Asian Lite News Archive

Category: USA News

  • Prevent Blindness elects Bradly D’Souza to the Board of Directors

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    The Ohio Affiliate of Prevent Blindness, the state’s leading volunteer nonprofit public health organization dedicated to its mission to prevent blindness and preserve sight, elected Cincinnati resident Bradly D’Souza, Product Specialist, Tesla Motors, to the Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting on May 18, 2015 for a three year term. Bradly, also a student…

  • Air France jet escorted by US fighters

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    An Air France passenger jet coming from Paris was escorted by two US F-15 fighter jets to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport after an anonymous telephone threat, authorities said. Local media reported  that the unidentified caller said that the Air France plane had a chemical weapon on board. The FBI said in a…

  • Sajid Javid shuts Lord Dannatt on Iraq

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    British troops will not get back into Iraq despite the country teetering on the verge of collapse to ISIS, a top Cabinet minister revealed this morning. Business Secretary Sajid Javid admitted more troops were needed on the ground – but insisted: ‘This is not a war on the ground for British troops.’ It comes after ISIS…

  • John Nash dies in car crash

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    Mathematician John Nash, who won the Nobel Prize in 1994 and was the inspiration for the film “A Beautiful Mind”, died on the weekend along with his wife in a New Jersey taxi accident, media reported. He was 86. According to reports, the driver of the cab in which Nash and his 82-year-old wife Alicia…

  • US Senate blocks NSA bill

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    The US Senate has rejected a bill that would curb the country’s National Security Agency (NSA)’s bulk collection of telephone data, leaving it uncertain the fate of the once-secret program ahead of its expiration at the end of the month. The bill, USA Freedom Act, which would have ended the NSA’s bulk collection but preserved…

  • US ‘much closer’ to opening embassy in Havana

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    The US and Cuba ended  their fourth round of negotiations to restore diplomatic relations, with the message that the opening of embassies is now “much closer” and that the last obstacles will be overcome in the coming weeks, though not necessarily with another high-profile gathering. The meeting that began  in Washington could be the last…

  • NY woman jailed for killing of Hindu man

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    A New York woman who said she hates Hindus and killed a Hindu man by pushing him under a metro train has been sentenced to 24 years in prison, a local has prosecutor announced. When Erika Menendez was arrested after killing Sunnando Sen in December 2012, she told the police: “I hate Muslims and the…

  • Unfinished memoirs of Orson Welles found

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    Experts from the University of Michigan have said that they had found an unfinished personal memoir of celebrated filmmaker Orson Welles, Efe news agency reported . The draft was found among the possessions of the late filmmaker that the university acquired in Croatia from his companion of 24 years, Oja Kodar. “One of the interesting…

  • Obama: US not losing fight against ISIS

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    President Barack Obama said in an interview published that the US is not losing the fight against the Islamic State radical group in Iraq and Syria, but he acknowledged that it will be necessary to intensify the training of Sunni militias in some zones to support Iraqi military forces. “I don’t think we’re losing. There’s…

  • Paralysed man controls robotic arm

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    In a pioneering feat, a team of US scientists has developed a novel system that allows a patient to control the movement of his robotic arm with his intention. The researchers from California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Keck Medicine of University of Southern California surgically implanted a chip in that portion of the brain…

  • A Mary controls Hillary’s Twitter account

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    Ever heard of Mary Jo Brown? Well, she is the proud manager of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s Twitter account – for a while though. Owner of the Brown and Company Design, a print and web design studio in New Hampshire, she tweeted @HillaryClinton: “Hi there! I’m Mary Jo “mom, small business owner, and Granite…

  • US, Cuba talks extended

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    The US and Cuba ended their latest round of talks on normalising relations and reopening embassies without results, but agreed to continue the negotiations, a State Department spokesperson said. “Talks between Cuba and the US have concluded for the day,” spokesperson Marie Harf tweeted. “They will continue tomorrow, followed by press availabilities.” The State Department…

