Deeply honored to receive Padma Bhushan; thanks for the distinction: Foxconn's CEO Young Liu

NEW DELHI, Jan 27: On the eve of India's Republic Day, the Government announced Padma Bhushan to Young Liu, chairman of Taiwanese multinational electronics contract manufacturer Foxconn.

On being conferred the prestigious award, he said “I am deeply honored to receive the Padma Bhushan from the Government of India. My heartfelt thanks to the Prime Minister, President and the wonderful people of India for this tremendous distinction. I firmly believe this is an affirmation of a collaboration that benefits India’s long-term development and supports the growth of local economies. I will continue to inspire my team. Let’s do our part for manufacturing in India and for the betterment of society.”

Liu is among three other business leaders who will be felicitated by the President for their distinguished contributions at a ceremony later this year. The others are Sitaram Jindal from Karnataka, to be conferred with the Padma Bhushan, while Kalpana Morparia from Maharashtra and Shashi Soni from Karnataka will be awarded Padma Shri.

Sitaram Jindal is the chairman and MD of Jindal Aluminium Limited. He is instrumental in establishing and running several charitable institutions in the field of education, health, social welfare etc. and has founded more than 16 charitable trusts and societies.

A career banker, Kalpana Morparia is currently the CEO of the Indian unit of global investment bank J.P. Morgan & Co.

Another notable awardee includes Kiran Nadar, art collector and Indian philanthropist. She is also the wife of Shiv Nadar, the founder of HCL Technologies, now known as HCLTech.

The ‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field. The awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan around March / April every year.

French tourist discovers massive 7.46-carat diamond on US road trip

PARIS, Jan 25: A road trip across the US turned into a dazzling adventure for a French tourist who stumbled upon a huge 7.46-carat diamond at an Arkansas state park earlier this month.

Julien Navas, who hails from Paris, was amazed to find the enormous gem on the ground of Crater of Diamonds State Park, where visitors can search for and keep any diamonds they find in a 37.5-acre area, according to state officials.

Navas had come to the US to see a rocket launch in Florida and then planned to join a friend for some fun on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

But he changed his itinerary when he heard about the unique state park in Arkansas, which is famous for its sparkling treasures, and decided to stop by for a visit, state officials said.

Navas, who had some experience in gold panning and fossil hunting, rented a simple kit for diamond hunting and started to sift through the muddy soil, which had been softened by heavy rain a few days before.

“It was hard work, so I switched to just looking on the surface for anything unusual by the afternoon,” Navas said.

He spent several hours collecting potential gems and then took them to the park’s centre to verify if he had struck gold – or rather, diamond. One of his finds, a dark brown object that looked like a marble, turned out to be a 7.46-carat diamond – the biggest one found at the park since 2020 and the eighth biggest in the park’s history since it opened in 1972.

The park said the diamond was about the size of a gumdrop.

“I was overjoyed!” he said when he learned the value of his discovery. “All I could think of was telling my fiancée what I found.”

He named the jewel Carine Diamond after his partner and intends to have the stone split into two diamonds – one for his fiancée and one for his daughter.

Crater of Diamonds State Park has yielded more than 75,000 diamonds since the first ones were discovered by a farmer on the land that later became the state park.

The largest diamond ever found in the US was unearthed in 1924 during a mining operation on the same land.

Woman Wants Divorce After Husband Took Her To Ayodhya Instead Of Goa For Honeymoon

BHOPAL, Jan 25: A woman from Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal has filed for a divorce from her husband just eight months after her marriage as the husband promised her a honeymoon in Goa or abroad but took her to Ayodhya and Varanasi instead.

The divorce application filed by the woman was submitted in a family court, where the couple underwent a counselling session.

The counsellor from the Marriage court Shail Awasthi said that the couple got married in May last year and both of them are working as IT professionals.

The woman, in her divorce petition, said that both of them earned well, which means that going abroad for a honeymoon was not a big deal for them.

