a nuclear catastrophe in the wake of the Balakot air strike by India.

IAS rules clearly states that "that the period of absence from duty between the date on which the resignation became effective and the date on which the mem-ber is allowed to resume duty as a result of permission to withdraw the resigna-tion is not more than ninety days." Inter-estingly, the Centre hadn't accepted his resignation.

The rules also clearly state that a "request for withdrawal of resignation shall not be accepted by the Central Gov-ernment where a member of the Service resigns from his/her service or post with a view to be associated with, any political parties or any organization which takes part in politics."

20 The AsiAn erA 06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM SUBCONTINENT

Saudi Arabia has agreed to extend an $8 billion finan-cial package to Pakistan

to help it bolster its dwindling forex reserves and revive an ail-ing economy, a media report said on Sunday. The deal was secured during Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif ’s visit to the Gulf country.

The financial package includes doubling of the oil financing facility from $1.2 bil-lion to $2.4 billion, additional money either through deposits or bonds and rolling over of the existing $4.2 billion facilities, The News newspaper reported.

Saudi Arabia provided $3 bil-lion deposits to the State Bank of Pakistan in Dec 2021 while the oil facility was operational-ized from Mar 2022, providing Pakistan with $100 million to

procure oil.Saudi Arabia had provided a

$7.5 billion package to Pakistan during the last tenure of the PML-N government (2013-18).

Under the Imran Khan regime, Pakistan got a pack-age of $4.2 billion, including $3 billion deposits and a $1.2 bil-lion oil facility for one year and linked it with the IMF program.

Pakistan's foreign exchange reserves have depleted by $6 bil-lion to $10.5 billion in the last six weeks.

With the rising current account deficit at $13.2 billion in the first nine months and press-ing external loan repayment requirements, Pakistan requires financial assistance of $9-12 bil-lion till June 2022 to avert fur-ther depletion of foreign curren-cy reserves.

Pak PM secures $8bn bailout from Saudi

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif earlier this week. (Photo courtesy: Reuters)

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has agreed to replace his elder

brother as prime minister in a proposed interim government to solve a political impasse caused by the country's worst econom-ic crisis in decades, a prominent lawmaker claimed.

The President agreed that a national council will be appoint-ed to name a new PM and Cab-inet comprising all parties in Parliament, lawmaker and for-

mer president Maithripala Sirisena said.

However, Rohan Weliwita, a spokesperson for Prime Minis-ter Mahinda Rajapaksa, said the president has not communicated any intent to remove the PM and a decision will be announced if such a step is taken.

The island nation is near bankruptcy and has announced it is suspending payments on its foreign loans until it negotiates a rescue plan with the Interna-

tional Monetary Fund (IMF). It has to repay $7 billion in foreign debt this year, and $25 billion by 2026.

The foreign exchange shortage has severely limit-ed imports, forcing people to wait in long lines to buy essen-tials such as food, fuel, cook-ing gas and medicine and trig-gered nationwide protests since March.

Protesters blamed the Rajapaksas, who have dominat-ed nearly every aspect of life in Sri Lanka for almost two decades, for the crisis and are demanding that they quit poli-tics.

Both the president and prime minister have held on to their positions, while three oth-er Rajapaksa family members resigned from the Cabinet ear-lier in April in what appeared an attempt to pacify angry pro-testers.

The weak, divided opposition has been unable to form a major-ity and take control of Parlia-ment on its own.

President Rajapaksa agrees to replace PM Rajapaksa

Sri Lankan PM Mahinda Rajapaksa, center, with his younger brother, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa. (Photo courtesy: AP/File)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Nepal, for a few hours on May 16,

Buddha Purnima. The PM will make a brief visit to Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautam Bud-dha. According to Nepal Prime Minister's Press advisor Anil Pariyar, PM Modi will visit the Himalayan nation at the invita-tion of his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba.

During the hour-long trip, Prime Minister Modi will pay a brief visit to Lumbini in west-ern Nepal on the occasion of Buddha Purnima, Lord Bud-dha's birth anniversary, the offi-

India's stance on Tibet, an autonomous region under China, has changed consider-

ably after 2014, president of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Penpa Tsering, who is in Wash-ington to meet top officials of the Biden administration, said.

Penpa Tsering told report-ers that things changed in India since 2014. "I think India has changed his policy by not repeat-ing that Tibet is part of PRC (People's Republic of China) because India's position is that India has to abide by the one Chi-na policy, then China also has to abide by one India policy regard-ing Kashmir," said Tsering.

Alluding to the Chinese aggression in Doklam and Gal-wan, he claimed, "When the Chi-nese foreign minister came (to India) a few months ago, it was more like a transit visit."

"Nothing came out of that vis-it. That itself shows India's poli-cy towards Tibet and China," he added.

The Biden Administration has not forgotten Tibet, Tser-ing said urging the White House and the Congress to help create a global coalition against China and challenge its narrative over Tibet.

"Tibet has never been part of China," he said, adding that he sees a fresh impetus from the Biden Administration on Tibet.

"There is likely to be more engagement on the issue of Tibet and several bills are in the pipe-

line in the Congress on the Tibet-an issue. The Tibet policy of the Biden Administration is more pronounced," he noted.

In 1950, the People's Republic of China invaded Tibet, which eventually led to the complete overthrow of the Tibetan govern-ment. India had then offered shel-ter to the Tibetan spiritual leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, and allowed a government-in-exile in Him-achal Pradesh's Dharamshala.

But the country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru rec-ognized China's sovereignty over Tibet, a decision which drew much criticism later. Tsering believes Nehru's decisions over Tibet were due to his own world vision and he had "too much faith and confidence in China".

"I don't blame only Pandit Neh-ru for doing that. We understand that the national interest comes first for every nation and he did what he thought was best for India at that time," Tsering said, adding that not only India, sever-al other countries too conceded China's sovereignty over Tibet.

The 1962 Sino-India war was a turning point when the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) almost reached northern Assam's Tezpur. Before the Chinese army made a retreat, Nehru said in a choked voice, "My heart goes out to the people of Assam".

When the BJP-led government came to power in 2014, Lobsang Sangay, the then PM of the Tibet-an government-in-exile, was

among the guests at the Rashtra-pati Bhawan to witness PM Nar-endra Modi's swearing-in cere-mony.

In 2017, the Dalai Lama was allowed to visit Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang in 2017, just months before the Doklam stand-off. Tawang, which has histori-cal links with Tibet, is home to the 300-year-old Gaden Namgy-al Lhatse, better known as the Tawang Monastery.

Needless to say, China claims India's Arunachal Pradesh as part of its territory and calls it South Tibet, and the Dalai Lama's visit to this so-called "dis-puted area" had irked Beijing.

Since the 2020 Galwan epi-sode, there have been growing calls for India to play the Tibet card. Some analysts even sug-gested a policy in line with the US legislation that reaffirms the rights of Tibetans to choose a successor to the Dalai Lama.