  • Obama’s favourable ratings hits high

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    Americans’ favourable ratings of US President Barack Obama now stand at 53 percent, which marks his highest score since September 2013, Gallup found in a poll released . This comes after a year in which these ratings were mostly below the 50 percent level, according to the May 6-10 poll. The recent increase in how…

  • US ambassador walks down memory lane

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    It was a trip down memory lane for US Ambassador Richard R. Verma, whose visit to his maternal grandmother’s house in Punjab turned emotional on Thursday. As he stepped in the house in the narrow lane of Basti Sheikh in old Jalandhar, now owned by couple Rakesh Gupta and Priya Gupta, his immediate response was:…

  • US threatens not to sign n-deal with Iran

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    Washington has threatened “not to sign” a final nuclear agreement with Tehran unless the Iranian government gives access to its possible military dimension-related sites and nuclear scientists. “If we don’t get the assurances we need on the access to possible military dimension-related sites or activities, that’s going to be a problem for us,” State Department…

  • ‘Bin Laden was dedicated to family’

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    Declassified documents here about Osama bin Laden reveal that he was a dedicated family man who constantly worried about his four wives, 20 children and other relatives and who sometimes issued detailed instructions about how they should conduct themselves. Bin Laden took minute interest in the marriage plans of his son Khalid to the daughter…

  • US launches secret space plane X-37B

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    The US Air Force’s mysterious X-37B space plane was launched  for its fourth secret space mission. The reusable, unmanned X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle lifted off atop an Atlas V rocket at 11:05 a.m. from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The US Air Force did not say how long the X-37B will remain in orbit, but each of…

  • Will not succumb under pressure: Khamenei

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    Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said  that Tehran would not accept “unreasonable demands” by world powers during negotiations over its disputed nuclear programme, and ruled out letting inspectors interview its atomic scientists. “They (P5+1 countries) are making new comments in the nuclear negotiations. Regarding the inspections, we have said that we will not allow…

  • US upbeat on talks with Cuba

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    A senior US official has expressed optimism about the upcoming talks here with Cuba, saying that the two sides are “closer” to restoring diplomatic ties. “We’ve clearly gotten closer and worked our way to a fewer number of items on the checklist,” a senior State Department official told reporters in a teleconference . “That’s the…

  • @POTUS breaks Guinness world record

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    US President Barack Obama broke a Guinness record by becoming the fastest person to garner one million followers on Twitter, a feat he accomplished in less than five hours with his new account @POTUS, Efe news agency reported. Guinness World Records, which verifies and keeps an official list of world records, said on Tuesday on…

  • Arun Singh presents credentials to Obama

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      India’s new ambassador to the US, Arun Kumar Singh formally presented his credentials to President Barrack Obama at a ceremony in his Oval Office at the White House. Obama warmly welcomed Singh back to Washington and wished him success in his new responsibilities as India’s envoy to the US. He fondly recalled his visit…

  • Finally Obama opens a Twitter account

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    “Dad, husband, and 44th President of the United States.” With this message, US president Barack Obama has joined Twitter with his personal account. According to the New York Times, his first post from @POTUS twitter handle on Monday included a greeting — “Hello, Twitter! It’s Barack. Really!” “Six years in, they’re finally giving me my…

  • Bobby Jindal testing waters for 2016

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    By Arun Kumar   Louisiana’s Indian-American Governor Bobby Jindal has taken another step towards a possible 2016 presidential run by forming an exploratory committee and launching a national website, www.bobbyjindal.com. Though Jindal has said he still isn’t an official candidate yet, he is expected to formally enter the race after the Louisiana Legislature adjourns on June…

  • Pakistan condemns US drone strike

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    Pakistan condemned a recent US drone strike in the country’s North Waziristan tribal region which killed at least six people. Security officials said the US unmanned aircraft fired missiles on a compound in the mountainous Shawal area on Saturday. Sources said some foreigners were among those killed in the strike that was carried out after…

  • NASA certifies SpaceX

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      NASA has formally certified US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corporation’s (SpaceX) Falcon 9 rocket to launch the most ambitious science missions. The Falcon 9 is now certified by NASA as a “Category 2” launch vehicle. SpaceX has successfully launched six re-supply missions to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the NASA contract. NASA…

