India Today Interviews Astronaut Sunita Williams

www.indiatoday.com INDIA, October 15, 2007: On her first visit to India after her record breaking space odyssey, Sunita Williams, whose father, Deepak Pandya originally hailed from Gujarat, wowed audiences across the country with details of her experiences at the International Space Station (ISS). As a female astronaut, she holds the record for the longest space flight (195 days), the highest…

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Newsweek Editor: America is Not a “Christian” nation

www.nytimes.com NEW YORK, NEW YORK, October 7, 2007: (HPI Note: Following is a New York Times opinion piece by Jon Meacham, editor of Newsweek magazine.) Presidential candidate John McCain was not on the campus of Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University last year for very long — the senator, who once referred to Mr. Falwell and Pat Robertson as “agents of intolerance,”…

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When Yoga Hurts

www.time.com UNITED STATES, October 4, 2007: Amy Toosley was standing in a split pose when her yoga instructor gave her a leg a little prod. “I heard the loudest pop I’ve ever heard, and the instructor said, ‘Ooh! Good release, huh?” Toosley recalls. “Not really–I could hardly walk.” With her hamstring muscle snapped, Toosley, 32, avoided yoga for the next…

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Swaminarayan Trust Invited to Build Akshardham in China

www.ndtv.com DELHI, INDIA, October 6, 2007: It is one of the grandest Hindu temples in the capital and has been built with a lot of thought and precision. An architectural marvel, the Akshardham temple is the cynosure of all eyes. Soon a replica of it will be constructed, thousands of miles away in China. The first Hindu temple in communist…

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Korea’s Buddhists Languish as Christianity Gains

homelands.org KOREA, October, 6, 2007: (HPI note: The following report is by AlanWesiman.) It shouldn’t have been that disconcerting to hear an evangelical Protestant minister extol God’s goodness for guiding the Pilgrims safely to America, where they could establish a Christian ethic that would one day shape the moral values of a nation. Granted, the church was stadium-sized, the 100-person…

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Odissi-Lovers Rally Behind Ailing Asako

www.hindu.com BHUBANESWAR, INDIA, October 4, 2007: The Odissi dancers’ community across the globe has come together in aid of the US-based veteran Odissi dancer Ms. Asako Takami who is suffering from cancer. The community has further appealed to the practitioners, patrons and admirers of the Indian classical dances to rise to the occasion. Founder of the Pallavi Dance Group in…

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South Africa Court Allows Hindu Pupil to Wear a Nose Stud

www.sabcnews.com SOUTH AFRICA, October 5, 2007: (HPI note: It is a remarkable coincidence that this South Africa decision on a nose stud came on the same day at the Heathrow worker was reinstated. In this case, however, the girl’s community followed the tradition of giving a nose stud to the girl when she entered her teens, long prior to her…

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UK Hindu Sacked Over Nose Stud Wins Job Back on Technicality

www.telegraph.co.uk LONDON, UK, October 5, 2007: Amrit Lalji, 40, had worked in the VIP lounge of Terminal One for more than a year before she was fired for wearing the tiny stud. But yesterday her union said that she would resume work at the airport on Sunday. The speed with which she has won back her job contrasts with the…

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Hindu Council UK Thanks for Helping Reinstate Worker

Press Release LONDON, UK, October 5, 2007: Amrit Lalji, the Hindu woman sacked from her job for wearing a tiny nose stud, has thanked the Hindu Council UK (HCUK) for helping her get her job back. HCUK has also received a letter of thanks from Ian Griffiths, the London Region Branch Secretary for the GMB union who supported her in…

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Prana Pratishtha Of Deities At Staten Island Ram Mandir

indiapost.com NEW YORK, NEW YORK, October 1, 2007: The long-awaited Prana Pratistha Mahotsavam (installation of the Deities) at the first Hindu Temple “Shree Ram Mandir” built in Staten Island was held on August 24-27. During the three-day holy ceremony, the Deities of Lord Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman made of white marble in Rajasthan were installed per Hindu ritual and…

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