Devyani expresses anguish over uncertainty surrounding daughters, says she misses family

The day after she landed in New Delhi from the US, diplomat Devyani Khobragade expressed apprehension and anguish over the uncertainties surrounding her two daughters who remain in that country, and over their life together as a family.

The US State Department has said steps were being taken to â€prevent the routine issuance of any future visa” to Khobragade, and that â€a warrant may be issued for her arrest”, making it virtually impossible for her to go back.

â€I wonder if I will be able to ever reunite with my family, my husband, my little kids. I miss them,” Khobragade told The Sunday Express.

â€What if my children choose to study and work in the US? What if I can never return to the US, which I cannot now. Does it mean we will never be able to live together as a family again?,” she said, voicing what she said was one of the biggest worries on her mind currently.

She was also worried about her career, she said, and about what new posting she would be given.

â€I have returned home, and it feels good to be among people who support you, but the legal battle remains. I have come to India but my stand still needs to be vindicated. And of course, I have been separated from my family, and I am under immense stress for my children,” Khobragade said.

The diplomatâ€s two daughters, aged 7 and 4, are in New York with her husband, who is a well regarded academic in the US. The controversy and its fallout were, she said, more a personal than a professional loss for her.

â€My little kids, who have never been separated from me, are too young to realise that their mother will not return home any time soon. (That) in fact she would never return to that same house again. I spoke to my kids for hours last night, and they are already missing me. The 4-year-old asked me, â€Mommy, when will you be back homeâ€, and I had no answer,” Khobragade said, her eyes welling up.

â€The kids think I am out for some work. My little one even told me, â€Mama please get me some blue and golden bangles from India when you return. She is a great fan of ethnic jewelleryâ€.”

Her children, Khobragade said, were familiar with India. â€Both my children were born in India. I flew from Pakistan, where I was posted then, to Mumbai, for the delivery of my second child,” she said.

â€There is no one to take care of my family there. I have left the kids with my husband, but we have still not hired a help to take care of them. Everything is being done by my husband at present. My younger dau

Bill Gates most admired in world, Sachin fifth, Modi seventh: YouGov poll

Microsoft founder Bill Gates has been named as the most admired person on the planet with cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar fifth on a list of 30 people compiled after a poll in 13 countries, including India.The 'World's most admired people poll' was conducted by YouGov for The Times by surveying almost 14,000 people in Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, the US, Australia, Pakistan, Indonesia, India, China, Egypt, Nigeria and Brazil.There were four Indians in the top ten and seven overall in the list of 30 most-admired people.Sachin, 40, was fifth with six other Indians featuring in the list - BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi (7th), Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan (9th), former President Abdul Kalam (10th), social activist Anna Hazare (14th), Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal (18th) and Business tycoon Ratan Tata (30th).Gates, 58, the co-founder of Microsoft and a billionaire philanthropist, earned more admiration than US President Barack Obama who was second, Russian President Vladimir Putin (3rd), Pope Francis (4th) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (6th) to claim the title.Some interesting choices in the list of 30 were Pope Francis, The Dalai Lama (13th), American business magnate Warren Buffet (8th), Queen Elizabeth (17th) and Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie (19th).Surprisingly, there were just six women on the list of most admired people with Queen highest ranked among them.Other women to make it to the list were Jolie, US talk show host Oprah Winfrey (20th), German Chancellor Angela Merkel (26th), former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton (27th) and Chinese contemporary folk singer Peng Liyuan (28th).Sportsmen featured highly in the affections of many across the world. After Tendulkar it was Argentina footballer Lionel Messi who was 15th followed by US basketball player Michael Jordon (21) and Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo (22).Pakistani cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan was 12th on the list.No Briton featured in the world's top ten most-admired people. Stephen Hawking was placed highest, at 16th.Separate lists of the poll in different countries was also given by YouGov.In the poll in India, as expected, Tendulkar topped the list but interestingly it was Obama who came in second followed by Modi, Gates and Bachchan.