  • Nine dead in shootout in Texas

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    At least nine people were killed and 18 injured in a shootout between rival biker gangs in Texas’ Waco city, police said . The shootout occurred in a parking lot between the Twin Peaks and Don Carlos restaurants shortly after noon, said local television station News Channel 25. All the dead – eight of whom…

  • Iran calls US sponsor of terrorism

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    Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei  called the US the “main sponsor and engineer of terrorism in the world”, as he expressed his support for the people of Yemen, IRNA reported. “Those countries which are nominally Muslims but in reality puppets are the main agents behind the crisis and insecurity in Yemen,” Iran’s official…

  • Racial balancing in Harvard admissions?

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    By Arun Kumar  A coalition of more than 60 Asian-American groups, including four Indian groups, have sought an investigation into what they allege are “discriminatory practices” in Harvard University’s admission process. In a complaint filed on Friday with justice and education departments, the coalition asked that Harvard be required to “immediately cease and desist from…

  • Indians rage over Zuckerberg’s incorrect India map

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    Indian netizens are angry with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg after he posted a map of India sans Jammu & Kashmir, Forbes reported. Zuckerberg posted the image on his Facebook page following the launch earlier this week in Malawi of the Facebook-led Internet.org. However, several Indian net users were not amused by the graphic which missed…

  • Indian generic drugs under scanner in US

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    A US class action lawsuit accusing India’s Ranbaxy of large-scale deception on its generic drug applications puts a question mark on drug imports from India, the largest supplier of generic drugs to the US. The problem of lack of compliance with US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance and gaps in protocol make it difficult…

  • Foreign policy poll looks good for Hillary

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    By Arun Kumar  Americans are more likely to say Hillary Clinton would do a good job handling foreign affairs as president, but they believe her greatest strength would be race relations, according to a new poll. The former first lady, who is the leading hopeful for Democratic nomination for the 2016 race to the White…

  • Boston bomber sentenced to death

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    A US jury has sentenced Dzokhar Tsarnaev to death by lethal injection for his role in killing three people and injuring hundred others in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombings. Tsarnaev, 21, a Kyrgyzstan-born US citizen, was sentenced by a federal jury in Boston. Three people were killed and 260 injured when Tsarnaev and his brother…

  • US-India defence cooperation approved

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    By Arun Kumar  Reflecting the solid bipartisan support for building US-India relationship, the US House of Representatives Friday passed a key measure calling for expansion of US-India defence cooperation. In addition to urging an overall expansion in defence ties, an amendment to the FY2016 National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) specifically calls for the US to…

  • Wreckage of missing US helicopter in Nepal found

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     More than 60 hours after it was reported missing, a search and rescue mission recovered the debris of a US helicopter that crashed in the mountainous terrain of Nepal. The UH-1Y Huey helicopter, which carried six US Marines and two Nepali soldiers, was found on the northern slope of Kalinchowk hill in Dolakha district, e-Kantipur…

  • NSA’s data collection programme shut

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    The US House of Representatives has voted to terminate the National Security Agency’s telephone data collection programme, declared “illegal” in a federal court last week, Efe news agency reported. The House on Wednesday approved by a 388-88 vote a bipartisan legislative proposal known as the USA Freedom Act, which prohibits the mass collection of telephone…

  • Hinduism becomes fourth-largest faith in US

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    By Arul Louis  Fueled by immigration, America’s Hindu population has reached 2.23 million, an increase of about one million or 85.8 percent 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 percent in 2007…

  • No clue of missing US Marine chopper

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    By Anil Giri    The armies of Nepal and the US have launched a joint search operation to trace a Marine chopper that went missing from Sunkhani in Charikot district, 67 km northeast of Kathmandu. The US Defense Department said the missing UH-1 Huey, carrying six Marines and two Nepal Army soldiers, had dropped off supplies,…

