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October 10, 2011

Immigration groups urge Brown to sign part two of California Dream Act

Brown
California Governor Jerry Brown, right, and Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, shown here after the July 25 signing of part one of the California Dream Act. Brown now has until Oct. 9 to sign the second half of the bill, which would provide undocumented students access to publicly-funded scholarships. 
CALIFORNIA: California Governor Jerry Brown has until Oct 9 to sign legislation which would give the state's 41,000 undocumented students access to Cal Grants, UC grants and other state-funded scholarships for college education.

The bill - known as AB131 - is the second half of the California Dream Act, engineered by California state Assemblyman Gil Cedillo, a Democrat from Los Angeles. Brown July 25 signed into law AB130, the first half of the California Dream Act, which allows undocumented students to apply and receive privately-funded scholarships (I-W, Aug. 12). AB131 had been gridlocked in the Senate Appropriations committee, but passed with amendments, before moving on to the full Senate for a vote Sept 1. The bill then went back to the State Assembly for approval of the amendments and was handed to the governor for approval Sept 9.

About 41,000 of the 2.89 million students enrolled in California's UC, CSU or community college system are undocumented. Asian Americans account for more than 18,000 of the undocumented student population in the three California public colleges system.

All three higher education systems, originally designed to provide low-cost, quality education to California residents, have seen steady hikes in fees over the past decade.

AB131 would allot about $13 million to undocumented students from a program which received $700 million in funding for the 2009-10 school year.

Under the provisions of the amended bill, undocumented immigrant students could only qualify for public financial aid that remains after legal residents apply.

But the governor's office refused to state whether Brown would sign AB131. "Our office does not comment on legislation prior to the governor taking action," Evan Westrup, a spokesman for Brown, told India-West in an e-mail.

Brown himself has been vague on whether he will sign the bill. At an Aug. 25 press conference on jobs creation for the state, Brown - in response to a question from a reporter about the Act - hinted at his support, saying, "I do believe we can get kids into higher education. Giving incentives to bright, capable, young people is something I want to encourage, not discourage."

Mario Beltran, senior field representative for Cedillo, told India-West the governor has not indicated to Cedillo's office what he plans to do with the bill.

Answering critics' charges who claim that the bill takes away financial aid from documented students, Beltran said that Cal Grants funds are allotted each year based on the number of graduating high school students who would meet financial criteria for applying. But many of those students never apply, leaving unused funds which are then returned to the state's general coffers.

"The state's investment (in undocumented students) is definitely going to pay off over time," asserted Beltran, adding that over the next decade, California is going to need about one million skilled workers to replace those who are retiring.

"Our responsibility is to educate anyone who is willing to put themselves through that process," he said.

Jorge-Mario Cabreras, spokesman for the Coalition of Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, told India-West that the organization was mobilizing student rallies across California in support of AB131. CHIRLA received a boost Sept. 15 when the California Teachers' Association sent Brown a letter urging him to sign the bill.

Noting the recent attacks against Texas Governor Rick Perry - a Republican presidential contender who signed similar legislation in 2001 - Cabreras said Brown would likely sign the bill on a Friday to defray media attention.

But the California Dream Act - unlike the federal Dream Act which has gone into virtual oblivion since last May - cannot provide a pathway to legalization for undocumented students. President Barack Obama criticized Republicans for blocking the federal Dream Act, which would legalize, over several years, undocumented students who have grown up in the U.S.

"We strongly believe that the federal government should move towards some sort of legalization process," said Cabreras.

UC students currently pay $12,192 for in-state tuition per year, while out-of-state students must pay about $35,000. CSU students pay $6,262 for in-state tuition, while out of state students pay about $11,900 per year.

AB540, a California measure enacted in 2001, allows undocumented students to pay in-state tuition provided that they have completed three years of high school in California and graduated from a high school in the state. Students must sign a form stating that they are undocumented and will legalize their immigration status if they become eligible to do so.

Information on the AB540 form is kept confidential and cannot be passed along to other state or federal agencies.

Jagjit Singh, the ghazal maestro, dies

NEW DELHI: Renowned ghazal singer Jagjit Singh, 70, passed away at 8.10 am in Lilavati Hospital on Monday morning.

Jagjit Singh was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital on September 23 after he suffered brain haemorrhage in suburban Bandra where a life-saving surgery was performed on him.

"Jagjit Singh passed away at 8.10 am after having a terrible haemorrhage," Dr Sudhir Nandgaonkar, hospital spokesperson, told PTI.

He is survived by his wife Chitra Singh.

Jagjit Singh was born in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan. He had four sisters and two brothers and he is known as Jeet by his family.

Popularly known as "The Ghazal King", he gained acclaim together with his wife in the 1970s and 1980s, as the first ever successful duo act (husband-wife) in the history of recorded Indian music.

Recipient of Padma Bhushan award, he has sung in several languages including Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi and Nepali.

