Asian Lite News Archive

Category: USA News

  • Obama not ready to endorse Hillary

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      US President Barack Obama is not ready to formally endorse his ex-secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, in her bid for the presidency because it is possible that other hopefuls for the post will appear, including other “friends” of the chief executive, the White House. A day after Clinton, who was defeated by Obama in…

  • ISIS threatens a 9/11-style attack on US

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    The Islamic State (IS) terrorist group has in a video threatened to “burn America” in a 9/11-style attack, according to media reports. The chilling IS video warns that there is “no safety for any American on the globe”, the Daily Mail reported. Titled “We Will Burn America”, the video calls on IS supporters to attack…

  • WikiLeaks accuses Hillary Clinton to stealing its logo

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    International whistleblower organisation Wikileaks has accused former US first lady and secretary of state Hillary Clinton of stealing its “innovative” Twitter logo design for her 2016 presidential campaign. The Julian Assange-led organisation tweeted on Sunday accusing Clinton of stealing their insignia for her logo, the Daily Mail reported on Monday. “Hillary Clinton has stolen our…

  • Hillary announce White House bid

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    Hillary Clinton has formally entered the 2016 race for the White House in a bid to become the first woman US president. She launched her website, telling Americans she wanted to be their “champion”. Mrs Clinton ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008 but lost to Barack Obama reported BBC. The overwhelming Democratic favourite,…

  • Indian Americans among biggest givers

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    By Arun Kumar  Two Indian Americans have been listed among the 50 biggest philanthropists of 2015 by the Town and Country Magazine with the likes of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Apple CEO Tim Cook. “These are the men and women whose serious dollars, bold ideas, and old-fashioned hard work have made them the year’s…

  • Obama talks of new approach with Cuba

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    US President Barack Obama told Cuban President Raul Castro, during their historic meeting at the 7th Summit of the Americas in Panama, that “it is time for us to try something new” with regard to Cuba because the previous US policy did not work. The long-awaited meeting, the first between the two countries’ presidents in…

  • US, Cuba hold highest-level meeting since 1959

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    US Secretary of State John Kerry and Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez held a highest-level meeting in Panama City after a period of 56 years. The last high-level meeting took place in 1959, when Cuba’s former leader Fidel Castro met then US Vice President Richard Nixon, Xinhua news agency reported . Thursday’s meeting came ahead…

  • Tulsi Gabbard to marry in Vedic ceremony

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      US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu member of the US House of Representatives, is scheduled to marry cinematographer Abraham Williams in a Vedic ceremony. The wedding will take place in Hawaii, NRI Pulse daily reported. “Tomorrow is the big day! Tulsi will marry Abraham in a traditional Hindu Vedic ceremony,” a status update…

  • Police shooting video sparks outrage in US

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    By Arun Kumar   Angry protests swept the US as a horrifying video showing a white police officer shooting eight times a black person running away from him led to the officer being charged with murder and fired. Protests began within hours of the murder charge against white South Carolina police officer Michael Thomas Slager, who…

  • US approves $952 mn military hardware to Pakistan

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    By Arun Kumar    The Obama administration has notified the US Congress it’s selling Pakistan $952 million worth of attack helicopters, air-to-surface missiles and other military assistance saying it will not alter the basic military balance in the region. The State Department has approved the sale saying the “helicopters and weapon systems will provide Pakistan with…

  • Obama reiterates support for UNSC seat for India

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      BY ARUN KUMAR President Barack Obama has reiterated US support for India’s membership of a reformed UN Security Council as he considers it a foreign policy priority to continue to strengthen India-US relationship. “What the President said was that he said in the context of a reformed Security Council that the President would support…

  • Iran and US differ on framework of n-deal

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    Iran has some different interpretations about the details of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) outlined by the US on Tehran’s nuclear programme, Xinhua reported citing Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency. Quoting a summary of the JCPOA released earlier by the Iranian foreign ministry, Iran media reported sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear programme “will…

  • Boston Marathon bomber awaits verdict

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    The trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnev and his brother Tamerlan, accused of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that left three people dead and 260 injured, is now awaiting a verdict. The defence and the prosecution made their closing arguments and the 12 jury members will begin deliberations, Efe news agency reported. The trial, which began on…

  • NRI Preet Bharara: World’s sheriff or ambitious manipulator?

