Asian Lite News Archive

Category: -Top News

  • Colors unveils new family drama – Swaragini

    —

    in , , , ,

     The new emotional drama to showcase conflicts between Swara and Ragini’s feuding families. Swaragini to go on-air starting 2nd March, 2015 every Monday to Friday at 9:30 PM Some relationships bring joy; some bring sadness and some bring anger just by the virtue of being broken beyond repair. This March, COLORS joins hands with Rashmi Sharma Telefilms to present…

  • Modi has lunch in parliament canteen

    —

    in ,

      In a rare move, Prime Minister Narendra Modi  had lunch at the parliament canteen, surprising the staff and many people present there. Modi had some fruit salad and a vegetarian thali at a total cost of Rs.29. The prime minister went to the canteen at room no.70 of Parliament House around 1 p.m. when…

  • UKIBC pins hopes on budget

    —

    in , , ,

    Richard Heald, Chief Executive of the UK-India Business Council, comments on India’s budget I never really understand the hoopla which accompanies the Union Budget 2015. Of course, this Budget is the first chance for Minister Jaitley and the NDA Coalition to articulate their vison of the direction of travel for India. But even that does…

  • Durban to host 2022 Commonwealth Games

    —

    in , , ,

    South African city Durban is set to be the host city of the 2022 Commonwealth Games (CWG) as the lone contender for the quadrennial, 71-member multisport event. The 600-page bid book will be handed to Commonwealth Games Federation officials during a brief mid-day ceremony on Monday at the official residence of the London Lord Mayor,…

  • British schoolgirls reach Syria to join ISIS

    —

    in , , ,

    British schoolgirls as young as 15-16 years are believed to have fled to Syria via Turkey to join the Islamic State (IS) jihadi group, media reported. CCTV images captured last month showed three Bethnal Green Academy girls — Shamima Begum and Amira Abase, both 15, and Kadiza Sultana, 16 — on the Turkish leg of…

  • ISIS release 19 abducted Christian Assyrians

    —

    in , ,

    The Islamic State  militants  released 19 Christian Assyrians they had kidnapped last month, a monitoring group reported. The 19 people are the first batch of 29 Assyrians the sharia court of the IS exonerated on Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, Xinhua reported. On February 23, the IS abducted 220 Christian Assyrians during…

  • Americans divided over Netanyahu visit

    —

    in , , ,

      Nearly half of American voters think that US House Speaker John Boehner should not have invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address US Congress without having consulted the White House, according to a new poll released . A total of 48 percent of those surveyed believed Boehner’s decision to invite Netanyahu without first…

  • Dalmiya elected BCCI president

    —

    in , , ,

    After a gap of over 10 years, veteran cricket administrator Jagmohan Dalmiya was made an uncontested comeback as full-time president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) during its annual general meeting (AGM) here. The former International Cricket Council (ICC) president, whose previous tenure as BCCI chief ended in 2004, was a…

  • Mood mixed at Moody’s

    —

    in , , ,

      Global credit rating agency Moody’s Investors Service on  said India’s budget for 2015-16 is credit positive for corporates and a mixed bag for the banks. The increase in service tax, however, is credit negative as it would increase the production cost for Indian corporates, the agency said. “Measures designed to reduce and rationalise taxes,…

  • Khaleda Zia’s office gets search warrant

    —

    in , , ,

    A Bangladesh court has issued a search warrant against former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s Dhaka office after reports that she could be hiding fugitives and explosives there, media reported. Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate S.M. Masud Zaman issued the warrant on Sunday, bdnews 24 reported. Police have asked for the warrant in the explosive case filed against…

  • Mufti’s comments rocks Rajya Sabha

    —

    in ,

      Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s controversial comments giving credit to Pakistan for the peaceful assembly election in the state created a furore in Rajya Sabha Monday, with the opposition terming it anti-national. “The chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir was sworn in yesterday in the presence of prime minister (Narendra Modi),…

  • Putin promise to bring Nemstov’s killers to justice

    —

    in ,

    Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to do everything to bring the killers of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov to justice. “We will do everything to ensure that the perpetrators of this foul and cynical crime and those who stand behind them are properly punished,” Putin said in a condolence message to Nemtsov’s mother, according to a…

  • Lakhvi leads luxurious life in Pak jail

    —

    in , , ,

      Mumbai terror attack mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi has been living a luxurious life in a jail in Pakistan’s Rawalpindi city, with access to mobile phones and internet and receiving scores of visitors every day. Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) operations commander Lakhvi is one of the main suspects behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks in which over 160…

  • Sayeed back as CM in J&K

    —

    in ,

    By Sheikh Qayoom PDP chief Mufti Mohammad Sayeed took oath as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir , heading a coalition that brought the BJP to power for the first time in India’s only Muslim-majority state. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and party leaders L.K. Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi witnessed the…