His popular ghazals include, Meri zindagi kisi aur ki, mere naam ka koi aur hai, Apni marzi se kahan apne safar ke hum hain, Wo jo hum mein tumme qaraar tha, Patta-patta boota-boota haal hamaara jaane hai, Hoshwalo ko khabar, etc.

Jagjjit Singh has also sung for popular movies like Arth, Prem Geet, Sarfarosh and Tarqeeb.

New telecom policy aims at doing away with roaming fees

New Delhi: Mobile telephone users may be able to make calls without paying roaming charges and change operator outside their circle while retaining the same number, if draft New Telecom Policy is implemented.

Declaring an agenda of 'One Nation-One Licence' across services, the NTP endeavors to create an investor-friendly environment by attracting additional investments in the sector, which has been marred by controversies relating to 2G scam in the recent past.

"Moving forward, we aim to create One Nation – One Licence across services and service areas. We aim to achieve One Nation - Full Mobile Number Portability and work towards One Nation - Free Roaming," Telecom Minister Kapil SIbal said while unveiling the draft New Telecom Policy 2011.

He, however, did not give any time line for implementing it and said this would be achieved as "we move forward."

"In achieving the goal of NTP-2011 revenue generation will play a secondary role," he said adding that the government would strive to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural India.

Highlighting the vision "Broadband on Demand", the NTP-2011 envisages leveraging telecom infrastructure to enable all citizens and businesses, both in rural and urban area to participate in the internet and web economy thereby ensuring equitable and inclusive development across the nation.

"We will seek TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) recommendations on new licences, migration to new licences and other policy recommendations," Sibal said adding that the government would frame an appropriate policy for players to exit from the sector.
   
In the wake of the 2G scam, the minister said spectrum allocation would be delinked from licences and radio waves would be made available at market-determined prices.

With regard to spectrum, Sibal said the government would provide a roadmap for additional spectrum availability every five years and also make its periodic audit mandatory to ensure that the scarce resource is used efficiently.

The draft NTP has also set an ambitious target of providing broadband services on demand by 2015 with a target of 600 million such high-speed Internet connections by 2020.
   
The draft NTP has went to the extent of likening the broadband connectivity to basic necessities like health and education and proposes to work towards a 'Right to Broadband' for every citizen.
   
The policy has also called for providing by the year 2015, the 'Broadband on Demand' services, which would enable affordable, across-the-country, round-the-clock and high-speed Internet connectivity to the users.

"The primary objective of National Telecom Policy (NTP)-2011 is maximising public good by making available affordable, reliable and secure telecommunication and broadband services across the entire country," Sibal said.

The draft NTP-2011 aims to achieve 175 million broadband connections by the year 2017 and 600 million by the year 2020.

It also aims to converge mobile telephony, multimedia and broadcast services, to offer superior experience to customers.
   
"We want to reposition the mobile phone from a mere communication device to an instrument of empowerment that combines communication, with proof of identity, fully secure financial and other transaction capabilities, multi-lingual services and a whole range of other capabilities that ride on them and transcend the literacy barrier," Sibal said. 

Champion League winner Mumbai Indians No. 1 on Facebook too

NEW DELHI: Champions League Twenty20 winners Mumbai Indians have emerged as one of the biggest sports brand on social networking site Facebook in India amassing 2.2 million fans in the last 18 months. 

Red Digital, their social media specialist, who have created and managed Mumbai Indians' social media presence since March 2010 are ecstatic about this announcement and have already, laid the foundations to achieve the 3 million mark. 

"We are honored to be the preferred social media partner for the Mumbai Indians. Red Digital has provided and executed the strategy of integrating social media with gaming for deeper fan engagement on the digital space, leading to this massive accumulation of 2.2 million fans in only 18 months," Harsh Jain, Founder and Managing Director, Red Digital, said. 

"Red Digital's work on social media has been exemplary till date and we are now targeting the 3 million mark by IPL 5," he added. 

Red Digital engages the MI fan page with viral activities such as trivia, games, polls, promos and contests; keeping them abreast of the latest happenings in the world of cricket and personal lives of their favourite cricketers. 

Mumbai Indians has over three times the number of fans compared to its closest competitor -Chennai Super Kings with 7.25 lakh fans on its unofficial fanpage and about 35,000 fans on its official fan page. 

Chennai is followed by Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore with 5.7 lakhs and 5.05 lakh fans respectively. 

Red Digital helped Mumbai Indians gather the most amount of support across social media platforms (14.62 per cent) during IPL 4 according to a report by NM Incite. 

With almost 2.2 million fans on Facebook, Mumbai Indians has seen a 118 per cent growth in fan numbers in the last six months and is the 112th biggest brand page on Facebook globally.

Botswana - Country Profile

City centre buildings in Gaborone, Botswana


Tourists swarming to see young leopard at Chobe National Park, Botswana
Indians in Botswana do not form a very large population. There are 3,000 PIOs and 6,000 NRIs in Botswana.[


For More Info visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Botswana