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Both buildings, located in the Da Vinci Park in Brussels, were rented when acquired. The
objective was to realize an important renovation or restructuring in order to reposition
these buildings according to market needs.
Click on the link hereunder for the complete press release in pdf form.
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Banimmo repositions two buildings http://hugin.info/137950/R/1422143/371237.pdf
London, Mar 5 (ANI): Pamela Anderson has said that she agreed to participate in ‘Dancing With The Stars’ so that she could “keep out of trouble”.
The ‘Baywatch’ beauty will be perfecting her steps to compete in the upcoming series of the hit U.S. talent show.
And Anderson has now confessed that she signed up for the series to distract herself from her personal issues.
The starlet recently split from her boyfriend and is facing a string of lawsuits over the renovation of her California mansion.
“I”m having the best time, this will keep me out of trouble. It”s stimulation, mentally, physically and emotionally. It has my focus and I”ve always wanted to learn how to dance. Maybe I”ll get in shape as well. This is a leap of faith. I”ll learn a life skill. I”m a romantic, I”m putting my heart into this,” the Daily Star quoted her as saying. (ANI)
Agra, Sep 19(ANI): People of all religions and communities gathered to celebrate the 405th anniversary of the installation of the Sikh holy scriptures, Sri Guru Granth Sahib, at Gurudwara Maithan in Agra.
This was a significant landmark for the Sikhs, as the 275-year-old handwritten scripture, whose front pages are written with gold, was put on display for the devotees.
“The Guru Granth Sahib has the preaching or ‘bani’ of famous poets like Kabir ji, Guru Ravidas ji and Baba Farid ji. It is symbol of humanity and so people of all the religions have gathered here to celebrate the ‘Prakash Parv’, the installation ceremony together,” said Kanwldeep Singh, President of Sri Gursikh Sabha.
Also on display was a miniature scripture of Guru Granth Sahib, which has been preserved at the Gurudwara Maithan for the past 15 years.
“We have Guru Granth sahib of 1 X 1 inches long. The British for the convenience of Sikh soldiers especially designed the holy book during the First World War, as they could not carry a normal sized book in the battlefield. The miniature Guru Granth Sahib was printed in Germany. It was kept in a silver box,” said Gyani Kashmir Singh, head Granthi of Gurudwara Maithan.
To mark the anniversary of the installation of Guru Granth Sahib, special prayers were also held in the Gurudwara premises, which once the house of Mai jassi that was visited by Guru Sri Tegh Bahadur.he gurudwara is currently undergoing renovation and will be expanded to facilitate the large number of devotees visiting the shrine.
A total of 20 million dollars will be spent on renovation and construction of new Gurudwara, a 100-bed hospital and a community hall.
Gurudwara Maithan also upheld the tradition of Langar, which has been followed over the centuries. Guru Arjan Dev and Mata Ganga set the precedent of preparing and serving food to the hungry, in the langar hall, where all social, economic and religious barriers collapse and all – the laborer, the lord, the peasant and the prince, are treated alike and served the same food in the same manner.
This is a practice of great social significance, and it is the key to the understanding of Sikhism. By Brijesh Sharma (ANI)
Mumbai, Sep.9 (ANI): Police inspector Prakash Bhoite on Wednesday told a special trial court here that the terrorists involved in the 26/11 attacks on Mumbai, had planted two powerful bombs with timers in metal boxes at different places near the Taj Hotel with notes scribbled in Urdu saying “this is pointer to war”.
Bhoite told Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam that one of the boxes in which these bombs and notes were found was located near the hotel where renovation work of Gateway of India was in progress. The second box was located near the Gokul Hotel behind Taj Hotel.
Both boxes contained eight kg of RDX with timers.
Nikam said that the version of the witness fortified the case of the prosecution that the aim of terrorists was not only to create terror in Mumbai but also to wage a war against India.
Bhoite said he was on duty at the Colaba Police station on the day of terror attacks when he heard the shots being fired outside.
He said he rushed outside and learnt that two persons had entered Taj Hotel after firing at customers inside and outside Cafe Leopold.
Bhoite further said he was asked to look for explosives, and during the search, he found two boxes near the Taj Hotel laden with explosives.
