Asian Lite News Archive

Category: -Top News

  • Quake jolts Nepal and Delhi

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    Hundreds of thousands of people across Nepal fled from their homes and offices after a strong earthquake shook buildings, reminding them of the horror of the April 25 temblor. The earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale on Tuesday caused panic among the residents of Kathmandu, according to eyewitnesses. Many thousand people had again assembled…

  • A Picasso breaks record

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    A Picasso has smashed the record for the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction. The 1955 cubist oil Les femmes d’Alger (Version O) fetched $179.4m (£115m) at Christie’s in New York. It had been estimated to sell for about $140m (£90m). But several bidders competing via telephone drove the winning bid to $160m (£103m) for a final…

  • Bro Dave Raps Red Ed

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     The real Miliband of the Labour Party criticised the party’s 2015 campaign, saying voters “did not want what was being offered,” BBC reported. US-based David Miliband said former prime minister Gordon Brown and his younger brother Ed Miliband took the campaigns backwards in 2010 and 2015 respectively causing the party to taste defeat.The There was…

  • Grant Shapps aka Michael Green gets new title

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    Grant Shapps aka Michael Green, the Conservative party’s co-chairman, was named as a junior minister in the Department for International Development under Justine Greening. The removal of Shapps makes the post jinxed. The former occupant, Baroness Warsi, was involved in an expenses scam and later demoted to a similar post in the FCO. Shapps was replaced him…

  • UK Parliament Session on 18 May 

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    The House of Commons will meet on Monday 18 May 2015. The State Opening of Parliament will take place on Wednesday 27 May 2015 which marks the formal start of the parliamentary year. The House of Commons will sit for a few days ahead of the State Opening of Parliament, the formal start of the parliamentary session. During this…

  • 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…

  • Big B, Deepika rock in Piku

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    E-motion-al ‘Piku’ gets over Rs.25 crore opening weekend Director Shoojit Sircar’s slice-of-life family entertainer “Piku” has got a thumbs up not just from the film fraternity and critics, but also movie buffs. The medium budget film is steadily climbing the ladder of success at the box office and has collected over Rs.25 crore in its…

  • Lord Sugar quits Labour party

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    Lord Sugar quit Labour party over its leaning more towards Left Lord Sugar, who was an advisor to both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown said he no longer agreed with many of Labour’s policies after Ed Miliband, the Labour leader who quit in the wake of the election defeat, moved the party “back to what…

  • Sadiq leaves Shadow Cabinet

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    Sadiq Khan MP, senior British-Asian politician and the potential Labour candidate for London Mayor, has resigned from the Labour Shadow Cabinet. Mr Khan was the campaign manager to elevate Ed Miliband as Labour leader in 2010. In the resignation letter addressed to Harriet Harman, the acting Leader of the party, the Tooting MP said: It…

  • Pak-origin British MPs now equal Indian counterparts

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    With three gains as compared to their tally in the previous House of Commons, the number of Pakistani-origin MPs in the British parliament has drawn level with their Indian counterparts, whose strength remained static. Earlier, there were seven Pakistani-origin MPs in the Commons. Now the figure has risen to 10, with one name common to…

  • Boris makes into Cameron cabinet

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    Boris Johnson makes his way into David Cameron’s Cabinet as a number of women MPs have been given top roles in the final line-up. Mr Cameron announced Mr Johnson, who was elected MP for Uxbridge last week, would be attending Cabinet but he does not have a ministerial role so he can devote his attention to…

  • Priti: A real privilege to get the ministerial berth

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    Mrs Priti Patel, the first Conservative female MP, said it is a real privilege to get the post as Minister of State for Employment at the Department for Work and Pensions in the new cabinet Priti Patel MP, the newly appointed Minister of State for Employment at the Department for Work and Pensions, said it is a…

