Asian Lite News Archive

Category: -Top News

  • Portal link to verify NGOs

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    Shilpa Raina writes on a new online solution for sensible gifting to the needy in India The most pertinent question that crosses the mind of a donor is “will my donation be used for the right purpose” while the most daunting task a NGO faces is “to find ways to utilise unwanted gifts”. Bridging this chasm…

  • More fancy foreign holidays

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    Rahul Vaishnavi says more Indians fancying foreign vacations this summer. Asian Lite, the top newspaper for NRIs and international Indians, will carry regular travel features. Keep reading A strengthening rupee, the impact and influence of social media and, most importantly, the yearning of Indian travellers to explore the world, especially during the ongoing summer vacation,…

  • Naidu takes oath as new Andhra CM

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    Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N. Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday took oath as chief minister of Andhra Pradesh here. Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan administered the oath to Naidu near Guntur town in the presence of tens of thousands of people. Senior BJP leader L.K. Advani, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, union ministers Ananth Kumar and M. Venkaiah…

  • Sharapova wins French Open

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    Maria Sharapova lifted her second French Open tennis singles title in three years, beating rising star Simona Halep here Saturday. The young Romanian gave a tough fight to Sharapova in a battle that lasted three hours and two minutes at the Philippe Chatrier Court. But Sharapova won 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-4 in an epic battle —…

  • India & China hold first major talks

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    Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in the national capital on Sunday morning and is holding talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. This is the first contact between the two governments after the Indian general elections. Wang Yi will also meet President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday. The details of Chinese…

  • Miliband seeks Fifa probe

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    British opposition leader Ed Miliband called for a rerun of the vote to host the 2022 World Cup if The Sunday Times’s allegations are proved to be true — as Sony became the first sponsor to call for an investigation into the Fifa files exposé. The Labour leader said The Sunday Times had revealed “startling…

  • NEWS N PICS – Metro in Mumbai

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    Maharashtra’s first Metro Rail was inaugurated with Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan showing a green flag to the maiden Mumbai Metro service amid cheers by a large crowd of onlookers here Sunday morning. The inauguration of the first rail corridor linking east-west Mumbai suburbs between Versova and Ghatkopar proceeded smoothly despite a bitter controversy over passenger fares. In…

  • WILL SOMEONE STOP THIS NONSENSE

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    DAILY DOSE By Bikram Vohra This is Babulal Gaur the Home Minister of the Indian state of MP: “Sometimes rape is wrong and sometimes it is right.” Who elected this man to any post? The sheer stupidity of the remark is difficult to grasp. When is a rape okay by any yardstick? Oh, when the…

  • UK turns hostile to rough sleeping

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    Dickensian days are coming back to Britain as shop owners and businesses putting sharp studs at places where the rough sleepers occupy at night. Rough sleepers are common in most of the city centres and event at West Minster. An early report shows that around 7 in 10 (67%) rough sleepers across England are now helped…

  • UAE Adopts Conscripton

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    UAE President Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has issued Federal Law No.6 for the Year 2014, on the national military service and reserve force. The law is in accordance with the principles of the UAE Constitution, as referred to in Article No. 43, which states that defending the Union is a sacred duty of every…

  • D-DAY Events N PICS

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  • Life inside the Philippines prison

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    Helen Cook writs on drugs, sex and corruption in Philippines’ largest prison Drugs, sex, internet and even electric mopeds are few of the luxuries enjoyed by some of the prisoners in exchange for bribes in Bilibid, the biggest prison in Philippines, a scandal in which the director of the prison and 12 guards have been…

  • Tibet & Indo-China Ties

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    Sudip Mazumdar analysing the new Indo-China ties during the Modi rule. Will Modi rewrite the rules of India-China engagement? Even before Narendra Modi became the prime minister, he did something that none of the governments before his could do in the past 50 years. And this historically path-breaking move has remained largely out of sight…

