Asian Lite News Archive

Category: -Top News

  • Air India gets big leap

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    Rohit Vaid analysing the national carriers’ alignment with 27-member Star Alliance.  It took eight years and a host of hiccups before flag carrier Air India finally joined Star Alliance, the world’s largest airline accord. And finally, the 60 million passengers who fly from the world’s fifth largest aviation market will gain better global connectivity and…

  • Priyanka’s non-glam look in ‘Mary Kom’

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    Ajit Andhare, Viacom 18 CEO, filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, actor Priyanka Chopra and filmmaker Omung Kumar during the unveiling of the trailer of film Mary Kom in Mumbai. If Priyanka Chopra let go off her diva image to play an autistic girl in “Barfi!”, the former beauty queen has once again swapped her glamorous look…

  • India clears 49% FDI in insurance

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    The union cabinet Thursday approved a proposal to increase foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in the insurance sector to 49 percent from the current 26 percent. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi okayed the proposal for the hike but maintains Indian management control. A senior government official who…

  • India Couture Week 2014

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    Nine of the most popular designers from across the country showcased their version of the ‘modern Indian story’. The annual event is the product of the collaboration between Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) and Shree Raj Mahal Jewellers. The finale on the last day was the Rimple & Harpreet Narula Couture collection by Shree…

  • I am an Indian till I die: Sania

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    Tennis star Sania Mirza Thursday insisted she was an Indian and will “remain an Indian until the end” after a BJP leader attacked the Telangana government for naming her the state’s ambassador. Tennis star Sania Mirza Thursday said she will “remain an Indian until the end”, after a politician attacked the Telangana government for naming…

  • Gaza toll crosses 700

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    An Israeli airstrike killed four Palestinians early Thursday in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahiya, taking the toll in the embattled coastal enclave to 707. Health ministry officials told Xinhua that four people from one family were killed when an Israeli warplane hit their home at Beit Lahiya town, north of Gaza, adding…

  • Kerry wraps up Israel visit

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    US Secretary of State John Kerry left Israel late Wednesday after a day-long visit during which he tried to broker a ceasefire agreement to end the ongoing fighting between Israel and Hamas. There have been no official report regarding a possible breakthrough in the ceasefire efforts as Kerry left Wednesday night and no comments were…

  • Ten survive Taiwan plane crash

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    Ten people survived the passenger plane crash in Taiwan Wednesday with injuries, but as many as 48 have been confirmed dead, the airliner said in a statement Thursday. TransAsia Airways’ Flight GE 222, with 58 people on board, smashed into residential buildings after a failed emergency landing in the outlying island county of Penghu Wednesday…

  • Tribute to Kargil martyrs

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    Indian Army Chief General Bikram Singh will Friday pay tribute to the martyrs of 1999 Kargil war in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ladakh region. Defence sources told said that General Bikram Singh, who is retiring July 31, will visit the Drass area Friday and will then fly back to New Delhi. “The visit of the chief will…

  • 20 students killed as train hits school bus

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    At least 20 students were killed and 10 injured when a school bus carrying them collided with a train at a railway crossing in Medak district of Telangana Thursday, police said. The accident occurred at Masayipet in Veldurthi mandal of Medak district, about 70 km from here, when the bus of a private school was…

  • HEY, WHERE ARE THERE?

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    DAILY DOSE By Bikram Vohra Every now and then I get a little bit angry. But it is not because of an eclipse of the heart. More because I feel like that guy in the boat who was left stranded midstream. That is what Indian media does, they leave you grasping for oars to get…

  • Hamas links ceasefire with Gaza blockade

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    Khaled Meshaal, the leader of Islamist militant group Hamas, has said there can be no ceasefire to ease the conflict in Gaza without an end to Israel’s blockade. Meshaal said Hamas would continue to reject a lasting ceasefire until its conditions were met. It follows further Israeli air strikes and ground operations in Gaza, as Hamas…