India has changed its stance on Tibet: Penpa Tsering

Tibetan exile leader Penpa Tsering

cial said. It will be Prime Minis-ter Modi's first Nepal visit after his re-election in 2019. Prime Minister Deuba is also sched-uled to participate in the event along with his Indian counter-part. India’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, however, is yet to make an official announcement about the visit.

Nepal is important for India in the context of its overall stra-tegic interests in the region. The landlocked Himalayan nation shares a border of over 1,850 km with five Indian states, and relies heavily on India for the transpor-tation of goods and services.

Modi to visit Nepal on Buddha Purnima

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with his Nepal counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba, in Delhi. (Photo: Twitter/Narendra Modi)

06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM The AsiAn erA 21

22 The AsiAn erA 06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM INTERNATIONAL

North Korea on Wednesday launched what is believed to be a ballistic missile

toward its eastern waters, barely a week before a new conservative president takes office in Seoul. This is Pyongyang's 14th round of weapons firing this year.

South Korea called the North's repeated ballistic missile launch-es "an act of grave threat" to undermine international peace and security and a violation of UN Security Council resolutions banning any ballistic launch by Pyongyang.

The new launch comes days after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un vowed to bolster his nuclear arsenal "at the fastest possible pace" and threatened to use them against rivals.

Japan also condemned Wednesday's launch. According to Japanese Vice Defence Min-ister Makoto Oniki, the missile may have landed in waters out-side of the Japanese Exclusive Economic Zone, but there were no reports of any damage or injury from vessels and aircraft in the area.

Last week, Kim showcased his most powerful nuclear-capable missiles targeting both the US and its allies during a massive

military parade in Pyongyang.Observers say this unusual-

ly fast pace in weapons testing underscores Kim's dual goal of advancing its missile programs and applying pressure on Wash-ington over a deepening freeze in nuclear negotiations.

It wasn't immediately known what missile North Korea launched. One of the missiles tested recently was an inter-continental ballistic missile potentially capable of reach-ing the entirety of the Ameri-can homeland. That missile's launch broke Kim's self-imposed 2018 moratorium on big weap-ons tests.

Experts say Kim is also pre-paring for a nuclear test at its remote north-eastern testing facility.

Seoul, Tokyo alarmed by North Korea's new missile test Certain aspects of the per-

sonal diaries and letters involving Lord Mountbat-

ten, the last Viceroy of India, his wife Edwina and India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Neh-ru, at the heart of an appeal to decide whether they can be fully released for open public access, will remain redacted after a UK tribunal ruling.

The tribunal ruled in favor of the Cabinet Office and South-ampton University that the majority of the redacted passag-es should remain so to protect the UK royal family and not jeop-ardize UK’s ties with Pakistan and India.

Judge Sophie Buckley presid-ed over the UK First-Tier Tribu-nal (Information Rights) appeal to determine the fate of some redacted sections of diaries and correspondence dating back to the 1930s.

Andrew Lownie, a British author, spent £370,000 ($464,000) on legal fees to get the personal diaries of Lord and Lady Mount-batten and the letters between them released. "I don't think anything left is explosive. This was a great fight over nothing," said Lownie after judge Buckley turned down his plea.

Southampton University doesn't "hold the correspond-

Nehru’s letters with Lord, Lady Mountbatten can stay redacted: UK

ence" between Nehru and Edwi-na, the tribunal found. The judge found that while the uni-versity was "physically safe-guarding the papers" on its premises, it was doing so on behalf of Lord Brabourne. The university had the option to buy them for £100 ($125), which it had not done.

Lownie, who spent £300,000 of his own money on the case and crowdfunded the rest, said much of what they were try-ing to withhold was, in his view, in the public domain in other books. He suspects that the pas-sages withheld relating to Paki-stan and India relate to Edwina Mountbatten's heavy dislike of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

In the lead-up to the tribunal hearing held in Nov 2021, South-ampton University had start-ed releasing the Mountbatten

diaries and letters so that by the time of the hearing under 150 extracts were left redacted and 35,000 pages had been released.

The tribunal, in its judgment, only ordered for two redacted passages to be un-redacted and two to be partially un-redacted, and for the rest to remain redact-ed either because they contain direct communications with the Queen or personal informa-tion about the Queen or another member of the Royal Family or Royal Household, or the Mount-batten family, or because they contain prejudicial information about the UK's ties with India and Pakistan.

Three entries - from Lady Mountbatten's diary for July 25, 1947 and Lord Mountbatten's dia-ry for July 13 and August 6, 1947 - remain withheld because disclo-sure with the perceived approval of the British government would cause prejudice to the UK's rela-tions with Pakistan and India, the judgment states.

A spokesperson for the uni-versity said they had "always aimed to make public as much of the Broadlands Archive as pos-sible" and that they were "very happy" with the ruling which substantially found that "the uni-versity made right decisions in balancing its legal obligations".

Jawaharlal Nehru

Claiming that it “attaches high impor-tance to Indian students' concerns about returning to China for studies”,

the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on Friday said that they would allow back “some” Indian students on the condition that India provides them with “the list of students who really need to come back to China.”

"In handling, foreign students returning to China for studies, we need to take into consid-eration the international epidemic situation, the evolving circumstances and their majors," the spokesperson said on Apr 29.

On being asked about the criteria to select which Indian students can return, the spokes-person said that "these details will be sorted out through communication through existing channels including the embassy."

Reacting to reports that Indian students were perhaps being singled out — while stu-dents from 'friendly' nations like Pakistan,

Thailand, Solomon Islands and Sri Lan-ka were being allowed back in — due to the strained relations between Beijing and New Delhi attributed to the prolonged conflict on the border, the spokesperson said that "this principle (of taking into account the Covid-19 situation) applies equally to all foreign stu-dents."

It has also asked all Indian students to fol-low all Covid-19 prevention measures in force in China and also give an undertaking that all expenses related to Covid-19 prevention meas-ures will be borne by the students.

In addition to the nearly 23,000 Indian stu-dents, who had to leave China following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in 2019, wait-ing to return in order to rejoin their class-es, there are hundreds of families of Indians working in China who have been stuck here after China cancelled visas and flights from India. In his first trip to Saudi Arabia

in five years, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held direct

talks that ran into the early hours of Friday.

The killing by Saudi agents of col-umnist Jamal Khashoggi inside the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul in 2018 had turned an already tense and shaky relationship between Turkey and Saudi Arabia into complete free-fall.

Turkey had a case open against 26 Saudi suspects in the Khashoggi kill-ing case in absentia, but three weeks ago the Turkish prosecutor pulled the plug on the case by transferring it to the kingdom, which had already held its own trial and no officials oversee-ing the operation were ever convicted.

Turkey's diplomatic drive coin-cides with the country's worst eco-nomic crisis in two decades. Official inflation stands at a staggering 61% while the lira tumbled 44% in value against the dollar last year. Turkey, scheduled to hold elections next year, seems to have realized that wealthy Gulf Arab states as allies can help draw investments. It has also taken steps to improve relations with Egypt and Israel.