  • Another temple attack in US

    —

    in , , ,

     A Sanatan Dharam temple was vandalised in Washington state with windows broken and the word “Fear” painted on it, less than a fortnight after another temple was attacked. Members of the the Sanatan Dharma Temple in Kent, about 30 km from Seattle, who came for worship Friday “were greeted by shards of broken glass after…

  • Yusuffali praises Modi’s 2015 budget

    —

    in , , , , , ,

    “Instead of offering soaps, the budget shows maturity of a growing nation which aims to become the next global super power,” Yusuffali, the winner of Prvasi Bharatiya Puraskar, told Anasudhin Azeez Prominent NRI businessman MA Yusuffali, the richest Indian in the Gulf, praised 2015 budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jailtley and said the budget will…

  • BJP buries ‘big bang’ reforms

    —

    in , , ,

    Jaitley’s budget aims to end an era of “scam, scandal and corruption” ….writes Arvind Padmanabhan Falling just short of big bang reforms called for by his own economic survey, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented a Rs.17.78 lakh crore (nearly £200 billion) national budget for the next fiscal that seeks to put more money in the hands…

  • A budget that lacks roadmap: Manmohan Singh

    —

    in ,

    Former prime minister Manmohan Singh, an eminent economist,  criticised the union budget presented by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, saying it has good intentions but no adequate roadmap. Speaking to NDTV news channel, Manmohan Singh, who was prime minister of the Congress-led UPA government for 10 years, said the NDA government has not been able to…

  • Rahul the fugitive prince

    —

    in , , ,

    By Amulya Ganguli  There may be a deeper and more unsettling reason for Rahul Gandhi’s present farewell to active politics than the explanation that he has gone away to mull over the factors which led to the Congress’s recent electoral reverses. Even the reticent and reclusive heir apparent cannot be unaware that a spell far…

  • NASA hints that life existed in Mars

    —

    in , ,

     After an exhaustive analysis of data obtained during 605 Martian days, NASA’s Curiosity rover has confirmed the presence of methane on Mars environment which may hint that life once existed on the Red Planet. The tunable laser spectrometer in the SAM (Sample Analysis at Mars) instrument of the Curiosity robot has unequivocally detected an episodic…

  • ‘Jihadi John’ had anger therapy at school

    —

    in , ,

      The Islamic State (ISIS) militant known as ‘Jihadi John’ received anger management therapy in his first year of secondary school after getting into fights, a former teacher has said. The militant, pictured in the videos of the beheadings of Western hostages, has been named as Mohammed Emwazi, a Kuwaiti-born Briton from west London. Emwazi…

  • US to reopen Cuba embassy by April

    —

    in , ,

      The US government is optimistic about the prospects of reaching an agreement with Cuba to reopen embassies before April’s Summit of the Americas in Panama, Washington’s chief negotiator in talks with Havana said. “I do think we can get this done in time for the Summit of the Americas,” Assistant Secretary of State Roberta…

  • Bowlers have elevated their level: Dhoni

    —

    in , ,

    India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni  said his bowlers have elevated their level of performance, producing another exquisite bowling exhibition against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in a World Cup Pool B encounter at the WACA here. “The bowlers have really stepped up and in a team sport it starts to reflect in other departments too.…

  • Modi to be at Mufti’s swearing-in

    —

    in ,

    PDP patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed will be sworn in as the new chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Peoples Democratic Party patron will be heading a coalition government in the state for the second time. In 2002, he led a PDP-Congress alliance and was chief minister…

  • Jaitley avoids a ‘big bang’ budget

    —

    in , , ,

    By Arvind Padmanabhan    Falling just short of big bang reforms called for by his own economic survey, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Saturday presented a Rs.17.78 lakh crore (nearly $300 billion) national budget for the next fiscal that seeks to put more money in the hands of the average citizen, tackle the menace of black money…

  • Bangladesh blogger murdered by professional killers: Doctor

    —

    in

    Those who killed US-based blogger Avijit Roy in Dhaka were professionals and dealt three blows with sharp weapons “very expertly and brutally” on the right side of the head of the victim who died from profuse bleeding, said the doctor who did the postmortem on the body Friday. Sohel Mahmud, assistant professor in Dhaka Medical…

  • India’s foreign exchange reserves rise to $328.7 bn

    —

    in

    India’s foreign exchange reserves have risen to $328.7 billion at the end of January 2015, said the Economic Survey 2014-15 which was tabled in the parliament Friday. “The financial inflows in excess of the financial requirements has helped shore up foreign exchange reserves,” the survey said. According to the report card on the state of…

  • Double-digit growth possible, inflation easing: Economic Survey

    —

    in

    India’s Economic Survey has projected growth at over 8 percent for the next fiscal and said inflation was easing while setting the agenda for “big-bang” reforms to further drive expansion, prune wasteful expenditure and promote investments in a green way. Tabled in parliament Friday by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and authored by a team led…

