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Indian-Canadian couple win $7.35m lottery

NEW JERSEY, Dec 26: An Indian-Canadian couple residing in Toronto, Canada's largest city, has won a multi-million dollar lottery and plans to share the money with relatives in India, reported IANS Monday.

Jose and Antoneta Dias won the lottery in October but kept it a secret for over two months till they had decided what to do with their winnings.

The secret became public December 20 when the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp (OLGC) announced Jose, 51, and Antoneta, 41, had won an October 8 draw making them $7.35 million richer.

"I was so excited. I always said that if we won we wouldn't be the only happy people... I plan to make a lot of people happy with this," Dias told OLGC's prize office, claiming the jackpot money.

Dias is a self-employed consultant who lives in the Greater Toronto Area, neighboring Toronto.

Dias' wife Antoneta added that they chose not to come forward in October because "we just needed time to think and see what our next step was going to be."

The couple said they want to use some of the winnings to help less fortunate relatives in India improve their lives through education.

Elango Vythialingam who runs Nacchi Dollar Dome - the store where the couple bought the ticket - is happy to see his own community members strike gold.

His store will also receive $1,300 for selling the prize ticket, Melody Wilhelm, a supervisor at OLGC's Toronto prize office told IANS.

The couple has been playing the same numbers, which consist of family birthdays, for approximately three years. "We always found these to be very lucky," laughed Dias.

"I always told him that we wouldn't win playing the same numbers, I guess I was very wrong," added Antoneta. She said she would continue working for about two months till her company could find a replacement.

Pakistanis serve Christmas dinner to homeless

NEW JERSEY, Dec 25: 51-year-old John, a forklift operator was one of more than 100 hungry and homeless people who dinned on barbecued chicken, baked ziti and rice pudding this Christmas, courtesy of the Pakistani Civic Association of Staten Island, reported Staten Island Advance on Sunday.

"They do great things for us," he said waiting for dinner outside Project Hospitality's Drop In Center in St. George, a place where homeless people can go for food, rest, a shower, a change of clothes and counseling services. John has been homeless for about a month now, and he is grateful for their kindness.

Most of the Pakistani-Americans in the civic club are Muslims who do not celebrate Christmas. They volunteer on Christmas Eve so that like-minded Christians can be with their own families.

"It's a good way to show respect, to show we are part of this society," said Dr. Mohammad Khalid, a dentist who serves as president of the group.

The food was prepared by M & M Bagel in Castleton Corners, the business owned by Shams Syed, chairman of the Pakistani Civic's board.

"It's always good when you try to help someone," he said before the dinner. "When I go down there and give them the food it makes me feel so good. It's so much of a blessing doing that kind of thing."

Volunteer Salman Zafar shared the experience with his 17-year-old daughter, Safwa, a senior at Staten Island Technical High School, who helped serve.

"People who come there on Christmas Eve really don't have anyone," said Zafar, second vice president of the group. "Sometimes they ask for another piece of chicken or bread and that really hurts you when you see that on Staten Island. Before this, I never saw it."

Maryann Rice was one of those invisible people. The 49-year-old became homeless a little more than a month ago when the house where she'd been renting a furnished room was sold. But yesterday wasn't bad, she said, waiting for the hot chicken.

"It lifts your sprits to know that even in hard times that there are so many people willing to give their time," said Miss Rice, who has bipolar and borderline personality disorders.

Most of her relatives are deceased and she is estranged from her son.

"If I weren't here I would be in the street," said Miss Rice, her caramel-colored hair pulled back for the occasion. "I'm lucky since the first I day I came here."

"During present times when Pakistanis in USA in general feel the guilt by association post Sept 11, such soup kitchen diplomacy creates intangible benefits, and softer image for the community. It is a welcome move," said one Pakistani-American.

India�s changing image abroad

NRIs

NEW JERSEY, DEC 23: The rising profile of Indian professionals abroad is directly related to the growing culture and thirst for education, now one of the fastest growing activities in India, says the editor, India Focus.

In an article in The Financial Express, India focus editor Subhash Agrawal, says that India's middle class is saving, borrowing and toiling for the right academic opportunity for its children as never before, even though a good degree can be very expensive for the average family.

Going abroad for studies has now become such a standard practice that every year more than 50,000 Indian students join foreign universities. In fact, by the end of 2002, India already surpassed China as the leading country of origin for international students in the United States. For every one student China sends to university, India sends six, according to Agrawal.

In fact, nowhere is India�s educational profile more in the spotlight than via its diaspora community of engineers, doctors, writers, academics and management gurus. Generally speaking, and with perhaps the exception of Gulf countries, where the bulk of Indian expatriates are low-skilled workers on short-term contracts, the vast majority of ethnic Indians living abroad tend to be very well educated, if not very well paid, observes Agrawal.

As per the last official census in the UK, the average income of Indian living in Britain was about 15% higher than the national average, while in Canada it was 20% higher.

In the US, where this has been meticulously documented by a report 'We the People: Asians in the United States', that was issued by the government some time ago and was based on the 2000 census, emigre Indians have the highest per capita income of any ethnic group, including the Chinese.

This report found that Indian migrants had higher incomes and educational levels than not just the average US family but also virtually every other Asian community. For example, 64% of Indians held a bachelor�s degree or more, as compared to 48% among Chinese or 54% among Pakistanis.

So far so good, but education remains tightly controlled and poorly supervised by the government in India, in effect reducing both quantity and quality in one stroke.

Bombing rocks Ohio mosque
By Masood Haider

NEW YORK. DEC 22. More than two dozen religious leaders and public officials gathered at the Islamic Association of Cincinnati Mosque Wednesday to condemn the Tuesday night bombing of the group�s buildings in Cincinnati.

The religious leaders called the incident a despicable hate crime that will not be tolerated in the Greater Cincinnati area.

The FBI offered a $15,000 reward Thursday for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the bombing. The Council on American-Islamic Relations also offered a reward of $5,000 for information about the explosions.

On Tuesday two explosions caused minor exterior damage at a mosque complex in Cincinnati (Ohio) about two hours after evening prayers, local police and US federal agents joined the investigation.

No injuries were reported, but they could have been deadly if anyone had been nearby, said FBI agent Stanley Borgia.

Police haven't found any witnesses to the Tuesday night explosions at the Islamic Association of Cincinnati mosque, police Capt. Gene Hamann said.

Members of the Islamic Association of Cincinnati inspect bomb damage around a door in Cincinnati, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2005, where two explosions were reported Tuesday night, about two hours after evening prayers ended. No injuries have been reported. (AP Photo/Tom Uhlman)

The mosque is about a mile from the University of Cincinnati campus and near several churches and Hebrew Union College.

About 300 to 500 people worship at the mosque on a typical Friday, said Karen Dabdoub, director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations in Cincinnati.

"This is very disturbing," she said. "And not only for this mosque and our community, but for the Islamic community in and around greater Cincinnati."

The FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were involved in the case, joining Cincinnati and State Highway Patrol State investigators, FBI Special agent Mike Brooks said.

�What happened here last night was wrong, hateful and evil,�� said Cincinnati Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk.

Rabbi Abie I. Ingber, president of the Greater Cincinnati Board of Rabbis, called the bombing incident �a deplorable act toward everyone� in the Greater Cincinnati community.

�The Muslim community is deeply concerned about this event and we are hoping that it can be quickly determined who committed the crime,�� Dr. Inayat Malik, president of the Islamic Educational Council, said in a statement.

Stanley Borgia, special agent in charge of the Cincinnati FBI office, said the investigation has not yet determined a motive for �the crime of violence against the Islamic Center. The intent of perpetrators is unclear,�� he said.