Saudi Arabia's change of heart comes as the kingdom seeks to broad-en its alliances at a time when rela-tions between Riyadh and Washing-ton are strained. The crown prince also wants to put an end to the scan-dal of Khashoggi's killing that has cast a pall on his reputation.

Turkey, Saudi Arabia mending strained relations

China to allow back some Indian students

06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM The AsiAn erA 23

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24 The AsiAn erA 06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM MEDIA MATTERS

US President Joe Biden joined White House correspondents in celebrating freedom of press and

speech over the weekend, where he took the time to take swipes at himself as well as his immediate predecessor and his critics.

The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) dinner, which the pandemic sidelined in 2020 and 2021, returned with Biden as the first presi-dent in six years to accept an invitation.

became the first president to attend and all have since, except Trump.

The annual dinner is used to raise funds by WHCA to give scholarships to several dozen talented journalists from US and other parts of the world as well.

Biden — who is the first sitting presi-dent to attend the event since then-Presi-dent Barack Obama made an appearance in 2016 — had no trouble poking fun at his approval ratings.

"I'm really excited to be here tonight with the only group of Americans with a lower approval rating than I have," Bid-en said.

The president even made a joke about an anti-Biden phrase that has become part of the conservative lexicon over the past year. "Republicans seem to support one fellow," he said during his remarks. "Some guy named Brandon. He's having a really good year. And I'm kind of happy for him."

The joke referenced an anti-Bid-en phrase that gained popularity after last October when NBC Sports report-er Kelli Stavast said that the crowd in the background of an interview with the NASCAR driver Brandon Brown was chanting, "Let's go, Brandon." Howev-

er, the audience could be heard shouting "Fuck Joe Biden." Since the incident, the saying has taken off in many right-lean-ing quarters, with merchandise being sold using the phrase. Biden made other quips at the dinner, poking at his age. The president told the comedian and "Dai-ly Show" host Trevor Noah — who head-lined the event — that he appreciated the name that was assigned to him after he won the 2020 presidential election.

"He called me 'America's new dad,'" Biden said. "Let me tell you something pal, I'm flattered anyone would call me a new anything. You're my guy."

On a serious note, Biden said, "We're in a time when what we so long taken for granted is facing the gravest of threats. and I'm being deadly earnest. Overseas, the liberal world order that laid the foun-dation for global peace, stability and pros-perity since World War II is genuinely, seriously under assault."

He said: The free press is not the ene-my of the people -- far from it. At your best, you're guardians of the truth. Pres-ident Kennedy once said, and I quote, "Without debate, without criticism, no administration, no country can succeed, and no republic can survive."

WHCA dinner: Biden marks a return to presidential tradition

President Joe Biden speaks at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner on Apr 30 in Washington (Photo courtesy: AP)

Donald Trump shunned the event while in office.

“This is the first time a president has attended this dinner in six years. It’s understandable. We had a horrible plague, followed by two years of Covid,” said Bid-en, in a swipe towards his predecessor. “Just imagine if my predecessor came to this dinner this year - now that would really have been a real coup," he added.

The correspondents' dinner debuted in 1921. Three years later, Calvin Coolidge

The trio of Nordic countries – Nor-way, Denmark and Sweden – topped the 20th World Press Freedom

Index, which assessed the state of jour-nalism in 180 countries and territories. India dropped eight places to 150 — out of 180 countries — on the Index compiled by the Paris-based Reporters Without Bor-ders (RSF) for 2022.

The index's report notes that "with an average of three or four journalists killed in connection with their work every year, India is one of the world's most danger-ous countries for the media." In the cur-rent year alone, it states, while one jour-nalist has been killed, another 13 are behind bars.

In fact in the last 20 years, India, which was ranked 80th on the index in 2002, has seen its press freedom ranking pro-

gressively plummet. The country profile by RSF on India also says that "the Indi-an press used to be seen as fairly progres-sive but things changed radically in the mid-2010s, when Narendra Modi became prime minister and engineered a spectac-ular rapprochement between his party, the BJP, and the big families dominating the media."

Terming the Indian press as "a colos-sus with feet of clay", RSF adds that Indi-an "journalists are exposed to all kinds of physical violence including police vio-lence, ambushes by political activists, and deadly reprisals by criminal groups or cor-rupt local officials" by "supporters of Hin-dutva" with the situation "very worrisome in Kashmir where reporters are often har-assed by police and paramilitaries."

The 2022 edition of the World Press

Freedom Index highlights “the disastrous effects of news and information chaos – the effects of a globalized and unregulat-ed online information space that encour-ages fake news and propaganda”, the report said.

Within democratic societies, divisions are growing as a result of the spread of opinion media following the “Fox News model” and the spread of disinformation circuits that are amplified by the way social media functions. At the interna-tional level, democracies are being weak-ened by the asymmetry between open societies and despotic regimes that con-trol their media and online platforms while waging propaganda wars against democracies. Polarization on these two levels is fueling increased tension, it said.

The RSF report reveals a two-fold

increase in polarization amplified by information chaos – that is, media polari-zation fueling divisions within countries, as well as polarization between countries at the international level.

Media polarization is feeding and rein-forcing internal social divisions in demo-cratic societies such as the United States (42nd), despite president Joe Biden’s elec-tion. The increase in social and political tension is being fueled by social media and new opinion media, especially in France (26th). The suppression of inde-pendent media is contributing to a sharp polarization in “illiberal democracies” such as Poland (66th), where the authori-ties have consolidated their control over public broadcasting and their strategy of “re-Polonising” the privately-owned media, the report said.

Norway tops World Press Freedom index, India at 150

A video montage containing photos and footage of a group of Indians and for-eign nationals chanting Hindu devotion-

al hymns at the Tower Bridge in London was circulated this week on social media as a recent event organized in the context of the ongoing row over Hanuman Chalisa in Maharashtra.

Many shared the video with captions like, “Hanuman Chali-sa recital yesterday on Tower Bridge, London. This need [sic] to be shared with our Courts, Sanjay Raut & MVA Govt. #NavneetRana & #RaviRana have not even recited but arrest-ed from home.”

The India Today fact check has reported that this video was old and not related to the ongo-

ing Hanuman Chalisa row. It said the video was from a celebration of Shravan month and Krishna Janmashtami held on Aug 30, 2021, at Tower Bridge in London. The event was organ-ised by the International Siddhashram Shakti Center in Harrow, London.

Hanuman Chalisa row: 2021 video from London shared with a spin

Rahul Gandhi in Kathmandu pub: Baseless rumor spreads like wildfire

A video pur-ported-ly show-

ing Rahul Gandhi in a pub has gone viral on social media. Many peo-ple shared the video on Twit-ter and Facebook with the claim that the woman accompanying the Congress party leader was Hou Yanqi, the Chinese Ambassador to Nepal.

