FIRST BLACK, PRESIDENT IN LINE OF PARTY IRE OVER WHITE MALE CABINET
The first black US President is coming under fire from some of his own Democratic Party for naming a stream of white men to key cabinet and leadership posts in his second administration. President Barack Obama on January 10, 2013 named Jack Lew as his treasury secretary, the fourth white male he has named to the most prized cabinet posts in recent weeks.Lew's nomination follows Obama's pick of senator John Kerry to replace Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. He has also named former senator Chuck Hagel to be Defence Secretary and John Brennan to head the Central Intelligence Agency. Against this, he lost the first Hispanic woman in the cabinet when labour secretary Hilda Solis announced her resignation on January 9, 2012. And in December, 2012 Lisa Jackson, who is black, announced she was stepping down as head of the Environmental Protection Agency.
"It's embarrassing as hell," New York Democrat Charles Rangel, one of the most senior black members of Congress, said of the Obama appointments. New Hampshire Democratic senator Jeanne Shaheen, whose state has the only all-female delegation in Congress, described the appointments as 'disappointing'.
"We need a government that looks like America so we can address the concerns that we hear from across the spectrum," she said. Republicans joined in the criticism with former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee accusing Obama of waging a 'war on women', using the same words Democrats coined to criticize Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney during the election campaign last year.
PERSONS IN THE NEWS
BUZZ ALDRIN [Moon man Aldrin eyes India for space mission]
Buzz Aldrin, the legendary astronaut who along with Neil Armstrong boarded the historic Apollo 11 in 1969 to become the first to set foot on the moon, is now on a new kind of mission. The American hero wants to bring English speaking countries together to improve efforts on space exploration. To begin with, the rocket scientist, who turned 83 on January 20, 2013, is keen on meeting India's former President APJ Abdul Kalam. Aldrin believes that Buzz Alclrisn US and India can cooperate on solar dynamics and experiment on energy conservation differently.
ARRD BERA
Gabbard also overshadowed the swearing in of Ami Bera, who is only the third Indian-American to be elected to the US Congress after Dalip Singh Saund, a Sikh-American from California, and Bobby Jindal, who was raised Catholic. Bera is said to be a Unitarian universalist.
In fact, the 113th Congress that was sworn in on January 3, 2013 is the most diverse in US history, including a record 101 female lawmakers, of whom 81 are in the House of Representatives and 20 in the Senate.
The US Congress also has 43 African-American law makers, 31 Latinos, 12 Asian-Americans, and 7 openly gay or bisexual members, broadly starting to reflect the demographics of the country.
In fact, the 113th Congress that was sworn in on January 3, 2013 is the most diverse in US history, including a record 101 female lawmakers, of whom 81 are in the House of Representatives and 20 in the Senate.
The US Congress also has 43 African-American law makers, 31 Latinos, 12 Asian-Americans, and 7 openly gay or bisexual members, broadly starting to reflect the demographics of the country.
MUKESH AMBANI 18TH RICHEST MAN IN WORLD
Indian business magnate Mukesh Ambani is the 18th richest person in the world with a personal wealth of $ 24.7 billion in 2012, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, a daily ranking of the world's 100 wealthiest individuals. Mexican telecommunications magnate Carlos Slim remained the world's richest person last year holding a personal fortune of more than $ 70 billion, it said. Ambani, 55, Chairman and MD of Reliance Industries, has also retained his position as the world's richest Indian for the sixth year in a row and increased his ranking from 19th to 18th position and personal wealth from $ 21 billion to $ 24.7 billion in the world, the Index showed.
US SWEARS IN 1ST HINDU LAWMAKER INTO HOUSE
• Tulsi Gabbard takes oath on the Bhagwad Gita
• Ami Bera becomes third PIO in Congress Congress woman Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii was the cynosure of all eyes on January 3, 2013 as she became the first 'practicing Hindu' in the House of Representatives that has already seen members of every other faith. Tulsi took her oath on the Bhagwad Gita to reflect her abiding faith as a practicing Hindu. She was administered oath by House speaker John Boehner holding her personal copy of the Gita, after which she hit the airwaves with such force that she is already being spoken for the US Senate, where a seat from Hawaii fell vacant in December, 2012 following the death of veteran law maker Daniel Inouye.
• Ami Bera becomes third PIO in Congress Congress woman Tulsi Gabbard from Hawaii was the cynosure of all eyes on January 3, 2013 as she became the first 'practicing Hindu' in the House of Representatives that has already seen members of every other faith. Tulsi took her oath on the Bhagwad Gita to reflect her abiding faith as a practicing Hindu. She was administered oath by House speaker John Boehner holding her personal copy of the Gita, after which she hit the airwaves with such force that she is already being spoken for the US Senate, where a seat from Hawaii fell vacant in December, 2012 following the death of veteran law maker Daniel Inouye.
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