New York, April 10 - India achieved another significant victory at the United Nations as Ms. Jagjit Pavadia was re-elected to the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB). The election, organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Council, is considered one of the most competitive, and Ms. Pavadia secured the highest number of votes.

India's Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar expressed pride, stating, "Gained the highest number of votes among member states." This re-election marks a notable achievement for Ms. Pavadia, who also won in 2019 with a record number of votes, defeating her rival Hao Wei of China.

New York, Sep 30 (IANS) New York Governor Kathy Hochul has declared a state of emergency across New York City, Long Island, and surrounding area after torrential storms flooded subways and streets and delayed flights.

Ophelia's remnants soaked New York City with heavy rain early Friday, and caused flash flooding in parts of the city, Xinhua news agency reported.

A flood watch is in effect through 6 a.m. Saturday for the entire tri-state - New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, with rainfall rates of one to two inches per hour expected at times.

Strong storms have shut down swaths of the Big Apple's subway system, flooded some streets and highways, and cut off access to at least one terminal at the LaGuardia Airport.

A number of subway lines were suspended Friday morning with other lines suspending service through flooded stations, especially in Brooklyn.

"There is only extremely limited subway service available because of heavy flooding. Service is suspended at many stations," the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)'s subway account posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Hochul's announcement on Friday was followed by a similar order from New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who asked residents to shelter in place during the worst of the storm.

"I want to say to all New Yorkers, this is time for heightened alertness and extreme caution. If you are home, stay home. If you are at work or school, shelter in place for now," Adams said.

Parts of New York City saw five inches of rain as of 11 a.m. Friday. In Central Park, it was the most rainfall seen since the remnants of Ida swept through two years ago.

Video footage showed cars stuck in the flooded streets at the Red Hook neighbourhood in the Brooklyn borough. Some people were working to clear a drain in flood water.

A game set for Friday night between the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets was postponed due to severe weather.

Adams called the weather "dangerous" and said it's not over.

"We could possibly see eight inches of rain before the day is over," he said. 

New York, Sep 20 (IANS) The International Cricket Council (ICC) is set to announce New York as one of the venues for the much-anticipated 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup to be hosted by the USA and the West Indies.

The venue could be understood to play host to the marquee clash between India and Pakistan. A similar venue was supposed to be built in Van Cortlandt Park in the borough of Bronx. But some of the neighborhood residents and a nearby cricket league voiced strong opposition to the plans, forcing the city officials and ICC to abandon the plan.

The report added that as a result, the Nassau County officials, who oversee the running of Eisenhower Park, jumped in to the talks, which is now getting serious consideration ahead of 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup.

The lack of cricketing infrastructure in the USA has always been an area of great concern for the ICC. The inaugural season of the Major League Cricket (MLC) did unveil its 15k-seater Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, but apart from it and Central Broward Park near Miami, the country lacks another permanent floodlit stadium with all facilities.

There’s Church Street Park in Morrisville, North Carolina, but it doesn’t have any permanent structure or practice facilities. The Eisenhower Park arrangement should significantly reduce ICC's issues with USA venues, who are aiming to host 20 matches of the event in the country.

Ireland, Scotland and Papua New Guinea sealed their spots for the tournament through regional qualifiers, with Americas (one spot), Asia (two spots) and Africa (two spots) qualifying competitions to be held in near future.

The 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup will be hosted jointly by the West Indies and the USA. 20 teams will be divided into four groups of five each for the first round. Top two teams from each group will qualify for the Super eight stage.

In Super eight, teams will be split into two groups of four each, with top two sides from two groups entering the semi-finals. Hosts West Indies and USA, as well as Australia, defending champions England, India, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh have already qualified for the competition.

New York, June 27 (IANS) New York City Mayor Eric Adams has officially decalred Diwali as a school holiday aimed at honouring the city's South Asian, Indo-Caribbean, Hindu, Sikh, Jain and Buddhist communities.