The India Today fact check reported that Gandhi was in Nepal attending a friend’s wedding. The

pub’s management and local jour-nalists confirmed to India Today that no Chinese envoy was pres-ent during his visit to the pub. The woman in the video was a friend of the bride.

06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM The AsiAn erA 25BUSINESS & ECONOMY

The Federal Reserve moved to tamp down soaring inflation in the US on Wednesday, announcing the sharp-

est rise in interest rates in over 20 years.The Fed’s benchmark interest rate was

raised by 0.5 percentage points to a target rate range of between 0.75% and 1%. The hike is the largest since 2000 and follows a 0.25 percentage point increase in March, the first increase since December 2018.

In a statement the Fed said that although “overall economic activity edged down in the first quarter, house-hold spending and business fixed invest-ment remained strong”. But it warned that inflation “remains elevated”, the invasion of Ukraine had implications for the US economy that remain “highly uncertain” and Covid-related lockdowns in China “are likely to exacerbate supply chain disruptions”.

Rates were cut to near zero in March

2020 when the pandemic hit the US but they were already low and years of low rates left the US and other countries ill-prepared for a sudden rise in inflation. Until recently the Fed had dismissed ris-ing prices as “transitory” and expected

them to fall as economies recovered from the pandemic.

The Fed chair, Jerome Powell, took the unusual step of addressing the Ameri-can people at the start of a press confer-ence following the rate hike announce-ment. “Inflation is much too high, and we understand the hardship it is causing. We are moving expeditiously to bring it back down,” he said.

“Some of us are old enough to have lived through high inflation and many aren’t. But it’s very unpleasant … If you are a normal economic person, then you probably don’t have that much extra to spend, and it’s immediately hitting your spending on groceries, on gasoline, on energy, things like that. We understand the pain involved.”

Powell said the economy remained strong and that he was confident the Fed could act without triggering a recession

Fed issues biggest rate hike in 22 years

Jerome Powell

but he warned it would act aggressively to tackle inflation.

“We need to do everything we can to restore stable prices,” he said. “We will do it as quickly and effectively as we can. We think we have a good chance to do it without significant increase in unem-ployment or sharp slowdown. But ulti-mately, we think about the medium and longer term, and everyone will be better off if we can get this job done – the soon-er, the better.”

Powell said that additional half-per-centage-point rate hikes will be on the table for the next few meetings. But the bank isn't looking to go bigger: "A 75 basis point increase is not something the committee is actively considering," Pow-ell told reporters. "If inflation comes down we're not going to stop, we're just going to go down to 25 basis point increas-es," he added.

Citing "the sharp acceleration in headline CPI inflation in March 2022 to 7%", the Reserve Bank of

India (RBI), in an off cycle monetary pol-icy review meeting, hiked the repo rate by 0.40% — the first such hike in almost four years. It preceded the US Federal Reserve’s biggest hike in over 20 years in interest rates, by 0.50%.

While a rate hike was always on the cards, it was expected to come in the June meeting of the monetary policy commit-tee (MPC) with a hike of no more than 0.25%. However, as RBI Governor Shak-tikanta Das in his press briefing said, a rate hike "at this juncture would help to preserve macro-financial stability amidst increasing volatility in financial mar-kets."

Along with a hike in repo rate, to 4.4% — which the RBI said was also based on "the rebound in domestic economic activ-ity that took hold" — the central bank also hiked the cash reserve ratio (CRR), which is the percentage of cash required to be kept in reserves against the bank's total deposits, with the RBI, by 0.50%, to 4.5%.

The RBI governor's announcement decimated the stock market, with the BSE Sensex swinging over 1,500 points intra-day before ending the session with a loss of nearly 1,307 points, settling at 55,669.03 — wiping off Rs 6.27 lakh crore of inves-tor wealth.

The repo rate hike will also propel banks to increase their lending rates, in particular home loan interest rates, which further implies an uptick in EMIs for borrowers.

Reserve Bank of India hikes repo rates Elon Musk fired another salvo

about his latest acquisition, Twit-ter, suggesting that there should

be a "slight cost for commercial/govern-ment users" as "some revenue is better than none!" He clarified that Twitter will continue to be free for "casual users" — implying individuals with Twitter han-dles not associated with any government or not tweeting for financial or monetary gains will not be charged any fee.

Musk's statement comes on the back of reports that he had last week informed banks of his plans to find new ways to make money off tweets — especially ones

that contain vital information or go viral — and cut down on executive compensa-tion at the microblogging site.

Ever since he's bought the compa-ny, Musk has been talking about making wholesale changes at Twitter, including slashing the fee for Twitter Blue, the new premium subscription service. Accord-ing to the Wall Street Journal, Musk has assured potential investors that he may re-list the company in as little as three years — he plans to buy all of Twitter's shares currently available on the stock market by the end of this year and take it private.

Musk wants governments and businesses to pay for tweets

The United States has again placed China and Russia on the list of countries that must be monitored

for intellectual property related issues. In its 2022 Special 301 Report on the ade-quacy and effectiveness of US trading partners’ protection and enforcement of intellectual property (IP) rights, it again placed India on the list of "Priority Watch List".

According to a report released by the Office of the United States Trade Rep-

resentative (USTR) - an institution that advises the President on trade issues, international trade negotiations, and others - it has placed at least 21 countries under the list. It also includes Argentina, Chile, Indonesia, Venezuela, Algeria, Bar-bados, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Guatemala, Mexico, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Thailand, and Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

Katherine Tai, US Trade Representa-tive, said that the Biden-Harris Adminis-tration will continue to engage with the trading partners to level the playing field for workers and businesses. "Intellectual property-intensive industries support more than 60 million jobs... We need robust protection and enforcement in for-eign countries to protect these individu-als, and their livelihoods, and ensure they can fairly compete in the global market-places," said Tai in a statement released on Wednesday.

USTR reviewed more than 100 trad-ing partners for this year’s Special 301 Report, and placed 27 of them on the Priority Watch List or Watch List.

China, Russia, India on US property rights 'Priority Watch List'

Qantas unveils ultra-long-haul flights from Sydney to New York

Qantas has unveiled details of the ultra-long-haul air-craft it plans to run on non-stop flights from Sydney and Melbourne to London and New York by the end

of 2025.Confirming reports that have swirled in recent days,

Qantas announced its mega order with European plane manufacturer Airbus for 12 of its A350-1000 aircraft. These will be run on the so-called “Project Sunrise” flights, with the first to be delivered in 2025.

The airline says the planes will be “capable of flying direct from Australia to any other city” in the world, while being 25% more fuel-efficient than previous aircraft.

The wide-body planes will be able to carry 238 passen-gers – about 100 fewer seats than competitors flying the A350 – and will feature “wellbeing zones” for passengers to move about in the cabin as a way to break up the ultra-long-haul flights that will reach up to 20 hours.

