Mid Day International News

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• High rate of denial of US work visas to Indians: report
• Pak SC turns down Gilani's appeal against indictment
• Deaf Pakistani girl raped and forced to work for 10 years in Brit home
• Dad makes 4-year-old run naked in snow
• German runner retains his Empire
• Louis Vuitton condoms to go on sale

High rate of denial of US work visas to Indians: report Posted: US immigration authorities, in the past four years, have increased denial of work-related visas, with India-born professionals being refused at higher rates than nationals of other countries, an American think tank said in a report on Friday. Analysis of new data obtained from US Citizenship and Immigration Services showed the agency had increased denials of L-1 and H-1B petitions beginning 2008, thus harming the competitiveness of US employers and encouraging companies to keep more jobs and resources outside the country, said the report released by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP). The report entitled "Data Reveal High Denial Rates for L-1 and H-1 Petitions at USCIS" indicated most of the increase in denials involves India-born professionals and researchers. The denial rate for India-born applicants for new L-1B petitions rose from 2.8 per cent in Fiscal Year 2008 to 22.5 per cent in FY 2009, a substantial increase that resulted in many employers being unable to transfer their employees into the US to work on research projects or serve customers, it said. Illustrating the abrupt change, immigration authorities denied more L-1B petitions for new petitions for Indians in FY 2009 (1,640) than in the previous nine fiscal years combined (1,341 denials between FY 2000 and FY 2008), it said. The report noted, "If one considers that in FY 2011 63 per cent of all L-1B petitions received a Request for Evidence and 27 per cent were issued a denial, that means US Citizenship and Immigration Services adjudicators denied or delayed between 63 per cent to 90 per cent of all L-1B petitions in 2011."

Pak SC turns down Gilani's appeal against indictment Posted: In a major blow to beleaguered Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, the Supreme Court Friday rejected his appeal, asking him to appear before it on February 13 to frame of contempt charges for not reopening graft cases against President Asif Ali Zardari. "Our appeal was rejected. As a result of this, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will be charged for contempt of court on February 13. Inshallah, the Prime Minister will appear (in court) on February 13," Gilani's lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan told reporters outside the court. Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani Pic/AFP Gilani had cited precedents in India and other countries to move a plea in the court against its order summoning him for framing contempt charges. An eight-judge led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry rejected the appeal soon after the premier's lawyer concluded his arguments this morning. Ahsan reiterated that Gilani had done no wrong by not reviving the cases against Zardari as the President enjoyed immunity from prosecution within Pakistan and abroad. Gilani, 59, will now have to appear before another seven-judge bench on February 13 to be charged with contempt of court for defying its order to write to the Swiss government to reopen the cases against Zardari. The Prime Minister, who had earlier appeared before the court on January 19, had pleaded that the President enjoys immunity and as such the cases cannot be reopened against him. The SC bench had on February 2 summoned him for the framing of charges. If Gilani is convicted for contempt, he could be jailed for six months and barred from holding public office. Ahsan had defended the premier's actions during a marathon six-hour hearing in the apex court on Thursday. He resumed his arguments this morning and said Gilani had only acted on the advice of his legal aides, but the Chief Justice insisted that Ahsan should clearly tell the Prime Minister that he had to act on the court's orders. President Asif Ali Zardari Pic/AFP The Supreme Court has been pressuring the government to revive cases of alleged money laundering against Zardari in Switzerland since December 2009, when it struck down a graft amnesty issued by former military ruler Pervez Musharraf. The government has refused to reopen the cases, saying the Constitution gives the President complete immunity from prosecution in criminal cases in Pakistan and abroad. Besides Switzerland, the government will also have to approach other countries to revive graft cases, the Chief Justice indicated. Commentators have accused the apex court of bias, saying it had taken virtually no action against the more than 8,000 other people who had benefited from Musharraf's graft amnesty.

Deaf Pakistani girl raped and forced to work for 10 years in Brit home Posted: A deaf, Pakistani girl was trafficked to the UK and kept as a virtual slave in a cellar for almost 10 years by an elderly couple, a court was told. Locked in a cellar each night, the ten-year-old was repeatedly raped and forced to carry out chores including cooking, cleaning, sewing and washing. Ilyas Ashar, 83, and wife Tallat, 66, regularly beat the girl - dragging her by the hair if she was too slow and slapping her if the food was too hot or spicy. The court was told that the girl was repeatedly raped and sexually abused by Ashar and stabbed in the stomach. Prosecutor Peter Cadwallader said that the girl had been brought from her home in Pakistan in 2000 after being told her parents had died. Profoundly deaf and unable to speak, she went to live with the Ashars at their Victorian house in Eccles, near Manchester. "She was brought to this country and exploited,' the Daily Mail quoted Cadwallader as telling Minshull Street Crown Court. "She was a victim of threats and violence throughout her life from being a little girl. "She was made to cook, clean and do the washing and ironing. She was also made to clean houses and business premises for friends and relations of the Ashars. "She also washed cars in the drive of the house - in essence she lived in a state of servitude," he said. She was kept locked at night so that she couldn't escape. "At night the door at the top of the stairs down to the cellar was locked and bolted so she could not get out during the night. "During the day, presumably when she displeased Tallat Ashar, she was pushed into the cellar, pushed down the stairs and the door locked. She would sit there for hours crying and locked in," he said. Police called at the house in 2009 and found the girl - now aged around 19 - sleeping in the cellar. Cadwallader added that the girl had remained a captive for almost ten years because she knew no one and had absolutely nowhere to go.