  • Sharif chairs high-level meet

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    Prior to an important Afghanistan visit, Pakistan Prime Minster Nawaz Sharif chaired a high-level meeting here to discuss the dimensions related to Pakistan-Afghanistan relations. Sharif, accompanied by his army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif, will be going on a two-day visit to Afghanistan on Tuesday following an invitation from President Ashraf Ghani. “This will be Sharif’s…

  • Gadkari denies wrongdoing

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    Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari denied any wrongdoings by the Purti Group or by him in financial dealings. The upper house saw repeated adjournments, as opposition members demanded that Gadkari should resign. “There is no scam or irregularity… Purti has repaid all loans. There are no allegations against me,” Gadkari said in the Rajya…

  • Swedish court rejects Assange’s appeal

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    Sweden’s Supreme Court  rejected an appeal by Wikileaks founder Julian Assange to overturn the arrest warrant against him for allegations of sexual assault in the country. This is the latest twist in Assange’s long legal battle to have his European arrest warrant overturned, after Sweden’s Supreme Court formally agreed at the end of last month…

  • Priti and Sajid in Cameron cabinet

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    Prime Minister David Cameron is completing his cabinet reshuffle, with a number of leading female ministers being handed big promotions. Amber Rudd is Energy and Climate Change Secretary and Priti Patel will attend Cabinet as employment minister reports BBC. Boris Johnson will not be made a minister but will attend separate Tory “political cabinet” meetings.…

  • Iran see Saudi-led attack on Yemen as ‘genocide’

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    Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham condemned the Saudi-led attack on Yemen as “genocide”. “Such actions by the Saudi-led coalition have been genocide and go counter to the international conventions,” Xinhua quoted Afkham as saying . In their attack on Yemen of more than 40 days, they have used “unconventional weapons intended to increase the…

  • Class 2015 – The Most Diverse

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    The Class 2015 will be the most diverse ever  in the history of British Parliament…writes Sunder Katwala of British Future A record number of ethnic minority MPs have been elected to the House of Commons – 41 non-white MPs enter the new 2015 parliament compared to 27 at the last General Election, according to British Future’s…

  • Saudi king to skip US-Gulf summit

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    Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud will not join other leaders of Gulf states for a summit with US President Barack Obama scheduled for next week, the Saudi embassy in Washington DC has said. The Saudi monarch will instead send Crown Prince Mohammad bin Naif, who is also the deputy prime minister and minister…

  • India will bring Dawood back: Rajnath

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    Home Minister Rajnath Singh  said that “India would do everything possible” to bring back from Pakistan Dawood Ibrahim, the underworld don who is believed to be involved in various crimes, including terrorism. Speaking in the Lok Sabha, the home minister said Pakistan was under international obligation to find him out as Interpol has already issued…

  • Jaya acquitted in disproportionate assets case

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    In a relief to former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa, a special bench of the Karnataka High Court  acquitted her in the Rs.66.65-crore disproportionate assets’ case. She was convicted and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment by a lower court earlier. Pronouncing the much-awaited verdict on the appeal by 67-year-old Jayalalithaa filed against the trial…

  • I bat for ‘Team India’: Modi

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    Pitching for a “Team India” of the centre and states for the country’s development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi credited his government’s economic policies for making India the world’s fastest growing nation. Concluding his two-day visit to West Bengal – the first after becoming prime minister – Modi assured his government’s support in ensuring economic progress…

  • Cameron names his first all-Conservative cabinet

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    British Prime Minister David Cameron has formed his first all-Conservative cabinet after his party stormed to victory in this year’s general election, Downing Street announced. The new cabinet saw most of Cameron’s close allies retaining their jobs, including Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, Home Secretary Theresa May, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond and Defence Secretary…

  • Pope Francis meets Raul Castro at Vatican

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    Cuban President Raul Castro met Pope Francis on Sunday at the Vatican, where he thanked the pontiff for his mediation in the process of normalising relations with the US and discussed the Pope’s planned visit to the island in September. Castro said after the 55-minute meeting, one of the longest the Pope has held with…