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    BY Arun Kumar The enviable record of Wall Street’s Indian-American prosecutor Preet Bharara, known in India for his dogged prosecution of an Indian diplomat, has put him in the limelight, but some have also questioned his methods. Time magazine put him on the cover and Vanity Fair described him as “Wall Street’s most fearsome foe”.…

  • NRI woman jailed 20 years for female foeticide in US

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    An Indian American woman has been sentenced to 20 years in prison following her conviction last month for of female foeticide. A judge in South Bend, Indiana, announced the sentence , Public Radio International (PRI) online reported. Purvi Patel, 33, comes from a family of Indian immigrants who settled in Granger, Indiana, a suburb of…

  • Russian spacecraft docks at ISS

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     A Russian Soyuz spacecraft, with three crew on board, docked with the International Space Station (ISS), a media report said. According to a statement issued by American space agency NASA, Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, 54, and American astronaut Scott Kelly, 52, are to spend 342 days aboard the orbiting laboratory – about twice as long…

  • Obama support Saudi action in Yemen

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    US President Barack Obama spoke with Saudi King Salman, discussing recent developments in Yemen and emphasised the US support for the action taken by Saudi Arabia and Gulf Cooperation Council members, the White House has said in a statement. Both agreed that their goal is to achieve lasting stability in Yemen through a negotiated political…

  • US lawmakers seek deeper defence ties with India

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    By Arun Kumar Calling India a ‘critical ally’, two influential US senators have asked the new Defence Secretary Ashton Carter to place a special emphasis on deepening the US-India defence relationship. “The US strategic partnership with India is among our nation’s most important,” wrote Republican John Cornyn and Democrat Mark Warner, co-chairs of bipartisan Senate…

  • US economic growth slows in fourth quarter

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    US economic growth decelerated in the fourth quarter of 2014 and is likely to slow further in the first quarter of 2015 despite robust consumer spending, the US Commerce Department said on Friday, a media report said. The US economy expanded at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter, unchanged from the second…

  • US police Officer indicted for assaulting Indian grandfather

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    By Arun Kumar  An Alabama police officer who assaulted an unarmed Indian grandfather while he was taking a morning walk in front of his son’s house in a Madison suburb has been indicted by a federal grand jury. Eric Parker, the Madison police officer who slammed Sureshbhai Patel, 57, to the ground in the Feb…

  • Venezuela ready for dialogue with US

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    Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said Venezuela is ready to initiate dialogue with the US based on mutual respect and equality, and that he is prepared to speak directly with US President Barack Obama on this basis, Spanish news agency Efe reported. “Venezuela is ready for a dialogue based on respect and in terms of…

  • Kamala Harris to block ‘kill the gays’ ballot

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    California’ Indian-American Attorney General Kamala Harris has asked a state court to allow her to block a planned controversial move to put before voters a measure authorising the killing of gays and lesbians. Calling the proposed “Sodomite Suppression Act” patently unconstitutional and utterly reprehensible, Harris filed a request with the Superior Court in Sacramento Wednesday,…

  • FBI to track hate crimes

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    Six US lawmakers along with leading advocacy groups have welcomed the inclusion of Sikh, Hindu, and Arab American communities in the Department of Justice’s hate crimes tracking effort. This is the final step in the long-fought effort to encourage the US federal government to finally begin tracking and quantifying hate crimes against these at-risk communities,…

  • Obama sees Palestinian state sabotaged by Bibi

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    US President Barack Obama has said that “it’s hard to envision” the creation of a Palestinian state after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s recent remarks rejecting the idea, and that the possibilities of a lasting peace right now are “very dim”. “There still does not appear to be a prospect of a meaningful framework established…

  • Cancer treatment breakthrough by NRI professor

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    Queen’s University cancer researcher Madhuri Koti has discovered a biomarker that will help lead to better predictions of the success of chemotherapy in ovarian cancer patients. Biomarkers are an indicator of a biological state or condition, and the discovery could lead to better treatment options in the fight against ovarian cancer, according to a press…