The bomb detection and disposal squad was immediately summoned which defused the bombs, he told the trial court. (ANI)
Srinagar, Sep 7 (ANI): Kashmir’s heritage Emporium Garden is all set to get a facelift with the state government planning to spend rupees 15 million to restore the garden to its lost glory.
Located in Srinagar, the garden used to be under the British residency during the state’s erstwhile Dogra era, and the Britishers had planted many exquisite plants and flowers in this garden, which used to be a major tourist attraction before insurgency broke out in the valley.
Now once again, the authorities are working hard to beautify and renovate the garden.
“We have instructions to beautify the garden as fast as we can. And after a month you will see the garden in a new form. We have divided the work into three phases. Short term, where we can work immediately, mid term, where we can work on enhancing the garden all through the year and long term, that entails all the work that we can do in long term, to beautify the garden further and to present this garden to the people.
The people can come and witness for themselves how the garden has been restored to its lost glory,” said Ghulam Sarwar Naquash Director, Floriculture.
With the renovation work in full swing, residents hopes of seeing the garden restored to its lost glory are revived.
“Earlier lots of tourists used to come here, there used to be a fair as well but the deterioration in the situation in the valley also took toll on the garden as people stopped coming here. But now the work is being done to restore the garden and again we hope that once again the tourists will start coming here and fair will be held like it used to be in the earlier days,” said Shabir Ahmed, a resident.
The beautification plan focuses on the integrated development of the garden complex, with landscaping of the lawns, repair of the drainage system.
The authorities hope that the restoration of the Emporium Garden will help to develop the site as a hot spot for tourists. (ANI)
London, July 16 (ANI): Justin Timberlake’s massive investment of 16 million dollars into his Tennessee golf course has turned it into the first environmentally friendly course.
The golfing industry’s Audubon Classic Sanctuary Program has certified the luxury Mirimichi resort, previously known as Big Creek Golf Course, as a first of its kind.
“As the first project in the United States to receive Audubon International’s Classic Sanctuary certification, Mirimichi has set the bar very high with their strong commitment to environmental stewardship and the ingenuity they have employed during this process,” the Daily Star quoted Audubon programme director Nancy E. Richardson as saying.
The golf-mad singer had paid special attention to turning the Woodstock grounds into a green haven during its renovation.
Mirimichi’s general manager, Greg King, said: “Creating an eco-friendly course was a priority throughout the renovations. We wanted to create a world-class golf experience that protected and enhanced nature’s canvas.”
The place is scheduled to open on 25 July. (ANI)
New Delhi, July 12 (ANI): The Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) after its two-day meet to discuss the Kerala Party matters found the Kerala CM Achuthanandan guilty of violating party’s decipline and removed him from politburo.
“The Central Committee decided that in view of the violations of the organisational principle and discipline by Com. V.S. Achuthanandan, he should be removed from the Polit Bureau. Com. Achuthanandan is the senior most leader who has made a big contribution to the Party in Kerala. The Central Committee expected Com. V.S. to fulfill his responsibilities as the Chief Minister and as a leader of the Party,” stated a communiqué of the CPI (M).
Besides, the committee examined the report submitted by the Polit Bureau on the SNC Lavalin contract for the renovation and modernisation of three hydroelectric projects in Kerala which were entered into by the UDF government in 1995-96 and which were subsequently implemented by the LDF government.
The Central Committee was of the view that Comrade Pinarayi Vijayan, secretary of the Kerala State Committee and the Electricity Minister in the then LDF government between 1996-98 was not involved in any corrupt practice whatsoever.
The Committee reiterated that the Party will fight the case politically and legally,” said a communiqué of the CPI (M) on Sunday.
“The Kerala State Committee should unify the entire Party and go to the people with the political and organisational tasks which have been spelt out in the review of the Lok Sabha elections, stated the release.
The Central Committee authorised the Polit Bureau to take necessary steps to implement the Central Committee’s decisions. (ANI)
Shimla, July 9 (ANI): A play based on a famous Indian novel, Devdas was recently staged at 122-year-old Gaiety theatre to pay tributes to some eminent theatre artistes and playwrights.
‘Devdas’ was performed by some promising theatre artistes to pay tributes to late theatre personalities like Habib Tanvir and Manohar Singh.