  • NHS trusts in doldrums

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    Nineteen NHS trusts have been referred to ministers after auditors raised concerns about their financial health, BBC reported. The 19 trusts are: Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust; Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust; Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust; George Eliot Hospital NHS Trust; Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust;…

  • Glasgow games open

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    The 2014 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony has taken place at Celtic Park in Glasgow. With symbols of the Forth Bridge west to Edinburgh, Scotch whisky barrels, Edinburgh Castle gate and cannon, Scottish Tartan kilt at the central stage, the opening ceremony of the 20th Commonwealth Games in Scotland’s largest city presented a combination of sports…

  • MH17 black boxes arrive in Britain

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    The black box recorders from the crashed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 have arrived in Britain for data downloading and analysis, the British Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said Wednesday. The flight recorders, commonly know as black boxes, from MH17 have been delivered by the Dutch Safety Board (DSB) to the headquarters of AAIB in Farnborough,…

  • UN warns of possible Israeli war crimes

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    UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay Wednesday warned that Israeli military attacks on Gaza could constitute a war crime, as the toll in Israel’s ongoing offensive on the Palestinian enclave rose to over 650. Pillay told a special session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that independent reports on the Israeli…

  • $18 bn World Bank aid for India

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    The World Bank Wednesday said it will provide financial support of $15-18 billion to India over the next three years to help accelerate economic growth and reduce poverty. Talking to media persons after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi here, World Bank group president Jim Yong Kim said the Indian government has outlined a comprehensive plan…

  • Currency Corner by V Srivastava

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    Vatsal Srivastava says Bank of Japan’s liquidity splurge will counter US Fed taper One might think that the Zero Interest Rate Policy (ZIRP) era is coming to an end. The US Federal Reserve will be concluding its Quantitative Easing (QE) program by year-end and we can expect the first interest rate hike in mid-2015. The Bank…

  • India Biz targets Latin America

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    Saroj Mohanty says India, Latin America set to tango An India-Latin America Forum to forge a new paradigm of cooperation leading to a “strategic partnership” could be in the offing in the near future. India and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) are exploring possibilities of a “dialogue mechanism”, based on the recent…

  • Pak fashion due in Mumbai

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    Lakmé Fashion Week (LFW) Winter-Festive 2014 will host four Pakistani designers Faiza Samee, Rizwan Beyg, Sania Maskatiya and Zara Shahjahan. Presented by POPxo.com and Hello! Pakistan, the designers will mark their LFW debut with a grand show Aug 22 at the winter-festive edition of LFW. “This season we are very excited to host four exceptional…

  • ‘Mary Kom’ ready for release

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    If Priyanka Chopra let go off her diva image to play an autistic girl in “Barfi!”, the former beauty queen has once again swapped her glamorous look with a masculine and low-maintained one for “Mary Kom”. And as promised, the trailer of the biopic knocks you out. Directed by Omung Kumar and co-produced by Viacom18…

  • King Khan to tour in the US

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    Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan is ready to shake a leg with his fans in the US after a gap of 10 years. Along with his “Happy New Year” co-stars Deepika Padukone, Abhishek Bachchan and Boman Irani, he will thrill the audience with SLAM! THE TOUR starting Sep 19. He will also be joined by filmmaker…

  • Neel Mukherjee longlisted for Man Booker Prize

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     A novel written by a British Indian author has made it to the first long list of the coveted Man Booker Prize for fiction for this year. London-based Neel Mukherjee was among 2014 longlist or Man Bookers ‘Dozen’ for his novel “The Lives of Others” which was published in May this year, a Man Booker…

  • India, Pak foreign secretaries to meet

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    Foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan are to meet in Islamabad Aug 25, in a major forward movement in reviving stalled peace talks two months after the meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif. The date and venue of the talks was decided Wednesday during a telephonic talk between Indian…