Despite no financial constraints, the woman's husband refused to take her abroad and insisted on visiting a place in India itself. He claimed that he had to look after his parents, following which the couple agreed to visit Goa or South India for their honeymoon.

However, he later booked flights to Ayodhya and Varanasi, without telling his wife. He informed her of the changed travel plans, only a day before the trip, saying that they were going to Ayodhya as his mother wanted to visit the city before the Ram Mandir consecration ceremony.

She didn't object to the trip at the time and went ahead with the plan. However, they indulged in a heated argument upon their return, and the case reached a family court in Bhopal on January 19.

In her statement, she also claimed that her husband took more care of his family members than her. Meanwhile, her husband said that his wife was just making a big fuss.

The couple is currently receiving counseling at the Bhopal Family Court.

Canada caps foreign student permits by 35%

TORONTO, Jan 22: Canada has announced it will implement an intake cap on the number of applications accepted for study permits for international students which is expected to result in 35% reduction in those numbers this year as compared to 2023.

This was announced by Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller on Monday , who said the “temporary” cap will be placed for two years and the cap for 2025 re-assessed at the end of this year.

“For 2024, the cap is expected to result in approximately 360,000 approved study permits, a decrease of 35% from 2023,” Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced on Monday.

“It’s unacceptable that some private institutions have taken advantage of international students by operating under-resourced campuses, lacking supports for students and charging high tuition fees all the while significantly increasing their intake of international students,” he said at a press conference in Montreal.

IRCC said, “Some institutions have significantly increased their intakes to drive revenues, and more students have been arriving in Canada without the proper support they need to succeed. Rapid increases in the number of international students arriving in Canada also put pressure on housing, health care and other services.”

There was increasing political pressure on the government to control temporary immigration due to a housing affordability crisis and the announcement came as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau began a Cabinet retreat in the Quebec city.

Students from India comprise the larger national cohort among those with these study permits. Till November 2023, they accounted for 215,190 out of the 579,075 permits issued or 37%, while in 2022, they made for 225,835 out of 548,785, or 41%. The numbers have escalated sharply over the past five years when the number of Indians getting study permits was at less than half the current figure, at 107,070 in 2018.

It also came just after Canada recorded over a million, 1,028,850, study permit holders in the country for the first time ever in 2023.

It also announced that post-graduate work permits will not be issued to international students attending private colleges operating under a curriculum licensing programme. Under such programmes students physically attend a private college that has been licensed to deliver the curriculum of an associated public college and they have been considered a source of abuse of the system.

“These programmes have seen significant growth in attracting international students in recent years, though they have less oversight than public colleges and they act as a loophole with regards to post-graduation work permit eligibility,” IRCC said.

“Today, we are announcing additional measures to protect a system that has become so lucrative that it has opened a path for its abuse. Enough is enough. Through the decisive measures announced today, we are striking the right balance for Canada and ensuring the integrity of our immigration system while setting students up for the success they hope for,” Miller said.

Sania Mirza, Shoaib Malik 'have been divorced for a few months now', reveals family

HYDERABAD, Jan 21: Sania Mirza and Shoaib Malik have been divorced for a few months now, the tennis player's sister Anam Mirza stated in an Instagram post. The couple shot back into the limelight after the former Pakistan captain married Pakistani actor Sana Javed on Friday.

"Sania has always kept her personal life away from the public eye. However, today the need has arisen for her to share that Shoaib and she have been divorced for a few months now," Anam Mirza wrote on Instagram. "She wishes Shoaib well for his new journey ahead."

The family also requested privacy during this "sensitive period".

"At this sensitive period of her life, we would like to request all fans and well-wishers to refrain from indulging in any speculation and to respect her need for privacy," they stated.

The news of 41-year-old Shoaib Malik's marriage to Javed comes a few days after Mirza had posted a cryptic Instagram story, which indicated a potential divorce with Malik.

Shri Vishwakarma Skill University Students Develop AI-Integrated Wheelchair For Special Persons

By Deepak Arora

GURGAON, Jan 4: Talented students and dedicated faculty members of the Shri Vishwakarma Skill University (SVSU) have successfully developed an innovative Artificial Intelligence-integrated automatic wheelchair designed to enhance mobility for individuals with special abilities (divyang).