The director of the play, Abhimanyu felt that the play was perfect to pay tribute to the unforgettable theatre personalities.
“It is a proud moment for us to pay tribute to such personalities because they have given us a path on which we are supposed to walk among all the hurdles and in the end we will reach our destination where we can earn honour and dignity for ourselves. Even they earned it after much hard work and we salute them for that,” said Abhimanyu.
Residents were very happy to see young artists performing in Gaiety where actors like Prithvi Raj Kapoor, K.L Saigal, Pran, Prem Chopra, Anupam Kher, Shashi Kapoor, Jennifer Kendall and Naseeruddin Shan have given performances. Novelist Rudyard Kipling too has performed on the Gaiety stage.
“A tribute to the senior artistes that is what this play is all about. As you just said that the play has been performed on the stage for the first time after its reopening on June 25, I think it’s a great tribute to the artistes who have gone,” said Captain Dhiman, a resident.
Built by the British in 1889, in Victorian gothic style and said to be a copy of the Royal Albert hall in London, the theatre was closed for renovation and was reopened on June 25. By Hemant Chauhan(ANI)
New Delhi, July 7 (ANI): The University Grants Commission has allowed deemed universities to eliminate ‘deemed’ from their name, and identify themselves as universities, minister of state for higher education D Purandeswari on Tuesday said.
Purandeswari told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply that the UGC has granted the use of term ‘University’ for such institutions.
the decision was taken following a recommendation in this regard by a committee comprising heads of UGC and All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) and a former secretary of higher education.
The government has granted deemed university status to 128 institutions by June this year, including 62 in the last five years.
Tamil Nadu has the maximum 29 such institutions followed by Maharashtra (21), Karnataka (15), Delhi (11) and Uttar Pradesh (10), she said.
The increase in the number of deemed universities has attracted criticism from several quarters.
The government-appointed committee on ‘Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher Education’, headed by Prof Yashpal, has suggested that grant of such status be put on hold till rationale guidelines are evolved. (ANI)
New Delhi June24 (ANI): Union Human resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said here today that the recommendations given by the Prof Yashpal committee on Renovation and Rejuvenation of Higher education will be implemented in the first 100 days of the UPA Government.
The committee was constituted in February 2008 to study the functioning of different agencies in higher education and to suggest measures to restructure the system .
The committee had submitted its interim report in March this year.
The committee had observed that there is too much inspection, interference and delay in the dealings of universities with the state and central governments, and recommended for an efficient funding management of the higher education.
Prof Yashpal had suggested converting all IITs and IIMs as Universities. The committee felt that the universities should become self-regulating partners in managing the overall education system as continuous monitoring and inspection caused delays and led to corruption. (ANI)
Kisama (Nagaland), May 20 (ANI): In an effort to preserve ‘Morungs’, the traditional Naga bachelors’ dormitories in Nagaland, various steps have been initiated to promote ‘Morung’ culture.
‘Morung’ has been an integral part of the Naga villages, irrespective of tribe, since time immemorial.
To showcase and enlighten the younger generation about the Naga way of life including the cultural traditions of the bygone era, ‘Morungs’ of 16 different Naga tribes have been replicated at the Naga Heritage Village, Kisama.
Through to the efforts of the Kohima-based Cultural Promotion Society, Kohima and a few other voluntary fora, various projects on revival and renovation of ‘Morung’ culture are in progress.
“We want to preserve and renovate these cultural treasures. We believe in preservation of this age-old culture, traditions and artifacts besides taking forward the information associated with these valuable remnants,” said Keneizezo Yiese, President, Cultural Promotion Society, Kohima.
Each of the ‘Morungs’ usually lasts for a decade. At Kisama, a Morung was last set up in 2003 and now it is around seven years old.
The ‘Morungs’ showcase the material that is used to build it up since the days of yore but at the same time, efforts are on to enhance its longevity.
“Our forefathers used to bring the young ones here and narrate valuable experiences of life, things pertaining to warfare, consciousness of tradition and culture, the status of men in village, how to conduct war and also to defend villages,” said Sadikuolie Khezie, a resident.