  • Shiv Sena MP raise political storm

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    A Shiv Sena MP, who was seen in a video clip trying to force food into the mouth of a Muslim staffer of Maharashtra Sadan who was observing the Ramadan fast, kicked off a political storm Wednesday, with parliament in uproar. While the Congress targeted the Narendra Modi government for the act, which they described…

  • Sonam & ‘Bride collection’

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    The brand ambassador of the event, Sonam Kapoor, wowed once again on the runway. She turned showstopper as she strutted on the ramp for the grand finale of the India International Jewellery Week, 2014. The Khoobsurat actress walked the ramp wearing a bejewelled white sheer sari paried beautifully with a golden headband, studded earrings and…

  • Rani promote ‘Mardaani’ on the sets of ‘JDJ 7’

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    Choreographer Remo D`Souza, actors Madhuri Dixit, Rani Mukerji and filmmaker Karan Johar on the sets of Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 7 during the promotion of film Mardaani in Mumbai. Rani Mukherjee was on the dance reality show, Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa 7, promoting her film, Mardaani, but everyone seem to be worried only about her looking pregnant.…

  • WORLD NEWS IN PICTURES

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  • Saudi Arabia fix wage for Indian maids

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    The monthly salary for Indian maids recruited in Saudi Arabia has been fixed at 1,200 Saudi riyals ($320), a media report said Tuesday. Saudi Arabia’s national recruitment committee has also asked employers to provide return economy tickets for the maids, Arab News reported citing sources. Among other provisions in the new labour contract, a free…

  • Modi urged to secure fishermen’s release

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    Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa has requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene and secure the release of Indian fishermen and their fishing boats from Sri Lankan custoday. In a letter to Modi Tuesday, text of which was released to the media here Wednesday, Jayalalithaa said: “I once again request your immediate intervention to secure…

  • UK to probe MH17 black boxes

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      Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai Wednesday said that crashed Malaysia Airline flight MH17’s black boxes would be handed over to the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) for forensic analysis. “It is normal procedure for black boxes to be sent for analysis to a laboratory authorised by the International Civil Aviation Association,” Xinhua…

  • Alex Salmond sees CWG as inspirational

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    Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond has expressed confidence that the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games will be “an inspiration” to cities in Scotland which have the ability to manage the international event well. Speaking at a press briefing on the eve of the opening of the Games Wednesday, Salmond welcomed the international media to cover the…

  • British arms for Russia and Israel?

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    The British government was accused of double standards over arms sales to Russia and Israel . The latest document revealed that officials have approved a massive increase in weaponry to be sold to Russia  to more than £130m. MPs warn that at least 251 export licences for the sale of controlled goods – ranging from…

  • Rodriguez joins Real

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    Colombian international James Rodriguez has agreed to a six-year-contract which will see him earn around six million euros a year and keep him at Real Madrid until 2020. The Spanish giants Tuesday confirmed Rodriguez’s signing from French outfit AS Monaco for a fee believed to be in the region of 75-80 million euros, reports Xinhua.…

  • More BAME in civil services by 2020

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    The Opposition Labour party has announced that the party will set new targets for the percentage of black and minority ethnic (BAME) employees in the Senior Civil Service. People from BAME backgrounds are still woefully underrepresented at senior levels and the Government has lost sight of the diversity agenda in the civil service. Labour will…

  • If I lived in #Gaza would I fire a rocket?

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    A British politician sparks a new row as he tweeted –  “The big question is – if I lived in #Gaza would I fire a rocket? – probably yes”. A Lib Dem MP has been accused of making comments on social media about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. David Ward tweeted on Tuesday: “The big question is…

  • Cyberbullying is now more common

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    Cyberbullying and exposure to online sites with negative content such as messages of hate or self-harm is a growing problem for the UK’s children, according to a new report from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). The report from EU Kids Online, a research programme based at LSE, examines how the UK’s…

  • Ethnic students get fewer uni seats

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    Britain’s ethnic minority students are less likely than their white British peers to receive offers from UK universities, research suggests. A study, by the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), analysed university applications made in 2008 by 50,000 would-be students, BBC reported. Degree applications from 12 minority groups analysed were “significantly” less likely to…

