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| Christmas & New Year Celebration Of Sheffield Kerela Cultural Association |
Sheffield : Sheffield Kerela Cultural Association is celebrating Christmas and NewYear and 2nd Anniversary Celebration on January 5th 2008 from 3pm onwards in Sheffield Companions Club near Northern General Hospital.
Different programs such as Fancy dress competition, Fusion, Classical, Cinematic dance, Skits etc... will be conducted.There will also be Samooha Sadhya and Ganamela by Nightingale Orchestra , Darlington. For more information please call Ajith Paliath(General Secretary)+44 114 2696293 or mail to sheffieldkeralites@yahoo.com for more information |
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Sixth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to begin in Delhi
New Delhi: In less than three weeks, Indians from around the globe will get together in the national capital for the sixth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), the annual conclave of the diaspora.
The conclave will start Jan 8, with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh delivering the inaugural address at Vigyan Bhawan here. The chief guest will be Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam.
Unlike previously, the sixth PBD will be only a two-day event. There will be a welcome reception for the participants on Jan 7 evening. Earlier, PBDs used to be held for three days.
The tone of the conference is expected to be substantially different, with the emphasis being more on social and development issues, rather than the hard-core courting of NRI capital.
The emphasis on social issues will be apparent from the first session, which will discuss how to ramp up engagement with the diaspora in health and education sectors. There are already some examples in this field - Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (Gopio) has adopted 50 villages, while the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (Aapi) has plans for linkages with rural health centres in south India.
Another session will look at novel ways to strengthen cultural ties between India and second or later generation of the diaspora, who may not have strong emotional underpinnings in their relations to the motherland.
"The investment or money has not been forthcoming. Therefore, we decided that we will not ask for any investment this year but seek partnership from NRIs for philanthropic projects," Vayalar Ravi, minister for overseas Indian affairs, had said in November.
The announcement of an "India Development Fund" is likely to be one of the highlights of the conference, which will be like one-window distribution centre for philanthropic donations.
To be based on the lines of the Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre, the fund will administer the money to certain selected development areas, like health and education, or certain rural projects.
Though economic issues may take a backstage this time, there will still be enough chances for participants scouting for business opportunities at the "marketplace" to sniff out the best investment areas, through business-to-business talks.
President Pratibha Patil will attend the valedictory session and will give away the Pravasi Bharatiya samman awards.
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| Indian boy, youngest champion of BBC quiz show |
London: A 10-year-old Indian boy has emerged as the youngest champion in the history of a BBC quiz show, Junior Mastermind.
David Verghese, who made it to the BBC1 show finals sailing through the heats, had the Jurassic Park trilogy as his specialist subject.
For the final, he chose the life and work of Star Wars director George Lucas as his speciality.
David, a student of Merchant Taylors' Junior School, Crosby, Merseyside, beat three other boys in the final, securing 31 points - 15 on his specialist subject and 16 in the general knowledge round.
David attributed his success to "reading, reading and more reading," and said J.R.R. Tolkien, H.G. Wells and Isaac Asimov were his favourite authors.
"I have a passion for books. I've been reading for as long as I can remember. I read for at least two hours every night, often more."
His mother Rama said: "David has an insatiable quest for knowledge. He had wanted to appear on Junior Mastermind ever since he first watched it three years ago, but the rules were quite clear that no one younger than 10 was allowed to apply." |
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Tourist visa times to be halved
London: Proposals to cut the time tourist from outside the EU can stay n the UK from six months to three are expected to be announced by ministers this week. The move is among measures aimed at further tightening the visa system. A deposit of at least £1,000 to be paid by families who want relatives to visit Britain will also be introduced.
Meanwhile, the Home Office has defended the payment of thousands of pounds to failed asylum seekers to persuade them to return to their home countries.The new measures are said to be contained within a consultation document set to be unveiled by immigration minister Liam Byrne.
It would see people using "sponsored family visits" to enable relatives from outside the European Union to visit on temporary visas would need to put up a cash bond. The bond would then be forfeited if the relative did not leave when the visa expired.The existing right of appeal to a full tribunal against a decision by immigration authorities not to grant a visa could be scrapped.Such appeals, which currently cost between £30m and £40m a year, could be replaced by a simpler and cheaper appeal process.
The government has already announced other changes to the visa system which Mr Byrne described as the "biggest shake-up of the immigration system in history". They included a points-based system for economic migrants and the tightening of procedures for people bringing spouses into the country.
UK unveils new Immigration Rules
London: Britain on Wednesday announced a new points-based immigration system that will help highly skilled professionals like scientists, doctors and entrepreneurs from India and other non-European Union countries to settle in the UK. Applicants under the new system will need to gain a sufficient number of points and scoring is based on a balance between the skills of applicants and skills needed in the UK, as determined by government research and statistics, Britain's Immigration Minister Liam Byrne said.
The new system is designed to replace more than 80 different routes of entry into the country with a five-tier structure. Tier one will become effective from the beginning of 2008 and will be for highly skilled migrants including scientists, doctors and entrepreneurs. Those entering the UK under this tier will not need a job offer.
Tier two will comprise nurses, teachers and engineers who have job offers in shortage areas and Tier three will cover low-skilled workers. Migrants in this category will require an employer to sponsor them. Tier four for students will follow at the beginning of 2009. Students covered under this tier are those paying tuition in the UK. Tier five will include working holiday makers as well as professional athletes and musicians.
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| London Celebrates Diwali |
London: The historic Trafalgar Square here came alive with the sights and sounds of India Sunday as thousands of people gathered to witnessed the annual Diwali spectacle organised by the Mayor of London.For most of the time during the celebrations, the enthusiastic audience - both British Asians and hundreds of tourists - braved rain to enjoy Indian food and music. The event was a celebration of an Indian festival with Indian themes, but had a hybrid feel to it as east met west and Bollywood dances mixed with American hip-hop.
Prominent among the songs that people danced to were from films such as 'Chak De India', 'Dhoom' and 'Bunty Aur Babli'. A Latin American woman evoked much applause as she danced to the popular number, 'Kajra re..'.
Organisers put up 'diyas' (earthen lamps) and lanterns in the fountains in the square while some participating groups distributed red boxes of Indian sweets. The event, that included Indian dances such as garba and bharatnatyam, ran from midday Sunday until 8 pm.
The participating groups included Academy of Punjabi Heritage, Angel Dance School; Apsara Dancers; B4U; BAPS Swaminarayan School; Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University; Explosive Dhol 'n Dance, Manchester; Francis Cardoso and Co; Ishira; ISKCON; Oshwal Association of UK; Sai School of Harrow; Sapnay School of Dance; Karma from Imperial College; Dinesh Pandit; Shama Group; Shree Kutch Patel Leva Community; Shri Academy of Dance; Sujata Banerjee Kathak School; Sunrise Radio.
London Mayor Ken Livingstone said: 'Diwali is an important occasion for London's Hindus, Sikhs and Jains, and represents the power of good to triumph over evil a theme that has relevance for all of London's communities, because it signifies the value of co-operation and mutual respect between peoples of differing faiths and backgrounds. On this joyous occasion, I wish everyone a happy and prosperous Diwali.'
Trafalgar Square, in the heart of London, is one of the city's most vibrant open spaces dotted with statues and fountains. Home to the towering Nelson's Column that commemorates British victory in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, the square is rich in history and provides a platform for artistic performances and events
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