NRI owned firm takes over German clothing chain store
Dusseldorf, Jan 5 (IANS) German business circles were startled when a small NRI-owned textile importing company took over the financially troubled German clothing chain store Wehmeyer that is a household name for the country's lower and middle-class consumers.

The man behind the takeover of Wehmeyer is Rajive Ranjan, Techno Lifestyle GmbH's managing director, who recently signed a deal for taking over 28 of its stores in the states of North Rhine Westphalia, Rhineland Palatinate and ... Read More

Researchers led by Indian American develop mouse model of brain cancer
Washington, Jan 5 (IANS) Researchers led by an Indian American have developed a versatile mouse model of glioblastoma - the commonest of deadly brain cancers in humans.

"Mouse models of human cancer have taught us a great deal about the basic principles of cancer biology," said Inder Verma, professor in the Laboratory of Genetics at the Salk Institute.

"By definition, however, they are just that: approximations that simulate a disease but never fully capture the ... Read More

DNA test confirms abandoned London boy is from Punjab
Hoshiarpur, Jan 4 (IANS) The DNA tests of an 11-year-old Sikh boy found abandoned in London last year have established that he belongs to a family near Tanda town in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district and would be returning home soon, family members said Sunday.

Several families, including those from Punjab and Bihar, had laid claim to the boy after he was found abandoned in London's Asian-dominated Southall area.

Clearly a case of rampant illegal trafficking from Punjab, ... Read More

Britons to be asked their sexual preference in official survey
London, Dec 5 (IANS) The British government now wants to know the sexual preference of its citizens, leaving the Conservatives fuming over the "Big Brotherly" intrusion into privacy.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) will officially collect data on sexual identity of Britons from January 2009.

This is seen as a prelude to including a question on sexual identity in the next census to be held in 2011.

The official explanation for the survey is that the information ... Read More

US Immigration, a ticking time bomb?
By Vivek Wadhawa

Immigration is a ticking time bomb. There are 12 million illegal/unskilled immigrants in the U.S. and over a million legal skilled immigrants in line for green cards. The legal workers are in immigration limbo -- it could take decades for some to get green cards (only 120K visas are available per year with a 7% per country limit for the EB1-3 categories). As the economy of the U.S. contracts, there are going to ... Read More