MELBOURNE, JULY 6.  Austin Health physician and clinical pharmacologist, Dr Sadanand Anavekar, has been recognized for his services to medicine and the Indian community with a medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honors list.

Dr S N Anavekar, an eminent Cardiologist and Consultant Physician from Melbourne, is a Gold medalist in MBBS from Karnataka Medical College, India.
He migrated to Melbourne in 1968 and pursued his post graduate studies in Austin Health – University of Melbourne.

Windsor Hotel, Melbourne: A group of dozen Education Industry Stakeholders from Victoria met with the senior advisers of Federal Liberal leader Mr. Tony Abbott to discuss their problems. This meeting was arranged by Community leader Mr. Nitin Gupta.
 
Mark Roberts who is a Senior Adviser to the Federal Opposition leader Mr. Tony Abbott, and other Liberal party members discussed in detail the problems being faced by the biggest export earning industry for Victoria. The group is expected to get an audience with Federal Opposition leader Mr. Tony Abbott pretty soon.

NEW DELHI, JULY 4.  Under the ‘India Development Foundation for Overseas Indians’, an initiative of ministry of overseas Indians, they will get tax exemption if they want to build schools, primary health centres and other infrastructure in their villages and places of origin in India.

The ministry has already started the process of registering the foundation in the US and it will be in place in next three months, overseas Indian affairs minister Vayalar Ravi said in an interview.
After the US, the ministry will register the foundation in other countries, including the UK and the Gulf. According to official data, there are about 24 million Indians overseas.

Indian-born THOMAS LEWIS HENDERSON,  a popular taxi driver and storyteller in Melbourne, makes his theatrical debut in Robert Gough's new stage play, An Elephant in the Room.  It's an amazing story: FROM JHANSI TO MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA, TO THE STAGE AT THEATRE WORKS, ST KILDA!!!

RETURNING to the stage after more than 40 years, THOMAS HENDERSON, who cites Shakespeare's Julius Caesar as one of his favourite plays, makes his Australian theatrical debut in AN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM!

Australia has more Indians than Italians. The Indian community in this country has doubled in just six years, becoming our fastest-growing minority, new figures show.

The immigration department estimates in 2007-08 the stock of migrants from India grew more than any other country, even Britain or New Zealand.

It estimates that the Indian-born population has risen from 110,563 in mid-2002 to 239,295 in mid-2008, overtaking the Italians to become our fourth-biggest migrant community.

A Foxtel salesman who sexually assaulted a nine-year-old girl in her front yard in Melbourne’s south-east has been jailed for at least two years and three months.

Mujahed Ur-Rahman, 29, approached the resident of a Noble Park home on September 30 last year, asking her to buy the pay television service.  After she declined, Ur-Rahman went outside to the front yard and picked up the woman’s nine-year-old daughter and kissed her on the cheek before he sexually penetrated the girl in front of her younger brother.

Judge Paul Lacava said Ur-Rahman’s conduct was the sort of thing every parent feared.

The Government of India is extending an invitation to youth of Indian origin to attend ‘Know India Programme (KIP) during 2010-11.

The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs will be running a 3-week KIP in India between August 2010 and March 2011.

The programme is open to youth of Indian origin (excluding non-resident Indians) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) from all over the world, between the age group of 18-26 years.

India will try to persuade Australia to supply uranium to it during a bilateral meeting on energy here on Monday, seeking flexibility on Canberra’s longstanding position that it would not export the nuclear raw material to countries who are not signatories to the NPT.

“There are plans to initiate some discussion for sourcing uranium from Australia. Though at present the Labour government here has already made it clear that it would not supply uranium (to countries) who have not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,” Union Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said here.

Approximately 600 students from different countries took part in a peaceful rally, organised by the All International Students Association (AISA) here today.

“Government should exempt existing students from new SOL and/or give them 3-year 485 visa,” said the event cordinator Sakib Syed.
“Government has taken our money, left us without any hope,” echoed Harry Singh, the vice president of AISA.
“We have left our kids, our families behind, just for one hope: to apply for PR after completing our studies. But this government has destroyed that hope,” said Reveena Garg, the  female co-ordinator.

The FIAV has extended the existing helpline to 24 Hour HELP LINE from 7 th June. The recent change to SOL (Skilled Occupation List)
has caused confusion & uncertainty amongst International Students.

It has also added to the amount of numerous other issues which International Students are already trying to cope with. Hence, in such critical circumstances Fiav would like to make that extra effort to give them relief.

The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India have decided to set up   an Indian Community Welfare Fund (ICWF) for the welfare of Indian students and other Indian citizens in distress in Australia.  The Fund will provide essential welfare services for students and other Indian nationals without other means.  

The ICWF is already in operation in several countries, notably in the Middle East for the last several years, and is being extended to 24 countries, including Australia, New Zealand, UK, USA, Canada, France, Germany and others.

Melbourne: Australian Model and TV Personality Tania Zaetta, who has also done roles in hit Bollywood films like Salaam Namaste and Bunty Aur Bubli, is very keen on becoming the "Bollywood Ambassador for Victoria" - A role which Ted Baillieu led Liberal party would create if it wins power in next State Elections which are due in Nov 2010.
 
Tania expressed her keen desire to become Victoria's Bollywood Ambassador when she met with Indian Community leader and Liberal party member Mr. Nitin Gupta at a Fashion Show in Albert Park recently.

More than 400 police recruits will be on parade this morning, following one of the biggest recruit intakes in Victoria Police history.

The push for new officers comes as Victoria Police prepares to launch its Operational Response Unit (ORU), a team of about 200 highly trained police who will focus on crime, road policing and public order related offences in hot spots across the state.