A Qantas Airbus A350-1000 flight test aircraft flies over Sydney Harbour. (Photo courtesy: James D Morgan/Getty Images)

26 The AsiAn erA 06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM SpORTS

BasketBall

athletics

tennis

State Department says Griner ‘wrongfully detained’ by Russia

New Jersey centenarian breaks 100m record at Penn Relays

Boris Becker jailed in UK over bankruptcy

The US Department of State has determined that Russia has “wrongfully

detained” American basketball player Brittney Griner, an offi-cial said, in a move that means the United States will work more aggressively to secure her release.

A State Department official told ESPN on May 3 that envoy for hostage affairs Roger Cars-tens will lead a team tasked with securing Griner’s release.

“The Department of State has determined that the Rus-sian Federation has wrongful-ly detained US citizen Brittney Griner,” the official said. “With this determination, the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage

Lester Wright, a 100-year-old World War II veteran, set the official 100m world

record for centenarians on Apr 30 at the Penn Relays, America’s oldest track and field meet.

Clocking 26.34 seconds, the New Jersey native beat the pre-vious men’s world record in the 100-year-old age division, a 26.99 set by Donald Pellmann in 2015.

Britain’s Fauja Singh had set

Affairs Roger Carstens will lead the interagency team for secur-ing Brittney Griner’s release.”

Griner was detained at an airport in Feb after Russian authorities said a search of her bag revealed vape cartridges

containing oil derived from can-nabis. Since then, US officials had stopped short of classify-ing the Phoenix Mercury player as wrongfully detained and said instead that their focus was on ensuring that she had access in

tristate

Matches to watch this week

New York City FC hosts Sporting Kansas City this weekend. New York have had a relatively better start to the season, currently 5th in the East-ern Conference. Kansas are in poor form, with only 2 wins in their first 10 games. New York are favorites.

New York Yankees vs Texas Rangers(MLB / May 6, Friday)The New York Yankees will host the Texas Rangers at the Yankee Stadium this weekend. The Rangers have had a poor start to the season, currently last in their conference. This, along with the Yankees’ recent seizure of 1st-place in the AL East, makes the Yankees favorites for the tie.

Washington Nationals vs New York Mets(MLB / May 10, Tuesday)The New York Mets travel to the Nationals Park to face the Washing-ton Nationals next week. The Mets have had a far better start to the season, currently 1st-placed in the NL Eastern Conference, with contrast to the Nationals currently occupying last place. The Mets are favorites for this one.

New York Rangers vs Pittsburgh Penguins(NHL / May 3 - 15)The New York Rangers will play the first round in the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Pittsburgh Penguins. This is the eighth playoff meeting between these two teams. New York won three of four games against the Penguins in this year's regular season.

New York Red Bulls vs Portland Timbers(MLS / May 7, Saturday)The New York Red Bulls square off against the Portland Timbers in the 10th matchday of their MLS campaign. The Timbers have had only 2 wins in their last 10 games, and are currently 10th-placed in the Western Conference. The Red Bulls are strong favorites for the tie.

New York City FC vs Sporting Kansas City(MLS / May 7, Saturday)

jail to American consular affairs officials. The United States has complained that Russia does not grant regular access to Amer-icans detained there, although consular access to Griner was granted and a consular officer visited her on Mar 23, a US State Department spokesperson said in a statement. “The US govern-ment will continue to undertake efforts to provide appropriate support to Ms. Griner,” the state-ment said.

Griner has not been charged. In March, her detention was extended until May 19.

“Brittney has been detained for 75 days and our expecta-tion is that the White House do

whatever is necessary to bring her home,” said Griner’s agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas.

The latest development signi-fies a shift in supervision of her case that is focused on negoti-ating for the release of hostag-es and other Americans deemed wrongfully detained.

While it was unclear what prompted the US shift in Grin-er’s case, President Joe Biden’s administration had been under pressure from members of Con-gress and others to make Grin-er’s release a priority.

The US last week secured the release of Marine veteran Tre-vor Reed as part of a prisoner swap that also resulted in a con-victed Russian drug trafficker being freed from prison in the US. (With inputs from Agencies)

an unofficial 100m world record for the age group in 2011 with a time of 23.40.

“If you’re going to go out to run a race, you should real-ly run the race to try to win,” Wright, who turned 100 on Fri-day, told a Fox affiliate before the meet. “I don’t know how you can run to be second or third.”

A local TV reporter asked Wright, who raced for the first time in three years after an illness, if he was tired. “No,” Wright answered. Would you do it again? “Yes,” Wright said.

Wright’s track career has lasted more than 80 years. He started sprinting seriously in the 1930s before he was forced

to pause due to the WWII. He served in a segregated unit on the beaches of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge under George Patton, and was promot-ed to sergeant by the end of the war. When he returned to the US he started running again seri-ously at the age of 30 and has been competing ever since. He broke the 200m world record for over 75s when he was 76.

He and his wife, Adele, have been married 80 years. They ran a dental supply business for 40 years in New Jersey as well as training together and raising a family that includes their great-great grandchildren, according to ABC 7.

cricket

Gavaskar returns unused Mumbai plot

Six-time Grand Slam champion Boris Becker has been jailed for two and a half years for hiding

£2.5mn ($3.16mn) worth of assets and loans to avoid paying debts.

The former world number one was found guilty of four charges under UK’s Insolvency Act. The case centered on Becker's bankruptcy in June 2017 result-ing from an unpaid loan of more than £3mn on his luxury estate in Mallorca, Spain. The 54-year-old had been accused of hiding millions of pounds worth of assets, including his tennis trophies, to avoid paying his debts. He was acquitted on a further 20 charges.

Becker was legally obliged to disclose all of his

assets so that his trustee could distrib-ute available funds to his creditors, to whom he owed nearly £50m when he was declared bankrupt.

Becker's success in tennis was over-shadowed by a turbulent private life and repeated financial difficulties. During the trial, Becker said he had earned a "vast amount" during his career, but his income had "reduced dramatically" after he retired in 1999.

His finances had come under legal scruti-ny soon after, and in 2002, a Munich court fined Becker €300,000 ($318,700) and handed him a two-year suspended prison sentence for tax evasion of €1.7m. Becker has lived in the UK since 2012.

Sunil Gavaskar has returned a 21,348 sq ft plot of land in Band-ra Reclamation to the state gov-

ernment after 33 years for failing to build a proposed indoor cricket acad-emy.

The Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHA-DA) had in 2019 sought to take back possession of the land, allotted to Sunil Gavaskar Cricket Foundation

Trust. State Housing Minister Jiten-dra Awhad had last year expressed dis-pleasure over Gavaskar not utilizing the plot, even after 30 years of the allot-ment.

The former Indian opener, who scored 34 Test centuries, has now returned the plot to the MHADA after the latter's eight-month-long delibera-tions and meetings with partners of the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi in the state.