  • Guerrilla attacks in Kashmir

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    At least four people, including three policemen, were injured in two guerrilla attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, police said Saturday. Two policemen and a civilian were injured when militants attacked a passing police vehicle in Bongam locality of Shopian town Saturday afternoon, a senior police officer said here. The injured were taken to a hospital, while…

  • Nadal-Djokovic final at French Open

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    Eight-time champion Rafael Nadal overpowered Andy Murray in straight sets Friday to set up a French Open final with Novak Djokovic. Top-ranked Nadal dominated the match to beat Murray 6-3, 6-2, 6- 1, and second seed Djokovic defeated Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, Xinhua reported. Nadal only conceded 10 points on his…

  • Kejriwal in damage control mode

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    AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday described Yogendra Yadav, who had said that the party has “fallen prey to personality cult”, as a “valued colleague”. The remark came after the discord between top party leaders came out in the open following the leak of the letters exchanged between Manish Sisodia and Yadav. “Yogendra Yadav has…

  • Altaf gets bail in London

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    Altaf Hussain, the exiled leader of Pakistan’s powerful MQM party, has been released on bail by police in London after being arrested on suspicion of money laundering, BBC reported. The 60-year-old was questioned for seven hours on Friday evening. He had been transferred to hospital for check-ups after being arrested on Tuesday. Investigations are continuing…

  • IMF warns UK over house prices

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    British Chancellor George Osborne’s Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme may need to be shut down early, the International Monetary Fund warned. In its annual UK economic health check, the Washington-based institution warned that rising house prices threatened to trigger a new surge in household debt that could destabilise the recovery, and said the Bank of…

  • Mass grave of 800 babies rocks Ireland

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    The Catholic church in Ireland was forced on to the defensive again yesterday after the discovery of a mass grave of 800 babies in a septic tank at a former church home, The Times reported. The Irish government was under growing pressure to set up an inquiry into the unmarked graveyard at the abandoned home…

  • Pachyderm Panorama in Kerala

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    Dr. K Parameswaran writes about the festivals in Kerala. A nostalgic experience for thousands of  Malayalees spread across the world   The months of April and May, when the temperatures soar and the country side is soaked daily in the brightest of sunlight, villages and small towns in the Malabar region (Northern parts of Keralareverberate to the…

  • NEWS N PICS – Clashes at Golden Temple

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    An uneasy calm prevailed at the Golden Temple complex here on the 30th anniversary of Operation Bluestar Friday following a clash between radical Sikh activists and SGPC task force volunteers in which 10 people were injured. Swords and sticks were freely used as scores of men from both sides chased one another outside the Akal Takht…

  • Profile – Nisha Pahuja

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    Natalia Ningthoujam talks to Nisha Pahuja on her new film India release ‘The World Before Her’. The acclaimed film-maker says the Delhi gang-rape was turning point in her career India-born Canadian filmmaker Nisha Pahuja, known for her 2012 documentary “The World Before Her”, was asked to try the Indian market two years ago, but didn’t show much excitement…

  • Modi’s diplomatic calender full

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    Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has a busy foreign policy calendar with several foreign visits lined up over the next few months, beginning with Bhutan this month and to Japan in July. However, the neighbourhood would remain a foreign policy priority of the new government. External affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin, outlining the foreign visits…

  • BIG INTERVIEW – John Abraham

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    Radhika Bhirani speaks to John Abraham. He says Indian football needs a hero Football fanatic John Abraham is ready and steady to make the country “live the magic” of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The actor-producer, who is doing a film based on the sport and has even invested in a football franchise, believes the…

  • ECB aims to stem deflation

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    Vatsal Srivastava in his column Currency Corner ays European Central Bank has acted strongly to combat deflation The markets began 2014 looking to move in the direction of how two underlying themes play out – the “great rotation” and the “great normalisation”. Asset managers were bullish on equities. Since the financial crisis, money had largely…

  • Anti-Rape protest held in London

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    In a great display of unity against unbridled series of rapes and other crimes against women in India, particularly in Uttar Pradesh more than 400 people of various denominations protested outside the Indian High Commission. Protesters included British Dalit organisations, women rights organisations, writers, poets and filmmakers. Outraged South Asians protest outside Indian High Commission…

  • Breakdown at AAP?