Ever since the annual Hornbill Festival was planned, the Government of Nagaland has endeavoured to showcase the traditional Naga ‘Morungs’ to the rest of the world. By Vibhou Ganguly (ANI)
Nicosia, May 19 (ANI): Iran has announced that next week it will put a steel mill into operation in Khuzestan Province, becoming one of the world’s ten producers of wide steel sheets and Middle East’s only country to do so.
Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization has invested 370 million dollars plus 3.5 trillion Iranian rials in the project to produce 1.05 million tons of steel sheets of up to 4.5 meters width per annum, the Mehr News Agency reported.
Mohammad Masood Sameie Nejad Deputy Industries and Mines Minister for mining and mining industries affairs announced that Iran’s steel production surpassed 15 million tons. He added that giant projects are becoming operational in various parts of the country.
World crude steel production for the 66 countries reporting to the World Steel Association was 84 million metric tons in February 2009, showing 22 per cent lower than February 2008.
Crude steel production showed a continued decrease in nearly all the major steel-producing countries in February 2009 compared to the same month in 2008, except for Iran and China.
Iran recorded an increase of 15.9 per cent in February 2009 (compared to February 2008), producing 0.9 million metric tons of crude steel.
The Middle East is the only region showing production growth this month. (ANI)
Kochi, May 6 (ANI): An angry Congress party on Wednesday called for a 12-hour shutdown across Kerala in response to the clean chit given to CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan in connection with the SNC Lavalin graft case.
Kerala Advocate General C P Sudhakara Prasad said Vijayan need not to be prosecuted in the case relating to renovation and modernisation of three hydel projects in the state in late 1990s.
Vijayan, who had been under the scanner in the case, was State Electricity Minister when the SNC Lavalin scam broke out 12 years ago.
SNC Lavalin power scandal is one of the biggest financial scams to rock Kerala.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India report indicted a CPI(M)-led government of the mid-1990s for a Rs 374.50 crore loss to the exchequer.
Vijayan figured as the ninth accused in a charge sheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Later, the CBI moved to seek the Government”s consent to prosecute him.
Claus Trendl, Senior Vice President of the Canadian firm SNC Lavalin, has been arraigned as the eleventh accused and A Francis, former Joint Secretary (Power) as the tenth accused. There are totally eleven accused in the case.
Among the other accused are: K Mohanachandran, Former Principal Secretary (Power) and former Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) Chairman, who is the first accused, G Rajashekharan Nair, former Member (Accounts) (second accused) and P A Sidharthan Menon, former KSEB Chairman.
Three hydel power stations had to be upgraded at Pallivasal, Sengulam and Panniar. Tenders were invited and was finalised to an Indian consortium and a Canadian MNC.
The foreign company quoted Rs 2.42 crore per MW, the Indian consortium – BHEL and LandT – sought Rs 1.25 per MW. The contract went to the higher bidder, contrary to normal practice. (ANI)
Kochi, May 6 (ANI): CPI-M state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan has been given a cheat in connection with the SNC Lavalin graft case.
Kerala Advocate General C P Sudhakara Prasad said Vijayan need not to be prosecuted in the case relating to renovation and modernisation of three hydel projects in the state in late 1990s.
Vijayan, who had been under the scanner in the case, was State Electricity Minister when the SNC Lavalin scam broke out 12 years ago.
SNC Lavalin power scandal is one of the biggest financial scams to rock Kerala.
The Comptroller and Auditor General of India report indicted a CPI(M)-led government of the mid-1990s for a Rs 374.50 crore loss to the exchequer.
Vijayan figured as the ninth accused in a charge sheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Later, the CBI moved to seek the Government’s consent to prosecute him.
Claus Trendl, Senior Vice President of the Canadian firm SNC Lavalin, has been arraigned as the eleventh accused and A Francis, former Joint Secretary (Power) as the tenth accused. There are totally eleven accused in the case.
Among the other accused are: K Mohanachandran, Former Principal Secretary (Power) and former Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) Chairman, who is the first accused, G Rajashekharan Nair, former Member (Accounts) (second accused) and P A Sidharthan Menon, former KSEB Chairman.
Three hydel power stations had to be upgraded at Pallivasal, Sengulam and Panniar. Tenders were invited and was finalised to an Indian consortium and a Canadian MNC.
