Did The Muslims Save the Canadian TV?

MAR 29 - A more restrictive immigration plan floated by the White House has begun making the Capitol Hill circuit, and those advocating its comprehensive overhaul are expressing outrage and disappointment.

The Orange County Register reported today that a 23-page PowerPoint presentation by the Bush administration staffers is being circulated on Capitol Hill. It outlines a program that forces employers to verify the legal status of their workers, and includes a temporary worker program and a plan to deal with the 12 million illegal immigrants living in the United States.

While the plan would create a temporary worker program, it would not allow new foreign workers to bring their families with them to the United States. And these workers would be allowed to come only for three two-year stretches. They'd have to go home for at least six months between each two-year work period.

Foreign workers (H1-B visa holders) and students from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, besides China, will be affected the most.

Also, under the plan, immigrants coming forward seeking legal status would have to pay a $2,000 fine for every three-year period they continued to live and work � now legally � in the United States. They would also have to pay a $1,500 fee every three years to process the new Z visas the government would create.

According to Pew Research Center, there are more than 11 million unauthorized aka undocumented immigrants in the United States, based on 2005 figures.

The latest White House plan envisages that these Z-visa holders would be allowed to apply for green cards, but would then have to pay $8,000 more when their green card application was approved. These applicants would have to return to their home country to get these applications handled.

It's not clear how long they would have to stay outside the U.S. And then these applicants would go to the back of the visa line. Advocates estimated it could take 30 years for them to get their green cards, the report said.

Visa granted to Bangladeshi detained for 7yrs

MAR 23 - The Australian Immigration authorities have granted a visa to a mentally ill Bangladeshi man, Danyal Shafiq, who has spent more than seven years in immigration detention. The Bangladeshi arrived by boat in September 1999 and says he fled Bangladesh. For the past seven-and-a-half years he has been in immigration detention, mostly in detention centers, and for the past year in community detention in Adelaide. The visa ends Mr Shafiq's detention and gives him the right to work, but still allows for his deportation if the Government decides so. Mr Shafiq says it is a positive step, but the visa still allows for him to be deported. "My fear is still there," he said.

Sikhs sue UK club for racial bias

MAR 22 - A group of 11 Sikhs has sued a private club in Manchester for racial discrimination after it banned the community from entering its premises. "After the incident (a fight broke out on New Year's Eve, 2004) all Sikhs were suspended. We banned all Sikhs and suspended them because when we asked for cooperation from the Sikh community to identify the people who caused the trouble, the Sikhs didn't cooperate. It meant we couldn't identify the people involved in the fight, so we were able to suspend them all by association," a club spokesman told media.

3 Indians hack US online brokerage

MAR 14 - Three Indian computer hacker suspects have been charged by the United States Justice Department in connection with a stocks scam that artificially boosted equity prices by using hacked websites. The three face nearly two dozen charges of conspiracy, computer fraud, wire fraud, securities fraud and aggravated identity theft in what the US authorities described as a "hack, pump and dump" scheme designed to hijack online brokerage accounts for profit. The suspects have been identified as Jaisankar Marimuthu (32) and Chockalingam Ramanathan (33) of Chennai and Thirugnanam Ramanathan (34), who was last reported in Malaysia. The two Indians from Chennai were nabbed in Hong Kong. The US is likely to seek their extradition to face charges in Nebraska.

Bill seeks to block credit cards for illegals

MAR 8 - US lawmaker Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, has introduced legislation in the congress that would prevent illegal immigrants from receiving credit cards from American banks. In a statement put out by her office, she says that Bank of America "has come under fire....that it allows illegal immigrants....credit cards without proper documentation." It says to banks and illegal immigrants alike, 'You can't get a Visa, without a visa." Bank of America maintain that they follow the letter of the law in permitting customers to use the forms of identification permissible under the U.S.A. Patriot Act, media reported today.

British Muslim convicted over cartoon protest

MAR 7 - A London court on Wednesday found a British Muslim man, Abdul Muhid, guilty of inciting murder during a demonstration last year against the blasphemous Danish cartoons on Prophet Mohammad. Muhid, who is a 24-year-old halal meat inspector, has denied the charges. He was remanded in custody after the verdict and is due to be sentenced later.

Pakistani expat's hand severed in Saudia for theft

MAR 7 - A Pakistani man convicted of theft in Saudi Arabia had his right hand cut off on Wednesday in Medina city, the Saudi interior ministry announced. Mohammad Hajji Gholam was sentenced to have his hand amputated after he was found guilty of theft, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

Six expats die in Doha

MAR 7 - At least six Asian expatriate workers, including a Pakistani, two Indians, and a Nepalese were killed when the boundary wall at a construction site in the Education City in Doha collapsed on Tuesday, the Gulf Times reported.

Taste Indian mangos this summer

MAR 6 - Mangos (Alfonso, Kesar and Banganpally) from India would be available in US markets this season. India is the largest producer of mangos - 10.9 million metric tons, 57 per cent of the total world production of 19.2 million metric tons. "We have worked to achieve a timetable for this opening that will permit Indian farmers to ship to the US in this year's season. We are on track to meet that commitment, and literally, for Americans and Indians to enjoy the fruits of our labor," US Ambassador to India, David C Mulford, said in Delhi on Tuesday, reported HT.

Kolkata woman bears US couple�s child in Anand

FEB 26 - A woman living in California, USA, was desperate for a child after her uterus had failed. Another woman, thousands of miles away in Kolkata, desperately needed money to save her dying son who was suffering from a heart malfunction. The two women forged a unique partnership last year, reported TOI today. The Kolkata woman, whose name has not been made public, agreed to become a surrogate mother and bear the child for the couple � Thomas and Karen Kim. The two women were brought together by infertility expert Dr Nayna Patel from Anand. In the contract, the Kolkata lady was paid Rs 2.5 lakh and a monthly allowance of Rs 4,000. The child, born on February 2 and weighing three kg, has been named Brady. Both Karen, 34, and Thomas, 36,are originally from South Korea. The cost was an important factor in their decision. They would have needed $50,000 to pay the surrogate mother plus recurring expenses in the US. In India, the same procedure would cost around Rs 2 lakh, roughly $4,300.

Sikh student contests no hats rule in US

FEB 9 - A national Sikh-American advocacy group has called for an apology and a policy change from a local popular nightclub in southern California after it refused to allow a Sikh man enter because his turban violated the bar's "no hats" rule. On January 25, Sanjum Paul Singh Samagh, a 24-year-old medical student living on campus at University of California, Irvine, arrived at the Pierce Street Annex bar with about 20 friends. The bar owner refused to let Samagh in, saying that the bar did not allow entry to anyone wearing a "headgear", according to Samagh and his friends. Samagh, an American-born Sikh, said he tried to explain to the bar owner that his black turban was a centuries-old religious symbol and not a fashion statement. However, the bar owner refused entry saying that headgear was headgear, religious or not.

Suspected Desi predator nabbed at airport

FEB 2 - 28-year old desi Himanshu Upadhyaya, of Mauritius, was arrested in Portland, Oregon, for alleged "Coercion and Enticement of a Minor for the Purpose of Sexual Contact". Police say the man was persistent, continuing to send emails to a detective posing as a teen girl in a chatroom, after a joint police investigation ended. Civilian volunteers also assisted with the mission by posing as decoys along with law enforcement personnel. Current research shows that 1 in 5 children in USA between 10 and 17 years old are reporting being approached and sexually solicited online, with sexual assault rates for children ages 12-17 being 133% higher than for adults, reported the National Crime Victimization Survey.

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