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    AAP leader Manish Sisodia Friday said the letter he wrote to party colleague Yogendra Yadav the day before was part of discussion, and underplayed the AAP infighting, saying these things happen in a party. “It was part of discussion. These things happen in a party and everything will be sorted,” Sisodia said after the letter he wrote…

  • PICTORIAL – D-DAY@70

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    World leaders are joining hundreds of veterans in Normandy to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings Heads of state will meet at Ouistreham, one of the five beaches where Allied troops landed on 6 June 1944. French President Francois Hollande will give a speech followed by US President Barack Obama. The Queen and…

  • Groups clash inside Golden Temple

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    At least seven people, including a child, were injured in a clash between task force volunteers of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and radical Sikh activists Friday on the 30th anniversary of the army’s Operation Bluestar at the Sikh shrine complex here. Swords and sticks were openly used as scores of men from both…

  • Modi-Obama summit to reset ties

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    The US is looking forward to the first summit meeting between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reset India-US ties that had gone adrift in the last days of the previous government. In what analysts describe as a significant foreign policy move, Modi is reported to have accepted Obama’s invitation to visit…

  • SPECIAL REPORT – Bhutan Drug Abuse

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    Shilpa Raina reports from Thimphu on Bhutan’s dark underbelly  Every Monday evening, government official Dasho Paljor J. Dorji turns into a chatty radio presenter for a popular talk show and gets candid with guests. But before signing off, he delivers a social message that invariably revolves around “drinking, driving and drugs” – something that comes straight from…

  • Hindi to be India’s lingua franca

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    Like many other cultural practices that are a legacy of British colonial rule, English remained the lingua franca of the Indian diplomacy since the country’s independence in 1947. All conversations and correspondence by members of the elite Indian Foreign Service were conducted largely in English, even though Hindi is the country’s national language. But that…

  • Nury’s The Funny Side

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    Nury Vittachi in his column The Funny Side narrates the common errors in English usage The managers of my office put up a sign saying: “Keep the door close.” Do they mean “closed”, or do they want me to take the door off its hinges and keep it close to me everywhere I go? Given…

  • Tories retain Newark seat

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    Shattering the dreams of UKIP leader Nigel Farage, the Conservative Party won the Newark by-election, retaining the seat with a majority of more than 7,000, BBC reported. Candidate Robert Jenrick polled 17,431 votes, beating UKIP’s Roger Helmer, who finished second with 10,028 votes. Labour’s Michael Payne came third with 6,842 votes but it was a…

  • Air power to mark D-Day70

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    More than 300 airborne troops from the UK, France, Canada and the United States – and one 89 year old D-Day veteran – have this afternoon parachuted on to the fields of Normandy to mark D-Day 70, the 70th anniversary of the Normandy Landings. Watched by HRH The Prince of Wales and the Chief of the General Staff General Sir Peter Wall, the spectacular…

  • MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS

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    Daily Dose by Bikram VohraI was pulling out of a parking space when this twit in a hurry bumped my car from behind. So, after grimacing at the clanging sound, I moved my car back into the space and this guy he just drove off. Zip. Hey, I shouted, hey being the stupidest thing to…

  • KSA’s first marine park

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    Jeddah is building the first marine park at Dhahban on the shores of the Red Sea, 40 km from the city. The groundbreaking project, which was under study for the last four years, was announced by the Jeddah Municipality.Dhahban is a popular picnic spot frequented by Saudi citizens especially fish lovers who visit the area…