Informing on this momentous achievement, Dr Raj Nehru, Vice Chancellor, Shri Vishwakarma Skill University, said "this groundbreaking project not only showcases the technical prowess of our students but also embodies the spirit of inclusivity and compassion that defines our university."

Dr Nehru said "the AI integration in the wheelchair promises to bring about positive change, offering increased autonomy and ease of use for those with unique mobility needs."

He said "it also enhances the problem solving and creative thinking skills and develops marketable competencies amongst students and Teachers. It also gives opportunity to connect with Industry."

New Zealand's Youngest MP's Haka In Parliament Goes Viral

WELLINGTON, Jan 5: A video of a powerful speech delivered by a Member of Parliament in New Zealand has gone viral. Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke is just 21 years old and New Zealand's youngest MP in 170 years. She was elected to Parliament in October last year unseating incumbent Nanaia Mahuta, one of the country's most senior and respected MPs, who had represented the Hauraki-Waikato seat since 2008.

A Maori, Maipi-Clarke has been fighting for the rights of New Zealand's native communities. Her grandfather, Taitimu Maipi, is a member of the Maori activist group Nga Tamatoa.

In the impassioned speech delivered last month, Maipi-Clarke performed the traditional 'haka' or 'war cry' and made a promise to her electorate. "I will die for you ... but I will also live for you," she said, as per New Zealand Herald.

"To the tamariki Maori who have been sitting in the back of their classroom their whole life, whakama, waiting generations longing to learn their native tongue, to the tamariki who haven't been to their pepeha yet, it is waiting for you with open arms," she further said.

"Never fit in. You are perfect. You are the perfect fit."

The 21-year-old is from Huntly, a small town between Auckland and Hamilton, where she runs a Maori community garden that educates children about gardening according to the community's lunar calendar.

The Guardian said she doesn't see herself as politician, but as a guardian of Maori language and believes the voice of the new generate of the Maori needs to be heard.

"I was given some advice before making it into Parliament, to not take anything personally ... Well, I can't help but take everything personally that has been said in this Chamber," she said in her speech.

"In only a couple of weeks ... this Government has attacked my whole world ... Health, taiao (environment), wai (water), whenua (land), natural resources, Maori wards, reo (language), tamariki, and the right of me and you to be in this country under Te Tiriti," Maipi-Clarke further said.

"To every person that is watching from home... this isn't my moment, this is yours," the MP said towards the end of her speech.

Maipi-Clarke has 20,000 followers on Instagram and another 18,500 on TikTok.

2024 outlook: Asia's historic year of elections is a cause for hope

By Daniel Twining

WASHINGTON, Jan 4: More people live under democracy in Asia than anywhere else in the world. At the same time, with China at its center, the region is also home to the world's most powerful authoritarian state. Yet Xi Jinping's Orwellian claim to preside over a "Chinese-style democracy" is a reminder that even autocrats crave the legitimacy only popular consent can offer.

A spate of elections across the Indo-Pacific region will underscore this point in 2024.

Taiwan's election on January 13 will be pivotal. Freedom House judges Taiwan to be one of the freest societies in Asia. The peaceful transfer of power between its leading political parties has become routine and universally accepted.

That a society that was under martial law within living memory is now one of Asia's best examples of competitive politics is testament not only to the democratic spirit of Taiwan's people, but to the ability of its democratic system to deliver economic growth and prosperity.

The latest polls show Vice President Lai Ching-te, nominee of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, and KMT candidate Hou Yu-ih nearly neck-and-neck, with Taiwan People's Party leader candidate Ko Wen-je not too far behind.

Taiwanese may express their discontent with the island's two traditionally dominant parties by selecting Ko's or a smaller party, which could potentially lead to one party controlling the executive branch and another the legislature.

On February 14, Indonesia will hold the largest single-day election in the world as an electorate of 205 million votes at 800,000 polling stations sprinkled over thousands of islands; voting in India's national elections is staggered, while the U.S. has fewer registered voters.