  • Obama praises Indian-American kids

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    By Arun Kumar    President Barack Obama praised the work of young Indian-Americans as he exhorted budding American scientists to “keep exploring…keep dreaming” and use the power of their ideas to change the world. “Keep asking why. Don’t settle for what you already know,” he said as he welcomed young scientists and engineers from across the…

  • FBI hunting for Indian cyber-fugitive

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    Declaring Shivraj Singh Dabi, an Indian national, a cyber-fugitive, the FBI has put him on its most wanted list with posters in English, Punjabi and Hindi seeking information about him. Wanted by the FBI notice put out by the Federal Bureau of Investigation accuses Dabi, 42, of “Unlawful Flight to Avoid Confinement – Computer Crimes”…

  • Obama vows L-1B visa reforms

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    By Arun Kumar   Declaring that “America is proudly open for business”, President Barack announced plans to reform the L-1B visa category to allow global corporations to temporarily move workers to the US in a faster, simpler way. “And this could benefit hundreds of thousands of non-immigrant workers and their employers; that, in turn, will benefit…

  • Obama explores other avenues for a Palestinian state

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    The United States is exploring other options in its efforts to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace in light of the Israeli prime minister’s recent harmful campaign statements, President Barack Obama said. The president said that he had called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to voice his displeasure at the latter’s opposition to a Palestinian state and…

  • Obama to ‘reassess’ Israel ties

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    The US will “reassess” aspects of its relationship with Israel after Benjamin Netanyahu’s provocative statements leading up to Israeli elections, President Barack Obama told the Israeli prime minister during a phone call. The phone call on Thursday was officially described as a message of congratulations on Netanyahu’s victory, but it also carried a serious warning…

  • Obama urges Iran to grab ‘historic chance’

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    US President Barack Obama called on Iranian leaders not to miss a “historic opportunity” to reach a reasonable nuclear deal, saying such a moment “may not come again soon”. In a video message to mark Nowruz (Persian New Year), Obama on Thursday said this is “the best opportunity in decades to pursue a different future…

  • Obama regrets not closing Guantanamo

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      US President Barack Obama has said that he should have closed the Guantanamo Bay prison on his first day at the White House back in 2009 when there was consensus with Republicans on its shutting down, Efe news agency reported. Asked at an event in Cleveland, Ohio, what he would do if he could…

  • US blasts Bibi over campaign comments

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    The White House has slammed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his campaign comments about Arab-Israeli voters after his win in parliamentary elections. The US is “deeply concerned about rhetoric that seeks to marginalize Arab-Israeli citizens,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest told reporters on Wednesday, Xinhua reported. “It undermines the values and democratic ideals…

  • US Fed Reserve interest rate rise on cards

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    In a move that would likely impact both emerging markets like India and advanced economies, the US central bank  dropped an assurance to be “patienta” in raising interest rates and signaled the hike could come by mid year. But in a statement issued after a two-day meeting of its policy-making committee, the Federal Reserve also…

  • US indefinitely close embassy in Saudi Arabia

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    The US embassy in Saudi Arabia will remain closed until further noticed due to heightened security concerns at US diplomatic facilities, the embassy said on its website. The embassy first announced the US embassy and consulates have cancelled all consular services in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dhahran for Sunday on March 15 and 16. Telephone lines…

  • Obama will work with whoever leads Israel

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      Hours after the first exit polls showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party set to retain the leadership, US President Barack Obama indicated he would work with any future Israeli premier. Obama “remains committed to working very closely with the winner of the ongoing elections to cement and further deepen the strong relationship between…

  • Cyanide confirmed in envelope send to White House

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    An envelope sent to the White House mail facility tested positive for cyanide, a media report said . “An envelope containing an unknown milky substance in a container wrapped in a plastic bag, received at the White House Mail Screening Facility, tested positive for cyanide,” an internal law enforcement document said. According to the document,…

  • US Fed to raise interest rates?