On Monday, Mayor Adams made the announcement at City Hall while being flanked by Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar, the first Hindu American and first South Asian American woman elected to state office, reports ABC 7.

"Today we say to over 600,000 Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and Jain Americans, we see you," Rajkumar said. 

"Today we say to families from India, Guyana, Trinidad, Nepal, and Bangladesh, we recognise you."

Taking to Twitter later in the day, Adams said: "I'm so proud to have stood with Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar and community leaders in the fight to make Diwali a school holiday.

"I know it's a little early in the year, but: Shubh Diwali!"

The Mayor's announcement comes after the New York State legislature on June 9 passed a Bill to make Diwali a school holiday in the city.

However, Governor Kathy Hochul is still yet to sign the bill to make it into a law.

Two earlier attempts to pass the legislation in 2021 and 2022 did not succeed. 

An estimated 200,000 students from these communities will be able to celebrate the festival of lights in their own way, free of school.

In 2023, Diwali will be celebrated on Sunday, November 12, so it will be a day off school for the first time in 2024.

The New York Department of Education said there will be four new days off during 2023-24 school calendar including April 1, the day after Easter, April 29 and 30, the two days of Passover, and June 17 for Eid.

New York, April 1 (IANS) Members of an Indian family were among those who drowned while trying to illegally cross a river from Canada to the US, according to authorities.

The eight people, whose bodies were found in a marsh near the St Lawrence River in a Native Canadian reservation in Quebec, included persons "believed to be citizens of India" who "are believed to have been attempting illegal entry into the US from Canada", Lee-Ann O'Brien, the deputy chief of the local police, said on Friday.

Six of the bodies were discovered on Thursday during an air search, she said.

The Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service (AMPS) later reported that two more bodies were found on Friday. One was of a woman believed to be an Indian citizen and the other was of an infant of Romanian descent with a Canadian passport, it said.

The identities of those whose bodies were found were not revealed.

O'Brien said at the videocast news conference that the AMPS was working with immigration and Homeland Security officials to confirm the identities of the dead and inform their relatives.

She said that the other family in the incident was believed to be from Romania.

A boat that was found near the bodies belonged to a Native Canadian, Casey Oakes, who is also missing, she said.

The area of the Akwesasne Mohawk Native Canadian reservation in Quebec abuts New York, which was the likely destination of those who tried to cross over.

Canada is providing a conduit for Indians trying to enter the US illegally.

Last April, six Indians were rescued from the St Regis River by US Border Patrol agents after US authorities were alerted by the AMPS that a boat was sinking close to the US border.

In January last year, a family of four Indians were found frozen to death in Manitoba near the US border along Minnesota state.

They were identified as Jagdish Baldevbhai Patel, 39, and Vaishaliben Jagdishkumar Patel, 37, and their children, Vihangi Jagdishkumar Patel, 11, and Dharmik Jagdishkumar Patel, 3, from Dingucha in Gujarat.

Before their bodies were found, US authorities caught seven Indians nearby on their side of the border.

Last August, seven people from Gujarat were detained by US authorities when they illegally entered the US from Quebec.

The illegal immigration by Indians to the US from Canada is the opposite of the recent trend of people illegally crossing over in the opposite direction because of more liberal asylum regulations in Canada and better services available there.

More than 39,000 people, many who had come to the US on the southern border with Mexico, crossed into Canada last year leading to an agreement between the two countries to stop the migration.

Under the deal reached last week by US President Joe Biden and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, both countries agreed to turn back people illegally crossing the border.

Now Indians caught trying to enter the US from Canada will be sent back there.

The US-to-Canada migration was the result of a domino effect: People from Central America and elsewhere cross into the US; the states and cities on the border, both Republican and Democrat-controlled, because of the pressure from the influx send some of them by bus to New York, a liberal Democrat city that is a "sanctuary city" for illegal immigrants, and New York, facing similar pressures in providing for them, in turn, sent them Canada.