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Bera, Tulsi sworn in as US lawmakers
Man guns down 8 in Philippines
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Malala Yousufzai at Birmingham in England on Friday. — AFP India, Pak must help in Afghan peace process, says Iran
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Bera, Tulsi sworn in as US lawmakers Washington, January 4 Bera (47) is the third Indian-American -- after Dalip Singh Saundh in 1950 and Bobby Jindal in 2005 -- to have ever been elected to the House of Representatives. Tulsi (31) is the first Hindu ever to win the Congressional election. She also became the first to take oath of office on the sacred Bhagavad Gita, instead of the Bible. They were sworn in as members of United States House of Representatives by Speaker John Boehner. Noting that being sworn in as a member of the US House of Representatives is a "culmination of American dream" for his father who migrated from Gujarat in 1950, Bera said that besides working on his priority areas of health care and education, he wants to help strengthen the economic relations between India and the US. "My father migrated in 1950s from Gujarat and this is a culmination of American dream for him. He worked hard to see his son to be sworn in today in the House of Representatives. It's really the culmination of everything," Bera said in his first media interview at his new Congressional office at the Capitol Hill. Democratic lawmaker from California's 3rd congressional district, Bera has been made a member of the powerful House Foreign Committee, where he is likely to play an important role in shaping the foreign policy of his country and work towards achieving his goal of strengthening relationship between India and the US. Explaining the reasons for taking the oath of office on Gita, Tulsi said, "I chose to take the oath of office with my personal copy of the Bhagavad Gita because its teachings have inspired me to strive to be a servant-leader, dedicating my life in the service of others and to my country." "My Gita has been a tremendous source of inner peace and strength through many tough challenges in life, including being in the midst of death and turmoil while serving our country in the Middle East," Tulsi said. —PTI
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Man guns down 8 in Philippines Manila, January 4 At least eight other persons were wounded in the shooting rampage in Kawit township, about 16 km south of Manila, said Cavite provincial governor Jonvic Remulla. He identified the gunman as Ronald Bae, whose age was unclear, though officials said he appeared to be in his 30s or 40s. Bae was killed in a shootout with the responding police. It was not immediately clear why Bae went on the rampage, Remulla said. The governor, however, said Bae left his Kawit neighbourhood about a year ago after he lost an election for village chairman, and returned on Monday due to a "marital problem" with his wife, whom he had left in northern Pampanga province before New Year's. Remulla said the caretaker of Bae's house in Kawit was seen reloading the gunman's weapon, and that the police was looking for him. The governor said Bae and several friends were on a "drug and alcohol binge" from Monday to Friday, drinking alcohol and taking methamphetamine. Bae left a store where he and his friends were drinking but later returned with his caretaker and began the shooting spree in the surrounding neighbourhood, Remulla said. He said Bae first killed a man who lived across the street from his house. He also killed the man's dog. "He just shot at anyone he saw," Remulla said. "You could see that these were really acts of a madman." Bae then shot and killed the 7-year-old girl. —AP
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Pak activist Malala discharged from British hospital London, January 4 Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, said 15-year-old Malala would continue her rehabilitation at her family's temporary English home before undergoing major reconstructive surgery in a few weeks. Malala was shot in Pakistan's conservative Swat Valley on October 9 and air-dashed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital on October 15 for further specialist treatment. She received bullet wounds just above her left eye. "Malala Yousufzai was discharged from Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham as an inpatient yesterday to continue her rehabilitation at her family’s temporary home in the West Midlands," the hospital said in a statement. She "is well enough to be treated by the hospital as an outpatient for the next few weeks", it said. She is due to be re-admitted in late January or February to undergo cranial reconstructive surgery as part of her long-term recovery and in the meantime, she will visit the hospital regularly.— PTI
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India, Pak must help in Afghan peace process, says Iran New Delhi, January 4 Talking to reporters here after meetings with Finance Minister P Chidambaram and National Security Adviser Shivshanker Menon, Saeed Jalili, Secretary of Iran's National Security Council and the country's chief nuclear negotiators, blamed the United States for the disturbing situation in Afghanistan. "American forces entered Afghanistan more than a decade back on the pretext of fighting terrorism but nothing has changed there...in fact, the situation has only worsened," he said, adding that stability could only be ensured by strengthening democratic forces in the embattled nation. Asked about the recent talks between Afghan representatives and the Taliban in Paris, Jalili said, "We should give to the Afghan people the right to decide their own destiny." On whether Pakistan had played a role - positive or negative - in the Afghan imbroglio, the Iranian official evaded a direct reply but stated that the countries in the region could bilaterally resolve the problems between them as well as in Afghanistan through peaceful talks. Asked if he had discussed with his Indian interlocutors the current stalemate in the talks between P5+1 (the USA, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany) over Iran's controversial nuclear programme, Jalili said various issues had come up during the discussions but the emphasis was on traditional relations between the two countries. Tehran seeks Cooperation between India and Iran in the field of energy security Blames the US for the disturbing situation in Afghanistan Says stability could only be ensured by strengthening democratic forces in the embattled nation
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Philippine police rescues Indian, kills 4 abductors
Indian pleads not guilty of inside trading Chavez suffers severe lung infection Unseen pic of Diana up for auction
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Washington, January 4