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    By Arun Kumar    The US central bank kicked off a policy meeting that ends  amid speculation about when the Federal Reserve will raise US interest rates – a move that would impact both advanced and emerging markets like India. The Wall Street Journal suggested that the Fed “is about to inject uncertainty back into financial…

  • Cuba-US hold talks

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    Cuba and the US held another round of talks in Havana as they moved towards re-establishing diplomatic ties. The talks were led by Roberta Jacobson, the US’s top diplomat for Latin America, and Josefina Vidal, director of US affairs at the Cuban foreign ministry. The talks follow a previous round held in Washington on February…

  • NRI Renu Khator to head US education body

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    By Arun Kumar  Indian-American Renu Khator has been elected chair of the Board of Directors of the American Council on Education (ACE), the major coordinating body for US colleges and universities. Uttar Pradesh born Khator, University of Houston President and System Chancellor since 2008, became board chair during ACE’s 97th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC…

  • US Congress can’t modify n-deal: Kerry

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      US Secretary of State John Kerry  refuted the claim by a group of Republican senators in a letter that an agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme not approved by the Congress would lapse. Kerry said that the Congress could not modify the terms of a potential nuclear agreement between the world powers and Iran, according…

  • US scientist questions Indian hydel projects

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      A top American researcher has questioned the scientific accuracy of environmental impact assessment reports for India’s hydropower projects, criticising the process behind environmental clearances as being “manipulative”. Kelly D. Alley, a professor of anthropology, Auburn University, U.S. has carried out research in northern India for over twenty years, focusing on public culture and environmental…

  • Jindal jumps into letter war with Obama

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    By Arun Kumar   Louisiana’s Indian-American governor Bobby Jindal has jumped into a war of words between the White House and Senate Republicans over a letter to the government of Iran on a potential deal over its nuclear programme. Jindal, who is testing the waters for a 2016 presidential run, issued a call on Tuesday for…

  • Romney appreciates India after trip

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    By Arun Kumar  After a nine day trip to India with his family working with Charity Vision, former US Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has returned home “with greater appreciation, both for India and for America”. The Provo, Utah, based Charity Vision, whose mission is to “bring an end to curable blindness” provides surgery for…

  • Many in India share rapist’s comments: Ram Devineni

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    By Arun Kumar An Indian-American filmmaker and creator of ‘Priya’s Shakti’, a free-to-download comic book that tells the story of an Indian gang-rape victim-turned-superhero, was not surprised by a convicted rapist’s views on rape. Last September, while conducting research for his comic, he met many men in Delhi who shared convicted rapist Mukesh Singh’s opinions…

  • NRI surgeon who came to Harrison Ford’s rescue

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    Indian-American spine surgeon Sanjay Khurana was playing golf when a single-engine plane crashed on the course. The pilot was none other than famous Hollywood actor Harrison Ford. Khurana was among the first to pull out the injured star from the wreckage. When Khurana saw the plane crash on the course, next to Santa Monica Airport,…

  • Fight against racism not over: Obama

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    US President Barack Obama said  that the fight against racism in the US is not yet over, during a speech in Selma, Alabama on the 50th anniversary of the peaceful march of African Americans demanding the right to vote, which was the catalyst of the Voting Rights Act. “We know the march is not yet…

  • Asian film fest opens at Dallas

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    First South Asian film festival in US draws big crowds…writes Arun Kumar   The inaugural Dallas-Fort Worth South Asian Film Festival (DFW SAFF), featuring 14 documentaries and films, exploring unique circumstances and stories based on South Asia, attracted over 1,000 cinephiles. The three-day festival from February 27 to March 1 at the Angelika Film Centre in Plano,…

  • Ferguson family sue officer

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    The family of Michael Brown – the African-American youth killed by a white police officer in Ferguson in the US state of Missouri last year – has decided to sue the accused officer. The attorney for the family, Daryl Parks, made the announcement  at a press conference at a church near the town of Ferguson.…

  • Paramhansa: India’s first yoga guru in the US

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    By M.R. Narayan Swamy If India’s idea of an International Yoga Day has found easy acceptance in the UN, much of the credit must go to Paramhansa Yogananda, India’s first yoga guru in the US whose 62nd death anniversary. Unlike Swami Vivekananda, Yogananda is not that widely appreciated although he played a huge role in…