  • ISS astronauts’ return delayed

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    The return of three International Space Station (ISS) astronauts, originally scheduled for later this week, has been delayed due to the failure of a Russian cargo spacecraft. The spacecraft, Progress 59, launched by a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan on April 28, failed to dock with the ISS after suffering a…

  • Another white officer walks free in US

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    By Arun Kumar   Yet another white police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager in March in one of a spate of similar incidents sparking protests around America will not face criminal charges. Tony Robinson Jr, a 19-year-old black man was fatally shot by white police officer Matt Kenny in Madison, Wisconsin, on…

  • NRI scientist develops new tool for cancer diagnosis

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    Rohit Bhargava, an IIT-Delhi graduate and now with University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has developed stainless staining that provides a new tool for clinicians and researchers for better diagnosis of cancer. Till date, prepared biopsy samples are stained and examined under a light microscope. Using infrared spectroscopic imaging for microscopy, Bhargava has reported the development…

  • Obama’s presidential library to be built in Chicago

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    The future library and museum commemorating Barack Obama’s two presidential terms will be built in Chicago, the US president’s foundation said. The project, which includes the construction of an academic institute, will occupy land provided by City Hall in a public park that will be identified on Tuesday at noon, when the university that will…

  • India show ‘concern’ in US’ rights record

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    As violence continues in Baltimore in the US following the custodial death of a black man, India has pointed out areas of “concern” regarding the US’ human rights record, including “deficiencies in law enforcement procedures and disproportionate use of force”. In a statement, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN at Geneva Ajit Kumar acknowledged the…

  • King Salman calls Obama after cancelling US visit

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    President Barack Obama spoke by telephone with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, one day after Riyadh announced that the monarch will not attend a US summit of Persian Gulf leaders scheduled for later this week. The White House said that Salman called the president on to “apologise” for not being able to come to Washington this…

  • US approves Arctic drilling

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    The US has granted conditional approval to energy giant Shell to begin oil drilling in the Arctic waters off the coast of Alaska. The interior department wrote in a statement, issued on Monday, that Shell could begin drilling in the Chukchi Sea once several environmental conditions are met, including a sign-off from agencies assessing the…

  • Is Obama planning to ‘invade’ Texas?

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    By Arun Kumar    American politics can sometimes border on the bizarre. Conspiracy theorists would have one believe that Democratic President Barack Obama is hatching a secret plot to invade the Republican-ruled southern American state of Texas and impose martial law? Rumours gained traction after Texas Governor Greg Abbott vowing to “protect Texas” ordered the state…

  • Obama surprises three with Mother’s Day calls

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    US President Barack Obama surprised three women this week when he called them to congratulate them for Mother’s Day, which is celebrated on the second Sunday in May, the White House has said. What the three mothers had in common was they had written a letter to the president in recent months and received a…

  • US war with Russia possible: Ben Carson

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    A 2016 US Republican presidential candidate has declared that a US military attack against Russia would be likely in the future in order to protect the American people. “If the interest and the existence and the safety of the people of the US was at stake — and that was the only way to protect…

  • US labels Al Jazeera bureau chief as Al Qaeda member

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    The US government has labelled Al Jazeera’s bureau chief in Pakistan’s capital as a member of Al Qaeda and put him on a watch list of suspected terrorists, an online magazine reported. Ahmad Muaffaq Zaidan, a Syrian national based in Islamabad, has covered the Taliban and Al Qaeda throughout his career and has conducted a…

  • US ready to discuss Greenpeace and Ford Foundation

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     US envoy Richard Verma  called for a dialogue with the Narendra Modi government to discuss the recent clampdown on Greenpeace India and the Ford Foundation. “I think we should (have a dialogue). It is for Indian officials to raise their concerns and I certainly am raising my concerns with them,” Verma told news channel CNN-IBN…

  • US military bases on high alert

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    The Pentagon decided to raise the alert at all its military bases and installations in the US, to “Force Protection Bravo” level, as defence against “homegrown extremists” inspired or instigated by Islamic State (IS) jihadists. The threat level was raised by the Northern Command on Friday due to the “increased and predictable threat of terrorism”…