  • Queen’s horse fails dope test

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    Estimate, the horse that realised a lifelong dream for the Queen at Ascot last year is now at the centre of racing’s latest drugs story. Buckingham Palace issued an unprecedented statement saying Estimate has failed a routine dope test for morphine. “Her Majesty,” it added, “has been informed of the situation”. Estimate will face inevitable disqualification and her…

  • Russia ready to join crash probe

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      Russia is ready to join the international investigation led by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) into the crash of the Malaysian Airlines MH17, Moscow said Tuesday. “Russia is closely watching the investigation into the cause of the Malaysian plane accident,” Xinhua quoted Russia’s foreign ministry as saying in a statement. Russia welcomed the…

  • India riding to conquer Glasgow

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    India will be expecting a lion’s share of medals from shooters, boxers, wrestlers and shuttlers at the 2014 Commonwealth Games starting here Wednesday but it would be difficult to match the record medal haul of 101 in the last edition at home. The 2010 Commonwealth Games was marred with allegations of corruption and missed deadlines…

  • EID RECIPE – Lubna Rafiq

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    Britain’s most sought after make up artist Lubna Rafiq shares her passion for cooking with Asian Lite What type of food do you like to cook? Healthy, fruity and non-greasy foods. I love cooking grilled fish; fruit chat and yoghurt based side dishes. What do you enjoy about cooking? I enjoy the satisfaction that my…

  • Prince George is one

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    Prince George turned one Tuesday and his parents thanked everyone for their warm wishes. To mark his first birthday, two new photographs were issued by Kensington Palace. The pictures show the enchanted young family in the midst of the ‘Sensational Butterflies’ exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London, as several dozen live butterflies hover…

  • Indian scientists develop seedless mangoes

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      First came seedless grapes. Now, Indian scientists have developed what could be the ultimate delicacy – a seedless mango which is finely textured and juicy, with a rich, sweet and distinctive flavour when mature. “We have developed a seedless mango variety from hybrids of mango varieties Ratna and Alphonso,” V.B. Patel,chairman of the horticulture…

  • WORLD NEWS IN PICTURES

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  • Dr Bhugra to chair Mental Health forum

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    Dr Dinesh Bhugra, who has served as Chair of the Mental Health Foundation for three years, has been appointed President of the Foundation , replacing Sir William Utting. Dr Bhugra, who is Professor of Mental Health and Cultural Diversity and Honorary Consultant at the Maudsley, said: ‘I am delighted to be taking up the position of President…

  • UN agency appeals for Gazan refugees

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    The UN agency assisting Palestinian refugees has issued an emergency appeal for $60 million to respond to the urgent humanitarian needs of the people of Gaza, including tens of thousands who have fled their homes in the wake of the current Israeli military offensive. The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the…

  • Meat scandal hits more cities

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    A suspect meat scandal in China engulfed Starbucks and Burger King on Tuesday and spread to Japan where McDonald’s said a Chinese supplier accused of selling expired beef and chicken had provided 20% of the meat in its chicken nuggets, The Guardian reported. As Chinese authorities expanded their investigation of the Shanghai-based company Husi Food,…

  • Indian soldier killed in Pak firing

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    An Indian soldier was killed Tuesday when Pakistani troops fired at Indian positions on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, the military said. Military spokesman Col Manish Mehta said here that the Pakistan Army used automatics and small-calibre weapons in Pallanwalla area of Akhnoor sector. “The firing was intended to facilitate the infiltration…

  • WAIT TILL DAD GETS HOME 

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    DAILY DOSE By Bikram Vohra When we were kids and we misbehaved my Mum would say, wait till your father gets home. It was like the biggest threat going, the sharpest knife in the toolbox and we would then sit in delicious dread waiting for the Man to come home and set us right.It counted.…