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Indian Man, 70, Convicted In US For Sexually Abusing Employee

Tiwari also threatened to report the victim's drug use to law enforcement.New York: A 70-year-old Indian national in the United States has been convicted for a slew of charges, including coercing one of his female workers to force labour and sexual acts, according to a statement issued by the justice department.Shreesh Tiwari, who is a legal US permanent resident and was managing a motel in Georgia's Cartersville, hired the victim to work as a house cleaner at the motel.He knew that prior to arriving at the motel the victim had experienced homelessness, struggled with a heroin addiction and lost custody of her young child. Tiwari promised the victim that he would help her regain custody of her child by providing her with pay, an apartment, and an attorney, the justice department said, c...
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Indian-origin Man Jailed For Defrauding Property Buyers In UK

The offences occurred between May 2019 and January 2021.London: An Indian-origin man has been sentenced to three years imprisonment for fraud offences after he admitted to fleecing potential property buyers, many of them also of Indian origin, out of nearly 16,000 pounds, Scotland Yard said.Jaspal Singh Juttla, 64, was sentenced at Isleworth Crown Court in London on Thursday on four counts of fraud by false representation and one count of carrying on a regulated activity when not authorised to do so.The offences occurred between May 2019 and January 2021 and Juttla pleaded guilty to the offences at an earlier hearing in August last year at Uxbridge Magistrates' Court, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement. The offences relate to four victims, where property buyers were conned into...
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US-Based Indian Develops Software To Build Career Plans Based On Genes

Mohamed Mustafa Saidalvi from GenesandYouSilicon Valley: An Indian entrepreneur has set up a startup to build a software which will develop a 10-15-year career plan for young children based on the analysis of their genes taken from saliva, arguing it will help build the nation's talent in the right way.Mohamed Mustafa Saidalvi from GenesandYou, a biotechnology company based in Mumbai, said that the software based on the analysis of their genes will help customise school curricula and plan the career path of children much in advance."Every child has a special calibre and special talents. To understand this talent, from genes, we can get the right understanding. Based on that, we are putting a 10-15 year career growth plan and talent plan. So, this is our new startup," Mr Saidalvi, who is...
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Indian-Origin Teen Spelt These 15 Words To Clinch Spelling Bee 2023 Title

New Delhi: Indian-origin Dev Shah from Florida has been named the winner of the 2023 Scripps National Spelling Bee in the US. The teenager spelt the final word “psammophile” and took home the prize money of $50,000. Dev Shah went through a total of 15 rounds and spelt each word correctly to win the competition. Psammophile is an organism which thrives in sandy soils and areas.In the first round, 14-year-old Dev spelt the word “ardoise”, which is defined by Merriam-Webster as “a grayish purple that is stronger than telegraph blue, bluer and deeper than mauve gray, and bluer and paler than average rose mauve”. Dev, in the second round, was asked the meaning of grotesqueness which he described as “comically out of place or absurd”. Following this, Dev gave the correct spelling of “cocomat”...
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Indian-Origin Teen Wins US Spelling Bee, Takes Home $50,000 Cash Prize

Dev Shah's winning word was 'Psammophile'.Indian-origin Dev Shah won the latest edition of the US' prestigious Scripps National Spelling Bee contest last night, taking away a $50,000 cash prize by correctly spelling the word "psammophile".He is also the 22nd champion of the Spelling Bee with a South Asian heritage in the last 24 years."It's surreal. My legs are still shaking," CNN cited the 14-year-old Florida boy as saying after his victory at the contest in the US state of Maryland.Charlotte Walsh from Virginia finished second.Dev's winning word was 'Psammophile', defined by Merriam-Webster as an organism that thrives in sandy areas.He was one of the 11 finalists from among the 11 million who entered the spelling contest from across the world.For years, Indian-Americans have been domi...
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Kerala Plans Passenger Ship Service To Gulf To Beat Exorbitant Air Charges

Thiruvananthapuram: The CPI(M)-led LDF government in Kerala is planning to launch a passenger ship service between the coast of the southern state and the Gulf countries to provide affordable travel for Malayali expatriates in the Middle East who are forced to pay exorbitant airline charges for their trips home.A high-level meeting held here on Wednesday decided to devise a plan to start a passenger ship service between Kerala and the Gulf, state Port Minister Ahammad Devarkovil said.The minister said airline companies charge exorbitant money from ordinary expatriates for their travel during festive seasons.They are forced to set aside the lion's share of their meagre savings for travel, Devarkovil said.The minister said the project was planned at the high-level meeting organised by the...
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Indian Wins Big In Singapore Company’s ‘Squid Game’ Survival Contest

An Indian national has won SGD18,888 in cash at the company's dinner-and-dance event in the hit South Korean survival drama Squid Game, where players compete to win life-altering rewards, but minus the deadly stakes.The prize money is equivalent to one and half years' worth of his salary at the heavy vehicle leasing firm Pollisum Engineering which hosted the event last Saturday, reported The Straits Times.Selvam Arumugam, 42, had not heard of the show before.Selvam works as a rigger and signalman, inspecting and maintaining crane and lifting equipment to ensure the safety of lifting operations at construction sites for Pollisum Engineering which gave out a total of SGD100,000 in prize money during the event.Selvam, who studied up to Secondary 1 in India and joined the company in 2015, s...
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21-Year-Old Indian-Origin Student Shot Dead In US: Report

Jude Chacko was a student who also worked part-time, according to report. (Representational)Philadelphia:  A 21-year-old Indian-origin student was shot dead in Philadelphia, Khaleej Times reported on Monday.The deceased student was identified as Jude Chacko. He was shot by unidentified assailants while he was returning from work on Sunday (local time), Khaleej Times reported further."The victim's parents migrated to the US around 30 years ago from Kerela's Kollam district," according to the report.Jude Chacko was a student who also worked part-time. He was attacked by two men during a robbery attempt.This is the second such incident reported this year in which an Indian-origin student was targetted and killed in the US.Earlier, a 24-year-old student from Andhra Pradesh was shot dead at ...
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UK’s Birmingham Gets First Indian-Origin Lord Mayor

Chaman Lal is a Labour Party politician and was first elected in 1994.London: Birmingham has got its first British-Indian Lord Mayor in Councillor Chaman Lal after the local councillors of the West Midlands city of England chose him to represent it as its first citizen.Mr Lal, who is from the Ravidassia community of British Sikhs, was born in the village of Pakhowal in Hoshiarpur before he moved to the UK, where he has served as a local councillor for many years.The Labour Party politician was first elected in 1994 and in the most recent local elections was re-elected Councillor for the Soho and Jewellery Quarter Ward."It is a very proud moment for me and our family, as a son of an army officer born in India, but made in Birmingham," Mr Lal said in his acceptance speech at a mayoral cer...
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Thailand Charges Canadian Man Over Indian-Origin Gangster’s Murder In 2022

The 38-year-old was extradited from Canada and returned to Thailand late Sunday.Bangkok: Thai police said on Monday they have charged a Canadian man they described as a mercenary with the murder of an Indian gangster in the resort island of Phuket.Officers launched an investigation after Jimi "Slice" Sandhu -- whose nickname came from a distinctive scar on his face -- was shot and killed in February 2022.Interpol issued a red notice last year for Canadian citizen Matthew Leandre Ovide Dupre in connection with the murder.The 38-year-old was extradited from Canada and returned to Thailand late Sunday."He is quite a key suspect and a professional mercenary. He flew in to finish his job, and did not even bring a weapon," National Police Chief Damrongsak Kittiprapas told reporters.Dupre was ...