  • Palestine raps Israeli settlement

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    Palestinian presidential spokesperson Nabil Abu-Rudeineh on Thursday strongly condemned the announcement of the Israeli authorities to build 1,500 new housing units in West Bank and Jerusalem. The new settlements come at a time when the world has declared support for the Palestinian national unity government, Abu-Rudeineh said in remarks, according to Palestinian WAFA news agency.…

  • GALLERY – French Open In Action

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  • London Lauds Asian Achivers

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    High flying Asian women who have battled to overcome obstacles in business, the professions, sports and culture recognised at the Asian Women of Achievement Awards 2014 in association with the Royal Bank of Scotland. A leading fertility expert was one of 17 women recognised for their outstanding careers at the Asian Women of Achievement Awards…

  • Jaitley begins budget talks

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    Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday began consultations with various stakeholders ahead of the final national budget to be presented next month, in the first such exercise both for him and the Narendra Modi government. The finance minister first met with representatives of the farm sector, including noted agriculture scientist and technocrat M.S. Swaminathan, and…

  • Kshama Sawant scores for Seattle

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    The US port city of Seattle enacted laws on Monday raising minimum wage for workers to $15 an hour, the highest in America, thanks in large part to a movement led by Kshama Sawant, a self-described socialist born in Pune, India. Kshama Sawant, a Pune-born young Indian-American activist-academic, become the first socialist to be elected…

  • Murray-Nadal Semi at French Open

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    Top-ranked Rafael Nadal set up a semifinal clash with Andy Murray after he came back from one set down to beat fifth seed David Ferrer in the French Open Wednesday. In a repeat of last year’s French Open final, Nadal showed his determination to win his ninth title at Roland Garros as he beat Ferrer…

  • Taj Mahal: A victim of man and nature

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    India’s tourism icon and a symbol of earthly love, the 17th century white marble mausoleum, the Taj Mahal, is a victim of both nature and man. If the monument looks sick and pale to visitors, the reason is the dry and heavily polluted Yamuna that once formed an integral part of the Taj Mahal complex.…

  • Canada plans S. Asian cultural hub

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    Canadian city Surrey is set to boast of a “South Asian cultural shopping district” with the authorities seeking to legalise and re-zone the present commercial encroachment of the Newton industrial land into a new commercial zone, a media report said. The request for re-designating the site will be considered by Metro Vancouver’s regional planning and…

  • Modi & others take oath

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     Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his cabinet colleagues on Thursday took oath as members of the newly-elected 16th Lok Sabha. Senior Congress leader Kamal Nath, who Wednesday was sworn-in by President Pranab Mukherjee as the pro tem speaker, administered the oath to Prime Minister Modi, who was attired in spotless white churidar-kurta and matching jacket.…

  • G7 intensify sanctions on Russia

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    Group of seven (G7) leaders on Wednesday threatened to intensify targeted sanctions against Russia if it fails to complete troop withdrawal from the Ukrainian border. “We stand ready to intensify targeted sanctions and to implement significant additional restrictive measures to impose further costs on Russia should events so require,” Xinhua quoted a statement issued after…

  • Russia rejects return to G8

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    Russia on Wednesday ruled out returning to the Group of Eight (G8), comprising seven most industrialised nations (G7) and Russia, but Kremlin said it was open to cooperation with major Western powers. Kremlin has also denied possibility of bilateral meet between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Barack Obama in France, Xinhua reported.…

  • It’s official – Syrians want Assad!

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    Syria’s incumbent President Bashar al-Assad has won a third seven-year term in office in the presidential elections that took place Tuesday, the Syrian parliament announced on Wednesday. A parliament speaker said that 1,319,723 people voted for Assad, which made about 88.7 percent of the votes. On Tuesday, Egypt’s Sissi wins the elctions bt securing about 97%…

  • Indian airports amongst world’s best

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    New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) and Mumbai’s Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) have found place in the top five of the best service quality providers in the world. While IGIA has been adjudged as the second best in the 25-40 million passengers per annum (MPPA) category in the world in the Airports Council…