06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM The AsiAn erA 27

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28 The AsiAn erA 06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM COVID-19 NEwS

The Covid pandemic has caused the deaths of nearly 15 million peo-

ple around the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) esti-mates. That is 13% more deaths than normally expected over two years.

The WHO believes many countries undercounted the numbers who died from Covid - only 5.4 million were reported.

In India, there were 4.7 mil-lion Covid deaths, it says - 10 times the official figures - and almost a third of Covid deaths globally. The Indian government has questioned the estimate, saying it has "concerns" about the methodology, but other stud-ies have come to similar conclu-sions about the scale of deaths in the country.

The measure used by the WHO is called excess deaths - how many more people died than would normally be expect-ed based on mortality in the same area before the pandem-

ic hit. These calculations also take into account deaths which were not directly because of Covid but instead caused by its knock-on effects, like peo-ple being unable to access hospitals for the care they needed. It also accounts for poor record-keeping in some

regions, and sparse testing at the start of the crisis.

But the WHO said the majority of the extra 9.5 mil-lion deaths seen above the 5.4 million Covid deaths report-ed were thought to be direct deaths caused by the virus, rather than indirect deaths.

"It's a tragedy,” said Dr Samira Asma, from the WHO's data department, speaking about the scale of the figures. “It's a staggering number and it's important for us to hon-or the lives that are lost, and we have to hold policymakers accountable," she said. "If we don't count the dead, we will miss the opportunity to be bet-ter prepared for the next time."

Alongside India, countries with the highest total excess deaths included Russia, Indo-nesia, USA, Brazil, Mexico and Peru, the WHO figures sug-gest. The numbers for Russia are three-and-a-half times the country's recorded deaths.

The report also looks at the rates of excess deaths relative to each country's population size. The UK's excess mortality rate - like America, Spain and Germany - was above the global average during 2020 and 2021.

Countries with low excess mortality rates included Chi-

World’s true pandemic death toll nearly 15 million, says WHORatio of excess deaths in 2020 & 2021 compared with reported Covid-19 deaths

Egypt

India

Pakistan

Indonesia

Bangladesh

Bolivia

Serbia

Kazakhstan

Philippines

Russia

11.6x

9.9x8x

7.1x

5x4.5x

4.4x

4.2x3.6x

3.5x

Note: Includes only countries with at least 10,000 official recorded Covid deathsSource: World Health Organization

na, which is still pursuing a pol-icy of "zero Covid" involving mass testing and quarantines, Australia, which imposed strict travel restrictions to keep the virus out of the country, Japan and Norway.

The academics who helped compile the report admit their estimates are more specula-tive for countries in sub-Saha-ran Africa, because there is lit-tle data on deaths in the region. There were no reliable statis-tics for 41 out of 54 countries in Africa.

Statistician Prof Jon Wakefield, from Seattle's Uni-versity of Washington, helped the WHO and told the BBC: "We urgently need better data collec-tion systems.

"It is a disgrace that people can be born and die - and we have no record of their passing.

"So we really need to invest in countries' registration systems so we can get accurate and time-ly data." (Source: BBC)

According to a new World Health Organization (WHO) report, almost half

of the Covid-19 deaths that until now had not been counted were in India. The report suggests that 4.7 million people died in India as a result of the pandemic, mainly during a huge surge in May and June 2021.

The Indian government, how-ever, puts its death toll for the Jan 2020-Dec 2021 period far lower: about 480,000.

WHO said it had not yet fully examined new data provided this week by India, which has pushed back against the WHO estimates and issued its own mortality fig-ures for all causes of death in 2020 on Tuesday. WHO said it may add a disclaimer to the report highlighting the ongoing conver-sation with India.

The WHO panel, made up of international experts who have been working on the data for months, used a combination of national and local information, as well as statistical models, to estimate totals where the data is incomplete – a methodology that India has criticized.

However, other independ-ent assessments have also put the death toll in India far higher than the official government tal-ly, including a report published in Science which suggested three million people may have died of Covid in the country. Other mod-els have also reached similar con-clusions about the global death toll being far higher than the recorded statistics. (Source: Reuters)

4.7 million Covid-19 deaths in India in 2020-21: WHO

Beijing on Wednesday closed around 10% of the stations in its vast sub-

way system as an addition-al measure against the spread of coronavirus, the Associated Press reported.

The subway authority in a brief message said only that the measure to shut 40 mostly down-town stations was being tak-en as part of epidemic control measures. No date for resump-tion of service was given.

Beijing has been on high alert for the spread of Covid-19, with restaurants and bars limit-ed to takeout only, gyms closed and classes suspended indefi-nitely. Major tourist sites in the city, including the Forbidden City and the Beijing Zoo, have closed their indoor exhibition halls and are operating at only partial capacity.

A few communities where cases were discovered have been

Denmark has become the first country to halt its Covid vaccination pro-

gram, saying it is doing so because the virus is now under control.

“Spring has arrived, vaccine coverage in the Danish popu-lation is high, and the epidem-ic has reversed,” the Danish Health Authority said in a state-ment Wednesday.

“Therefore, the National Board of Health is now ending the broad vaccination efforts against Covid-19 for this sea-

son,” it said. People will not be invited for vaccines from May 15, it said, although every-one will be able to finish their course of vaccination.

Denmark’s Covid vaccina-tion campaign began soon after Christmas in 2020. Some 4.8 mil-lion citizens have been vacci-nated, the health authority said, with more than 3.6 million peo-ple receiving a booster shot.

At the same time, many peo-ple have been infected since the omicron variant became the dominant strain of the virus, it

said, meaning immu-nity levels among the population are high.

However, the Dan-ish Health and Medi-cines Authority said there will probably be a need to vacci-nate against Covid-19 again in the fall as the virus continues to mutate.

Denmark becomes first country to halt its Covid vaccination program

Beijing closes 10% of subway stations to stem Covid-19 spread

isolated. People residing in “con-trolled" areas have been told to stay within city limits, includ-ing 12 areas deemed high-risk and another 35 considered medi-um-risk.

City residents are required to undergo three tests throughout the week as authorities seek to detect and isolate cases without imposing the sort of sweeping lockdowns seen in Shanghai and elsewhere. A negative test result obtained within the previous 48 hours is required to gain entry to most public spaces.

Beijing on Wednesday record-ed just 51 new cases, five of them asymptomatic.

The subway closings should have relatively little impact on city life, with China observ-ing the Labour Day holiday this week and many commuters in the city of 21 million already working from home. (Source: AP)

Journalists from multiple news outlets have tested

positive after White House Correspondents Dinner weekend. Reporters and staff-ers from CNN, ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, Polit-ico, and other participating news organizations have test-ed positive for the virus.

Most notably, ABC's Jon Karl, who shook hands with President Biden and who sat next to Kim Kardashian, has fallen ill, as Politico's Max-well Tani first reported.

There is no exact data to indicate precisely how many people have caught the virus from the weekend.