The foreign company quoted Rs 2.42 crore per MW, the Indian consortium – BHEL and LandT – sought Rs 1.25 per MW. The contract went to the higher bidder, contrary to normal practice. (ANI)
New Delhi, April 20 (IANS) The Supreme Court Monday decided it will hear in May a lawsuit that alleges delay in sanction by the Kerala government to prosecute former state power minister and Communist Party of India-Marxist state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan in a corruption case.
The aex court had initially declined to hear the public interest lawsuit and dismissed it. But on MOnday, a bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justice P. Sathasivam decided to hear it in May after counsel for K.B. Suresh, who brought the PIL, insisted it has merit.
Kerala-based scribe T.P. Nandkumar has approached the apex court against a Kerala High Court order of Feb 12, 2009, that dismissed his contention that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) was delaying the trial of Pinarayi Vijayan and two state bureaucrats on the pretext that the government has not given permission to prosecute them.
The other two accused in the case, besides Vijayan, are former power secretary K. Mohana Chandran and former joint secretary (power) A Francis.
Nandkmar had contended before the high court that the CBI, which probed the graft case, did not need any government approval to prosecute them as they were not entitled to legal protection from trial for corrupt acts.
Vjayan faced a CBI probe for his alleged role in awarding a contract in 1997 for renovation and modernisation of two hydro-power plants in the state to Canadian firm SNC Lavalin without any competitive bidding.
The government’s official auditor later found that the award of the contract by the Kerala State Electricity Board to the Canadian firm at the behest of the minister had resulted in a loss of Rs.3.5 billion to the state exchequer.
The contract had allegedly been given to the Canadian firm ignoring a Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited report, which had said that the renovation of three power plants could have been achieved at a cost of less than Rs.1 billion.
Nandkumar had approached the high court alleging that the state government was not keen to prosecute Vijayan and two bureaucrats though a corruption case against them was lodged in February 2005.
He also contended that that there has been no progress in the investigation.
But the high court disposed of scribe’s plea after the state government said that the CBI has approached it for approval for trial of the former minister and the bureaucrats, and that it was examining the plea.
Indo Asian News Service
Moscow – Russia on Sunday re-opned its cosmonauts museum after three years of renovation and expansion work. The Moscow museum, opened on the annual Cosmonauts Day, is four times as large as the previous faciltiy.
Moscow mayor Yuri Luskhov said at the opening ceremonies that Russia now had a museum where people could grasp the “magnificence of space.” There was nothing comparable to it anywhere else in the world.
April 12 is celebrated every year as Cosmonauts Day, marking the April 12, 1961 first-ever successful flight in space by a human, when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbited the earth.
The 8,000-square-metre Russian space museum features some 3,500 exhibits focuses on Soviet and Russian space exploration and research. Among others, there is a full scale model of the Soviet-era space station Mir which visitors can walk through.
The museum also includes a cinema and classrooms for visits by schoolchildren, as well as a shop selling space food items. (dpa)
London, Apr 5 (ANI): It might sound a bit eccentric, but Iraq is offering Saddam Hussein’s palatial boudoir to newlyweds to make their first night extra special.
The ex-dictator’s bedroom is on offer for 150-pound a night. At the moment Hussein’s presidential palace, which includes Roman columns, chandeliers and gargantuan bathrooms, is undergoing renovation in the town of Hillah, some 60 miles south of Baghdad.
“We hope that many people will visit,” The Times quoted a tourism official, as saying.
The palace is one of several reserved for the exclusive pleasure of the dictator, who was deposed in 2003 and executed in 2006.
Till 2005, the mansion was occupied by US troops.
However, now outlying buildings that used to house soldiers from Saddam’s special guard have been turned into luxury hotel rooms with televisions and king-size beds.
“I’ve been here three years and I can’t tell you how many bedrooms or bathrooms there are,” said Abdul Satar Naji, in charge of security at the palace.
The honeymoon offer, however, has received mixed reviews from Iraqis.
“I don’t think it would be an easy thing for newlyweds to sleep on the bed of a dead person,” said Khalid Al-Lizan, an Iraqi who recently went on his honeymoon to Syria. (ANI)
The Mumbai Police Crime Branch on Wednesday booked a sitting Shiv Sena corporator and six other alleged members of the Pandav Putra gang under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) for attempting to extort Rs 13 lakh from a person who wanted to renovate a room owned by him and sell it.