Dad makes 4-year-old run naked in snow Posted: The video of the strict father making the boy do push-ups in the cold goes viral and ignites a fresh debate over China's tough parenting style A Chinese dad on a visit to New York made his 4-year-old son run and do push-ups in the snow to develop a "masculine temperament" -- while the boy was dressed only in gym shoes and a pair of yellow underpants. Tough love: As the 4-year-old stands shivering, he is seen pleading with his father in the video saying, 'Please give me a hug!' The dad, He Liesheng, insisted he was simply trying to get his son to develop a "masculine temperament." He claims his brand of tough love has helped his son, Ho Yide, overcome developmental difficulties after he was born with water in the brain. But reaction to He's video, which went viral on the web after the dopey dad shared it with friends, has been harsh in his native China. And it has ignited a fresh debate over China's tough parenting style, which is described in the controversial Amy Chua book, "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother." In interviews with media in his hometown of Nanjing, He said he was in New York City for the Chinese New Year, which fell on January 23. There was two inches of snow on the ground in Central Park that morning and the low temperature was a crisp 34 , according to the National Weather Service. It is not clear from the video where exactly in the city it was made, but New York licence plates are visible on the cars. Little Ho is seen whimpering and shivering in the footage and a man's voice can be heard exhorting him to run and exercise. "He agreed to go out to run in the snow naked or else it wouldn't be possible for me to take his clothes off," said He, who runs a bed linen company. "He wasn't very happy when he felt the cold." He has been dubbed "Eagle Dad" by his countrymen, because those birds have been known to push their offspring out of the nest to get them to fly. The dad said he's also taught his son Kung Fu, dancing, cycling and mountain climbing -- and has thrown the boy into freezing water to toughen him up. "I also give him cold ice cream on cold winter days to train his stomach to get used to the cold," he said. "He rarely has a cold or fever." Reactions to the video The footage has been viewed by tens of thousands of people on video-sharing websites. These are some of the reactions posted by readers. I don't agree with this... We should give children a happy childhood, those terrible parents say they do this for their child's own good, but I think their purpose is just to be able to brag in the future. I really don't support this, poor kid. Does the kid's mother let the father do whatever he wants to do?

German runner retains his Empire Posted: A German runner has won an annual race up 86 flights of stairs at the Empire State Building for a record seventh straight time. Stuttgart resident Thomas Dold completed the Empire State Building Run-Up in 10 minutes and 28 seconds. "Well, the good thing is that I've done better than all the others," said the 27-year-old Dold, who completed his last three run-ups in 10 minutes and 10 seconds or less. He said he didn't know why the finish was "so exhausting" this year because he's "really fit" and compares training techniques with other runners. Two other men have won the race five times since it began in 1978: American Al Waquie from 1983-87 and Australian Paul Crake from 1999-2003. Crake remains the record holder with a time of 9 minutes and 33 seconds but has not competed since suffering a devastating bicycle accident in 2006. Athletes from around the world took part in the gruelling-even-for-the-elite-athletes trek from the lobby to the observation deck, floor by floor, up 1,576 steps. About 650 people registered for this year's race, said Drea Braxmeier, a spokeswoman for the New York Road Runners (NYRR), which hosted the race. NYRR also puts on the annual New York City Marathon. In a switch from previous years, the race was held at night instead of in the morning. "You get to finish under the lights of the Empire State Building," she said. In another first this year, Braxmeier said, the general public was allowed to start at 10-second intervals. The Empire State Building race is among the more high-profile tower climbs in the world. It's "an entire world unto itself," Braxmeier said of the climbs. 1,567 The number of steps to climb to the top of the Empire State building 9.33 min The fastest time record to the top of the building held by Australian Paul Crake

Louis Vuitton condoms to go on sale Posted: Louis Vuitton condoms are the latest temptation dangling in the face of brand slaves. But while we are familiar with luxury label bedding and lingerie brands, is there room in the bed for another designer. That's an affirmative, according to the artist Irakli Kiziria, who designed the Louis Vuitton condom. The high-end condom comes in a packet with the label's iconic design: brown with gold lettering. It comes with a pricey tag -- much like the Louis Vuitton handbag -- US$68 (Rs 3,370) and that too just for one.

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