Indonesian candidates for president, vice president and parliaments at the national and provincial level are working hard to connect with people under 40 who represent over half of eligible voters.

As President Joko Widodo ends his final term with approval ratings over 70%, three candidates are vying to succeed him, with Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, whose running mate is the president's son, favored to win.

This election will be significant for what is still a young democracy. In Indonesia's favor: a youthful population, a competitive political landscape, robust civil society, independent media and sound economic fundamentals.

But there are concerns that democratic development is stalling. Indonesian civil society groups point to backsliding that is driven by political elites and is manifest in the courts, political institutions and threats to free expression.

The most fraught of Asia's big elections will likely be in Bangladesh, where voters will go to the polls on January 7 to select a new Parliament. With the world's eighth-largest population, Bangladesh occupies an important place in the global trajectory of democracy. However, the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party has made credible claims about repression by the ruling Awami League and is boycotting the vote.

In an April survey, 70% of Bangladeshis approved of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and large majorities praised the government's performance on a range of issues. But the opposition has been gaining strength, rising to an approval rating of 63% from 36% in 2019. This makes its exclusion from the election a matter of significant concern.

Nonetheless, Bangladesh's parliamentary election is an important opportunity for the ruling party to demonstrate its commitment to transparent electoral processes, nonviolence and the tolerance of dissent. Doing so could restore the public's faith in democratic processes.

Pakistan's general election, scheduled for February 8, will take place amid a severe economic crisis and ongoing political instability. Since his ouster as prime minister in a no-confidence vote in April 2022, Imran Khan has been engaged in a power struggle with the military that has roiled the country's political landscape.

Despite a crackdown on his supporters and his imprisonment upon his conviction on corruption charges in August, Khan and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party remain popular. Unfortunately, the prospect of free and fair elections is unlikely, with the military expected to exert significant influence. Nawaz Sharif, who was ousted as prime minister in 2017 following a corruption probe, appears to be emerging as the front-runner, with tacit backing from the military leadership.

India's election, the world's largest, is expected to be held in May and will pit the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party against a 26-party opposition coalition and other regional parties. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is perhaps the democratic world's most popular leader, and the BJP is an electoral juggernaut, as reflected in its decisive victory in key state elections last month.

Modi's government has delivered tangible improvements to India's infrastructure and digital economy and its prestige on the world stage, even as opposition forces highlight media intimidation, pressure on civil society and lawfare against leaders of other parties as democratic backsliding.

No Indian leader has won a third term at the polls since Jawaharlal Nehru in 1962. A win for the BJP would cement the party's dominance, turning the page decisively on decades of previous Congress party rule.

While a BJP victory would reinforce India's promising trajectory of reform and growth as a global power, it could also harden internal divisions. The party dominates the country's poorer, populous northern Hindu heartland, but it is weak in wealthier southern states. Minority rights could also come further into focus should the ruling party pursue a majoritarian agenda.

Mongolia will hold elections in June for an enlarged parliament under a new electoral system, which should increase opportunities for smaller parties to win seats. Over the past seven years, politics have been dominated by the Mongolian People's Party, which holds a supermajority in parliament and the presidency. Due to this dominance, checks and balances have been eroded and a fractured opposition has left the government largely unchallenged.

Landlocked between China and Russia, Mongolia stands in stark contrast to its authoritarian neighbors. Unfortunately, public faith in democratic institutions remains low, while frustration with inflation, economic stagnation and corruption is high. As the lone democracy in a tough neighborhood, Mongolia will look to its "third neighbors" in the U.S., Japan and South Korea to support its people's aspirations for democracy and development.

Despite notable cases of backsliding, such as Myanmar, and China's continued predations, voters across Asia are set to go to the polls in 2024 in historic numbers. This is a cause for optimism and a beacon of hope for those in the region who live under authoritarianism but long for freedom.

@ Daniel Twining is president of the International Republican Institute, a democracy assistance organization based in Washington.