On March 24, Unit 2 of the Crime Branch had arrested Vijay Anand Vashirde (60), a Shiv Sena corporator from Ward 217, for accepting an extortion amount on behalf of the Pandav Putra gang. Six other accused identified as Mukesh Sondagar (32), Zakir Shaikh (32), Nisar Shaikh (43), Tabrez Maqbool (28), Laxman Kiran (27) and Siddharth Maekar alias Sidhu (30) were also arrested. All of them are allegedly members of the Pandav Putra gang headed by Deepak Walekar, who is charged with MCOCA and currently lodged in jail.
“Today we have applied MCOCA on Vashirde and the other arrested accused in the case, and have informed the special MCOCA court. All the accused have been remanded to police custody till April 9,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria.
According to the police, two months ago, the complainant sold a room located in 7th Kumbharwada lane to a person for Rs 25 lakh. The buyer told the complainant he would pay him if the room was renovated, to which the complainant agreed and started the repair work. Sondagar, who stays in the same building, provided the tip off to Sidhu who was controlling the gang. Sidhu demanded an amount of Rs 13 lakh from the complainant for allowing the renovation to continue following which a complaint was lodged with the Crime Branch and a trap was laid.
After changing locations to two different hotels, the extortionists called the complainant to a hotel in Kalbadevi where Sondagar, Zakir and Nisar asked for the money. Before handing over the amount, the complainant asked for a guarantee that he would not be harassed further. The trio took the complainant to another restaurant where Vashirde met them and took delivery of the cash.
The Mumbai Police Crime Branch on Wednesday booked a sitting Shiv Sena corporator and six other alleged members of the Pandav Putra gang under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) for attempting to extort Rs 13 lakh from a person who wanted to renovate a room owned by him and sell it.
On March 24, Unit 2 of the Crime Branch had arrested Vijay Anand Vashirde (60), a Shiv Sena corporator from Ward 217, for accepting an extortion amount on behalf of the Pandav Putra gang. Six other accused identified as Mukesh Sondagar (32), Zakir Shaikh (32), Nisar Shaikh (43), Tabrez Maqbool (28), Laxman Kiran (27) and Siddharth Maekar alias Sidhu (30) were also arrested. All of them are allegedly members of the Pandav Putra gang headed by Deepak Walekar, who is charged with MCOCA and currently lodged in jail.
“Today we have applied MCOCA on Vashirde and the other arrested accused in the case, and have informed the special MCOCA court. All the accused have been remanded to police custody till April 9,” said Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Rakesh Maria.
According to the police, two months ago, the complainant sold a room located in 7th Kumbharwada lane to a person for Rs 25 lakh. The buyer told the complainant he would pay him if the room was renovated, to which the complainant agreed and started the repair work. Sondagar, who stays in the same building, provided the tip off to Sidhu who was controlling the gang. Sidhu demanded an amount of Rs 13 lakh from the complainant for allowing the renovation to continue following which a complaint was lodged with the Crime Branch and a trap was laid.
After changing locations to two different hotels, the extortionists called the complainant to a hotel in Kalbadevi where Sondagar, Zakir and Nisar asked for the money. Before handing over the amount, the complainant asked for a guarantee that he would not be harassed further. The trio took the complainant to another restaurant where Vashirde met them and took delivery of the cash.
New York, Mar 31 (ANI): The Obamas are using their own money to renovate the White House, forgoing the 100,000 dollars in federal funds that is traditionally allotted to new presidents for such renovation projects.
First Lady Michelle Obama’s communications director Camille Johnston said that the Obamas, who are worth millions, will pay to overhaul the White House residence from their own pockets.
“The Obamas have determined now is not the time to use taxpayer funds and they will not be accepting any donations,” the New York Daily News quoted Johnston, as saying.
The Obamas recently spent a few thousand dollars of their own to pay for a South Lawn swing set for daughters Malia and Sasha.
They have hired pricey Hollywood decorator Michael S. Smith to redesign the interior of the Executive Mansion. (ANI)
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