Covid cases surge afterWHCA dinner

06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM The AsiAn erA 29IMMIgRATION

USCIS increases automatic extension period of work permits for someThe US Citizenship and Immigra-

tion Services (USCIS) will allow hundreds of thousands of immi-

grant workers to continue to use their existing work permits for up to 540 days after they expire. The decision has been made due to the increasing processing delays.

A temporary final rule that went into effect on May 4 adds an additional 360 days to an existing 180-day extension mechanism available to most, but not all, work permits.

It may benefit spouses of H-1B visa recipients, nearly three fourths of whom come from India, green card and asylum applicants, and those granted Temporary Protected Status.

The move comes as the immigra-tion agency seeks to address a back-log of roughly 1.5 million work-permit

applications. The increase in automatic extension period will help avoid gaps in employment for noncitizens with pend-ing Employment Authorization Docu-ment (EAD) renewal applications and sta-bilize the continuity of operations for US employers, it said.

“As USCIS works to address pending EAD caseloads, the agency has deter-mined that the current 180-day automatic extension for employment authorization is currently insufficient,” said USCIS Director Ur M. Jaddou.

“This temporary rule will provide those noncitizens otherwise eligible for the automatic extension an opportu-nity to maintain employment and pro-vide critical support for their families, while avoiding further disruption for US employers,” she said.

The new rule only applies to those

EAD categories currently eligible for an automatic up to 180-day extension with a timely-filed Form I-765 renewal applica-tion pending during the 18-month period after its publication.

Beginning Oct 27, 2023, automatic extensions of employment authorization

and EAD validity will revert to the up to 180-day period for those eligible appli-cants who timely file Form I-765 renewal applications, the agency said.

The automatic extension generally will end upon notification of a final deci-sion on the renewal application or the end of the up to 540-day period after the expiration date on EAD, whichever comes earlier.

Certain noncitizens who are in the United States may file a Form I-765, Application for Employment Authoriza-tion, with USCIS to request employment authorization and an EAD.

Other noncitizens whose immigration status authorizes them to work in the United States without restrictions may also use Form I-765 to apply for an EAD that shows such authorization, USCIS said.

India will soon introduce an Ayush visa category for for-eign nationals seeking tradi-

tional treatment in the country. India’s treasure chest of tradi-tional medicine and Ayurvedic wisdom has long made it the one of the most popular health tour-ism destinations for people seek-ing medical treatments that are not available or is the specialty of their homeland.

“With this visa, it will make travel easier for accessing Ayush therapies (in India),” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the inaugural session of the Global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit 2022 at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhina-gar, Gujarat, on Apr 20.

Indian government has been making efforts to promote the manifold benefits of traditional medicine and Ayurveda to inter-national tourists who often visit India for acquiring these treat-ments.

Modi spoke about the former Kenyan Prime Minister’s daugh-ter Rosemary Odinga’s expe-rience with traditional medi-cine, who was reportedly cured of blindness by Ayurveda treat-ment in Kerala.

Modi said that the Central

As the US faces a surge of migrants looking to enter the country, Pres-

ident Joe Biden discussed the issue with his Mexican counter-part in a phone call last week. Biden discussed the long-run-ning issue of migration with his Mexican counterpart Andres Miguel Lopez Obrador in a phone call on Apr 29.

Both leaders warned of the “unprecedented” surge of

Ayush visa for foreigners seeking traditional treatments in India

government has a plethora of initiatives to encourage and pro-mote the Ayush sector, includ-ing the establishment of a digi-tal portal to connect medicinal plant farmers with Ayush prod-uct manufacturers.

The Prime Minister announced that the central gov-ernment will implement a spe-cific Ayush hallmark that will be affixed to the best grade Ayush items manufactured in India. He said that the man-ufacturing of Ayush medica-tions, vitamins, and cosmetics

is already booming in India, and that the opportunities for invest-ment and innovation in the sec-tor of Ayush are infinite.

Adding that investment sum-mits are key in taking any sec-tor forward, Modi highlighted that the idea for an Ayush sum-mit came to him during Covid-19 “when there was widespread panic across the world”. “We saw how ayurvedic medicines, Ayush kada and many such oth-er products were aiding people to increase immunity. During the times of Covid-19, turmeric

export from India increased man-ifold. Innovation and investment increase the capability of any sector manifold. It is time now to increase investment as much as possible in the Ayush sector,” said Modi.

Apart from this, the PM also said that the Centre has decided on various activities and initia-tives to promote the Ayush sector, one of them being a digital por-tal to connect farmers who grow medicinal plants with the Ayush product manufacturers. Addi-tionally, the Prime Minister also noted that “Heal in India” could become this decade’s big brand. He added that the country is also developing an Ayush mark to cer-tify high-quality in herbal prod-ucts for the global market.

“In the past few years, we have signed more than 50 MoUs. For Ayush, a huge export market will open up across more than 150 countries…India is an attractive medical tourism destination,” he said.

World Health Organiza-tion (WHO) chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Mau-ritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Union Ayush Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhu-

pendra Patel were present at the session.

In the same event, Modi along with Jugnauth and Ghebreyesus laid the foundation for the WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine which “will help coun-tries harness the power of sci-ence to strengthen traditional medicine with a focus on evi-dence, data, sustainability and innovation,” said Ghebreyesus.

WHO’s website stresses on the importance of traditional medicine: “Around 80% of the world’s population is estimat-ed to use traditional medicine, such as herbal medicines, acu-puncture, yoga, indigenous ther-apies and others.” It also states that “traditional medicine has been an integral resource for health for centuries in commu-nities around the world, and it is still a mainstay for some with inequities in access to conven-tional medicine. The sociocul-tural practice and biodiversity heritages of traditional medi-cine are invaluable resources to evolve inclusive, diverse sus-tainable development. Tradi-tional medicine is also part of the growing trillion-dollar glob-al health, wellness, beauty, and pharmaceutical industries.”

migrants to both countries and discussed the need to estab-lish stronger measures to man-age migration surges, according to a statement from the White House.

“The tone of the call was very constructive. This was not a call where President Biden was threatening the Mexican pres-ident in any way,” said White House Press Secretary Jen Psa-ki, referring to how Biden’s pre-

decessor Donald Trump dealt with migration from the south-ern border.

Biden administration plans to soon end the Title 42 author-ity, a Trump-era public health order that allows border agents to expel asylum-seekers to Mex-ico.

“The majority of the con-versation was about migration and was about continued work on coordination, on economic

Biden, Mexican President warn of migration surge in phone call

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth and Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Ghebreyesus at the foundation stone laying ceremony of WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar in India’s Gujarat (Photo courtesy: PTI)

coordination, on taking steps to reduce migration along the bor-der,” said Psaki.

The issue of migra-tion is expected to be on the agenda of the Sum-mit of the Americas in June and will be held in Los Angeles. Following the call, Mexica’s foreign minister Marcelo Ebrard visited Washington on Monday to discuss

“issues of cooperation for devel-opment” as well as the summit.