  • CSK conquer Royals to claim IPL top spot

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      Chennai Super Kings (CSK) climbed to the top of the Indian Premier League (IPL) points table with a 12-run victory over Rajasthan Royals in a league match at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium here. Chasing 158, Royals were restricted to 145 for nine in 20 overs. CSK improved to 16 points from 12 matches, keeping…

  • NEWS N PICS: VE Day

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    Europe commemorates the 70th anniversary of the VE Day and other pics from the global events  

  • Blair Blame ‘Policy Shift’ for Debacle

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    Tony Blair and Peter Mandelson said Miliband made ‘terrible mistake’ in ditching New Labour ideology Labour giants Tony Blair and his confidante Peter Mandelson said by ditching the New Labour ideology was a “terrible” mistake of Ed Miliband’s leadership, which produced the party’s worst election result since 1987. Blair had warned that Labour could recover…

  • Race to Grab Ed’s Post

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    The bruised Labour party will unveil the timetable to replace the resigned leader Ed Miliband. The party’s national executive committee is expected to set out the timetable for the election next week. MPs wishing to stand as leader and deputy leader have to be nominated by 15% of their colleagues in the Parliamentary Labour Party to…

  • 100-Day Plan to set II Term Agenda

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    Prime Minister David Cameron will launch a 100-day plan to set an agenda to fulfill the election promises including the referendum on EU, boundary changes and the abolition of the Human Rights Act. The prime minister will assign Chancellor George Osborne to negotiate with Brussels, while confidante Michael Gove will deal with the abolition of…

  • British Bid To Stem Radicalisation

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    A series of seminars launched across the country to protect British youth joining radical organisations A series of seminars aimed at helping school and college leaders protect young people from being drawn into extremism and radicalisation will be held this summer. The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) is launching the seminars to offer…

  • GPs likely to charge for services

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    Patients are likely to pay for routine operations that have been rationed by the NHS, reports said. Senior GPs on local medical committees (LMCs) will vote on changing these guidelines at a conference later this month. Dr Phil Fielding, of Gloucestershire LMC, which is proposing the change, said surgeries could carry out operations far cheaper…

  • US Experts Restore Ray’s Apu Trilogy

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        Restoring Ray’s masterpiece that put Indian cinema on the world map “was challenging at every stage”, Peter Becker, president of the Criterion Collection and partner in Janus Films, a leading distributor of classic foreign films…told Arun Kumar Working frame by frame for over a thousand hours in a labour of love spread over…

  • Britain Marks 70th anniversary of VE Day

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    The Queen, Prime Minister David Cameron among the dignitaries attended the event at Westminster Abbey to commemorate the 70th anniversary of  Victory in Europe Day. The Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales were also at the service, along with about 1,000 veterans and their families. The Archbishop of Canterbury said the veterans had ensured…

  • Indian Envoy meets ELSA UK

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     Indian High Commissioner Mr. Ranjan Mathai met ELSA UK – an alumni group of the prestigious Lady Shri Ram College for Women in New Delhi. The topics of discussion ranged from bilateral relations between the UK and India to the role of Indians in British society and the contribution of Asian women to the country.…

  • Kabul retakes Taliban district

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    Afghan security forces recaptured Nawa district in Afghanistan’s eastern Ghazni province and established government control there after 10 years of Taliban rule, an official said. “Units of national security forces after 13 days of fierce operations evicted Taliban militants from Nawa district and established government control there for the first time in the past 10…

  • Shiamak denies sexual abuse charges

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    Bollywood’s choreographer Shiamak Davar has denied the sexual allegation charges filed by two of his former students in Canada. Shiamak, who is running dance academies in London and Dubai, has trained many Bollywood stars including Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit for hit movies. Shiamak issued a statement denying the charges. In the statement he he said…

  • NEWS N PICS – Cameron Returns to No 10

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  • GALLERY: Russia Roars

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    The annual Victory Day parade, this year celebrating the 70th anniversary of the capitulation of Nazi Germany in 1945, began  in this Russian capital. The parade is being held in Moscow’s Red Square, TASS news agency reported. The parade marks the Allied victory on the Eastern Front during the Second World War. It also marks…

