New York: Fuelled by immigration, America's Hindu population has reached 2.23 million, an increase of about one million or 85.8 per cent since 2007, making Hinduism the fourth-largest faith, according to estimates based on wide-ranging study of religions in the nation. The proportion of Hindus in the US population rose from 0.4 per cent in 2007 to 0.7 per cent last year, according to the Pew Research Center's "Religious Landscape Study." The study only gave the percentage shares of Hindus in the population, rather than numbers, but calculations using the population proportions in the report and census projections showed that the number of Hindus rose from 1.2 million in 2007 out of a total US population of 301.2 million that year to 2.23 million in 2014 in a population of 318.88 million. This amounts to an increase of 1.03 million or 85.8 per cent in the Hindu population during the seven-year period. Pew said that it may have underestimated the size of the Hindu population. An earlier report from Pew on the future of world religions in April said that by 2050, Hindus would make up 1.2 per cent of the US population and number 4.78 million. This would make the US Hindu population the fifth largest in the world. Looking at the socio-economic profile of Hindus, the new Pew report said they had the highest education and income levels of all religious groups in the US: 36 per cent of the Hindus said their annual family income exceeded $100,000, compared with 19 per cent of the overall population. And 77 per cent of Hindus have a bachelor's degree compared to 27 per cent of all adults and 48 per cent of the Hindus have a post-graduate degree.
14-year-old Indian-American boy wins National Geographic Bee
Washington: Karan Menon, a 14-year-old Indian-American student, has won the prestigious National Geographic Bee competition in the US, in which the top three positions were bagged by Indian-origin contestants. Menon, an eighth grader from New Jersey, competed against 10 finalists from across the US to win the 2015 National Geographic Bee championship. Of the 10 finalists, seven were of Indian-origin. In addition to winning the title of National Geographic Bee champion, Menon received a USD 85,000 college scholarship, lifetime membership in the National Geographic Society and an expedition for two to the Galapagos Islands aboard the Lindblad ship National Geographic Endeavour. Menon has added his name to a long list of Indian-origin kids who have made their mark over the years in the similarly coveted spelling bee championships in the US.
The first-runner up and recipient of a USD 25,000 college scholarship was 11-year-old Shriya Yarlagadda of Michigan. The third place and a USD 10,000 college scholarship went to Sojas Wagle of Arkansas, a 13-year-old eighth grader.
Gunmen on bikes attack bus in Karachi, kill 47 Shia Muslims
Karachi: Gunmen donning police uniforms killed at least 47 people from minority Shia Ismaili community in an attack on a bus in Pakistan's southern city of Karachi last week, police officials said. "Six to eight armed men on motorcycles opened fire on a bus at Safoora Chorangi, Gulistan-e-Johar area of Karachi, killing at least 43 passengers," a police official said. A senior police official said the attackers entered the bus and shot the passengers in the head. "It was a targeted attack," Sindh police inspector general Ghulam Haider Jamali told reporters. Taliban have claimed responsibility of the attack. More than 60 people were on board the bus which was carrying the people of Ismaili community from Al-Azhar Garden area of the city to their place of worship near Aysha Manzil, police said. Ismaili community is a branch of Shia Muslims and they are considered very peaceful people. The attack came a day after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited Kabul and declared that enemies of Afghanistan are also enemies of Pakistan. Pakistan has seen a rise in sectarian violence in recent years particularly against minority Shias who represent around 20 per cent of the country's Muslim population.
Come naked for exam, prof tells pupils
Washington: A University of California professor has asked the pupils to come naked to the finals of a visual arts paper if they want to pass. Professor Ricardo Dominguez of UC San Diego has been taking an elective course on “performing the self” for 11 years now with the same drill and he says no one had ever complained - until this week when the mother of a student flipped when she heard about it and went public. She accused the professor of “perversity” and said the final test was “just wrong. “You must be naked in order to pass my class” makes me sick to my stomach,” the mother told a local television station while declining to reveal her identity or that of her daughter. But professor Dominguez was least fazed by the resulting uproar on social media as the story went viral. He said the class would be dimly lit with candles and he too would be in the buff with the students as part of the assignment.
Egypt's ousted president Morsy sentenced to death
Cairo: An Egyptian court sentenced ousted President Mohamed Morsy to death over his part in a mass prison break that took place during the 2011 uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak. As is customary in passing capital punishment, Judge Shaaban el-Shami referred his death sentence on Morsy and others to the nation’s top Muslim theologian, or mufti, for his non-binding opinion. He set June 2, 2015 for the next hearing. Morsy, Egypt’s first freely elected president, was ousted by the military in July 2013 following days of mass street protests by Egyptians demanding that he be removed because of his divisive policies. Morsy’s successor, Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, was the military chief at the time and led the ouster. El-Sissi ran for president last year and won the vote in a landslide.