30 The AsiAn erA 06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM NATURE & wILDLIFE

New report reveals horrific suffering of captive elephantsA new report released on May 4 by

international wildlife organiza-tions Born Free USA and the Born

Free Foundation reveals the true scale of pain and suffering experienced by ele-phants held captive in zoos across North America and Europe and calls for the practice to be phased out.

"The keeping of any wild animal in captivity denies them the ability to live their lives in freedom, with others of their own kind, and to thrive in their nat-ural habitat. Elephants are a prime exam-ple of how captivity causes direct and lasting harm. Our work highlights seri-ous health and welfare concerns for ele-phants in zoos, as well as negative con-sequences on free-living populations. Holding these majestic animals in zoos as 'exhibits' for public entertainment does not support elephant conservation or welfare. It is time for US zoos to commit to ending elephant captivity by phasing out their exhibits for good," said Angela Grimes, CEO of Born Free USA.

The report, Elephants in Zoos: A Leg-acy of Shame, provides a comprehensive global perspective on the exploitation of elephants in zoos across North Ameri-ca and Europe by using powerful indi-vidual case studies. In 2021, there were 299 elephants housed in 67 North Amer-

ican zoos — at least 12 of them in com-plete isolation. In Europe, there were 580 elephants in 149 zoos. These num-bers have increased over the previous 40 years largely through the import of wild-caught individuals.

The report lays bare the potentially fatal impact of captivity on the physical and psychological health and welfare of the individual animals. It is a horrifying fact that most elephants in North Amer-ican and European zoos demonstrate abnormal stereotypic behaviors regular-ly, some almost constantly, such as rock-ing, swaying, and head bobbing, as a con-sequence of long-term mental distress.

The detailed research exposes the unsustainable nature of existing captive populations, mainly due to high infant mortality rates and poor reproductive success. Shockingly, the report confirms that 40% of infant elephants in zoos die before they reach the age of 5. To keep their exhibits "stocked" with elephants, some zoos have chosen to capture ele-phants from the wild, thereby affecting not only the animals stolen from their families but the social stability and con-servation of wild populations. This has substantial knock-on effects on the wid-er ecosystems of which elephants form a vital part.

The report also underlines, through multiple real-life examples, the ethi-cal and public safety concerns associat-ed with the keeping of elephants in zoos. In the wild, these majestic animals roam across vast ranges in excess of 10,000 square kilometers, live up to 70 years, and occupy complex multigenerational social structures. By comparison, the report shows elephants in zoos are confined in enclosures, often only a little larger than a football field, with an average herd size of just three, and at times completely alone. They suffer health problems, short-

er life expectancies, and are denied the ability to engage in the rich social and behavioral norms of their species.

Keeping elephants in captivity is also extremely dangerous. Interactions with captive elephants are responsible for the deaths of more animal keepers than any other captive animal.

The report concludes that elephants do not belong in captivity and recommends the keeping of elephants in zoos should be phased out. (www.bornfreeusa.org/elephantsinzoos; PRSNewswire)

Photo of Milo the elephant at the Dallas Zoo by Ruth Montiel Arias

Elephant mud bath video delights netizens

A video of an elephant herd enjoy-ing a bath in muddy water, to cool themselves amid scorching heat,

has gone viral on social media as temper-atures in several parts of India are soar-ing from a prolonged heat wave that last-ed nearly six weeks.

According to the post on Twitter, this video has been captured from Ras-govindpur Forest Range, Baripada Divi-sion, Mayurbhanj, Odisha and has been shared by Indian Forest Service (IFS) officer Parveen Kaswan with caption: “Some fun. This is how they are killing the heat!!”

Screengrabs from video tweeted by @ParveenKaswan

Connecticut man finds bear trapped inside mother-in-law's car

Cody Gillotti of Cornwall in north-west Connecticut was in for a sur-prise on Apr 29 evening when he

went outside to check his mother-in-law's car as he noticed the lights were switched on while she was in bed. He discovered a hungry black bear trapped in the car.

Speaking to NBC News, Gillotti said that he was laying down on the couch when he saw the lights turn on in his mother-in-law's car. Realizing that there was something strange happening, he went down to the car and saw the lights switched on and also saw a bunch of frosts all over the windows.

"It looked like a teenaged kid that passed out in his car after a long night of partying and his mom caught him," Gil-lotti said, describing the bear as looking "stunned."

The Connecticut man revealed that the animal first rampaged through his truck before it headed to his mother-in-law's vehicle.

Gillotti told the media outlet that the bear probably opened his truck but as there was no food, he moved things around and even took his daughter's car seat out of his truck before moving onto the mother-in-law's car.

Gillotti described the incident as “very, very funny”. However, he added that it was hilarious until the bear start-ed “freaking out” and rocking the car back and forth.

Gillotti called the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmen-tal Protection, or DEEP, who then got the bear to flee by opening the car door with

a rope and firing a round from a bean bag gun.

"It was really, really scared when we got close to it. It was almost like a deer in headlights, it was stunned," Gillotti said. He also went on to say that the bear's eyes didn't really move, but rather stayed focused on him and the officer while they tried to get out of the truck.

In the end, the bear did run away, but it left behind quite a bit of dam-age. Both vehicles were badly damaged, and his mother-in-law's was "completely wrecked": The bear tore the seats, ripped the interior door panels and even marked its territory, Gillotti told NBC.

Earlier in August, a doorbell camera

in Bristol, a suburb of Hartford, record-ed a bear snatching an Amazon package off a porch.

Recorded sightings are part of a resur-gence of black bears in Connecticut. By the 1800s, bears had largely been eradi-cated from the state, which back then had few forests and many farms.

“Much of Connecticut’s landscape is now forested and is suitable for black bears,” DEEP noted on a fact sheet. It attributes the growing number of sight-ings to a “healthy and increasing” bear population.

Connecticut recorded over 8,000 bear sightings in 2021 and over 1,500 so far in 2022, DEEP's records show.

To reduce the presence of bears near homes, the department recommends removing things that are attractive to bears: birdseed, meats and fruits in the open in compost and easily accessible trash cans full of food scraps.

He said in a subsequent tweet, “This is called as wallowing. Elephants love to do that. It keeps them cool.

Elephants don't have sweat glands but have high volume to surface area ratio and hence heat is generated. So, heat dis-sipation in this manner or by flapping their ears is very important”.

The video has received over 48,000 views and 3,200 likes on Twitter. Users have left beautiful comments on the video since it has been posted.

Kaswan, who keeps on posting ador-able animal videos on his social media platform, has over 380,000 followers on Twitter.

Screengrabs from Connecticut videos: Bear trapped in car on Apr 29 (twitter/ HoodFamousTV); bear snatching an Amazon package off a porch on Aug 25 (NBC)

06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM The AsiAn erA 31

32 The AsiAn erA 06 - 12 MAY 2022 ASIANERAONLINE.COM

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