  • NEPAL QUAKE: Down Memory Lane

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      Shweta Sharma meets Ramesh Nath Pandey, a survivor of the 1934 Nepal quakewhich killed over 10,000 people.. Sitting inside a tent set up on the porch outside his now unlivable house that was made 73 years ago, Ramesh Nath Pandey still vividly remembers the earthquake that struck the Himalayan nation in 1934 – when…

  • British ethnic minorities to double by 2050

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    Britain’s black and ethnic minority communities could account for almost a third of the population by 2050, according to a study. The number of people from minority groups could as much as double by then, it says. One in four children under the age of ten in the UK is already from a minority group…

  • India 10, Pakistan 10, Bangladesh 3, Lanka 1 at British Polls

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    Pakistani-origin British MPs now equal Indian counterparts – 10 With three gains as compared to their tally in the previous House of Commons, the number of Pakistani-origin MPs in the British parliament has drawn level with their Indian counterparts, whose strength remained static. Earlier, there were seven Pakistani-origin MPs in the Commons. Now the figure…

  • Kidney Priest Returns to London

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    Fr Davies Chiramel, chairman of Kidney Federation of India, popularly known as Kidney Priest of India,  will lead the Gift of Life campaign for Upahaar to promote organ, stem cell donation among South Asians….reports Asian Lite, UK’s No 1 newspaper for British Asians Upahaar, a national charity promoting organ, stem cell donation among South Asians, is…

  • Russia’s Victory Day parade begins

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    The annual Victory Day parade, this year celebrating the 70th anniversary of the capitulation of Nazi Germany in 1945, began  in this Russian capital. The parade is being held in Moscow’s Red Square, TASS news agency reported. The parade marks the Allied victory on the Eastern Front during the Second World War. It also marks…

  • Stolen George Cross returned to widow

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    “Now I will die in peace,” said octogenarian Brahmi Devi, widow of an Indian soldier, Naik Kirpa Ram, whose posthumously-awarded George Cross bravery medal was “stolen” 13-year-ago from Himachal Pradesh and has now been retrieved by the British authorities. The British High Commission in Delhi, which retrieved the medal from an auction house, will return…

  • London gears up for Jaipur Fest

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    The Jaipur Literature Festival travels to London for the second time with a creative caravan of writers and thinkers, poets and balladeers. Showcasing South Asia’s unique multilingual literary heritage, JLF at Southbank on May 16 & 17 is an intense two-day teaser of what has been declared the ‘greatest literary show on earth’. ‘JLF at Southbank’…

  • Who’s afraid of Rahul Gandhi?

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    By Amulya Ganguli Nothing shows the weakness of the Narendra Modi government more than the fact that it gives the impression of having been spooked by Rahul Gandhi to strive for a pro-poor image. Hence, the directive to ministers to go around the country after the budget session to counter the perception that the government…

  • Messi can make any team win: Mourinho

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    English football club Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes the top four clubs in the Premier League can win the Champions League if they have Lionel Messi in their ranks. The coach had seen the Argentine at work as Messi inspired Barcelona to a 3-0 Champions League semi-final first-leg win at home to Bayern Munich on…

  • 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…

  • Cameron promises EU referendum

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    British Prime Minister David Cameron confirmed  a referendum on Britain’s membership status in the European Union after securing his second mandate in Thursday’s general elections, this time with an absolute majority. In a statement given at 10 Downing Street, Cameron also said he would rule for all of Britain, referring to the four nations in…

  • Mhairi Black becomes the youngest MP since 1667

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    A 20-year-old student belonging to the Scottish National Party (SNP) has become the youngest MP since 1667 after winning the Paisley and Renfrewshire South seat from the Labour Party’s campaign chief Douglas Alexander in the British general election. Mhairi Black, who is a final year student of politics and public policy at Glasgow University, describes…