  • India’s growth pegged at over 8%

    —

    in , , ,

      India’s economic survey pegged growth at more than 8 percent for the next fiscal and said inflation was now declining, while also setting the agenda for reforms needed to further drive the expansion, prune wasteful expenditure and promote productive investment. Tabled in parliament by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and authored by a team led…

  • Mufti finalises cabinet with Modi

    —

    in ,

      Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) patron Mufti Mohammad Sayeed met Prime Minister Narendra Modi here Friday to finalise the cabinet of a PDP-BJP government in Jammu and Kashmir and said that both the parties were happy to serve the state. “We should respect the mandate. I met the prime minister today (Friday) and this is…

  • Pakistan army chief warns India

    —

    in , , ,

    Days before the visit of Indian Foreign Secretary S.Jaishankar, Pakistan Army Chief Gen.Raheel Sharif warned India of a “befitting response” to any provocation along the Line of Control (LoC). “Let there be no doubt that any provocation along LoC and Working Boundary would meet a befitting response,” he said . The army chief was speaking…

  • Bibi under pressure to cancel speech to US Congress

    —

    in , , ,

    Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog  called on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel his planned speech to the US Congress March 3, saying it will cause “strategic damage” to Israel’s ties with the US, Xinhua news agency reported. Herzog, who is chairman of the Labor Party, started his attack against Netanyahu at a press…

  • ISIS kidnaps 220 Assyrian Christians

    —

    in , ,

    The number of Assyrian Christians kidnapped by the Islamic State (IS) Sunni radical group in northern Syria has risen to 220 over the past three days, a monitoring group reported . The ISIS kidnapped the Assyrians from 11 villages in the town of Tal Tamr, which is considered the capital of the Syrian Assyrians in…

  • Everybody Did That…..

    —

    in , ,

    Modiji did that. Even the super human, Rajni sir di that. Southern superstar Mamootty did that. Vanavas and pilgrimage when the going gets tough. But remember the adage….When the going gets tough, the tough gets going…

  • Gandhi’s Vanavas

    —

    in , ,

    A Congress worker released pictures of party vice-president Rahul Gandhi in Uttarakhand, but the Congress refused to comment. Jagdish Sharma released the pictures on Twitter showing Gandhi camping in the hills. “Rahul Gandhi is in Uttarakhand. He will stay there for four-five days,” Sharma told Times Now. The Congress, which has already defended Gandhi’s leave during…

  • Top Asian Doctors Defend NHS Services

    —

    in , , , ,

    Asian Lite published a column by Dr Kailash Chand, deputy chair of the BMA council and a GP of 30 years service, challenging the NHS reforms of the coalition government. Here four prominent doctors –Dr Sheo B Tibrewal, Dr Johnson D’souza,  Dr Priyada Pandya and Dr Bashir Qureshi – supporting the reforms introduced by the…

  • New Facebook feature for suicide prevention

    —

    in , ,

    Now you can more easily help save the lives of friends who might appear distressed, through a new updated Facebook feature. If a Facebook friend posts something that indicates he might be thinking of harming himself, users can click on an arrow on the post to report it. Facebook will then offer options to contact…

  • NASA to study Earth’s magnetic field

    —

    in , , ,

      The US space agency is set for the launch of Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft March 12, the first space mission dedicated to the study of magnetic reconnection. This fundamental process occurs throughout the universe where magnetic fields connect and disconnect with an explosive release of energy, a NASA statement said. “Magnetic reconnection is one…

  • Rail budget forward looking: Modi

    —

    in ,

    Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the 2015 rail budget as a “watershed” moment for Indian Railways and called it “forward looking, futuristic and passenger-centric budget”. “Rail budget 2015 is a forward looking, futuristic and passenger centric budget, combining a clear vision and a definite plan to achieve it,” Modi said in a tweet after Railway…

  • More arrests in document leak case

    —

    in ,

      Two officials from the environment ministry and the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) were arrested in connection with the official documents leak case, police said . Delhi Police have arrested Jatinder Nagpal, who is personal assistant to the joint secretary in the ministry of environment, forests and climate change. He was arrested Wednesday night…

  • Victoria Cross for L/Cpl Josh Leakey

    —

    in , ,

    The paratrooper who showed “complete disregard” for his own safety during a Taliban attack in Afghanistan has been awarded the Victoria Cross – the highest British military honour. L/Cpl Joshua Leakey, 27, of the Parachute Regiment, was recognised for his valour during the 2013 attack. He is the third serviceman – and the first living servicemen…

  • Ties depends on US: Cuba

    —

    in , ,

      Restoring Cuba-US diplomatic ties in time for an upcoming summit in April solely depends on Washington’s willingness to create the right conditions. Deputy Director for US affairs at Cuba’s foreign ministry Gustavo Machin  indicated removing Cuba from a list of countries alleged to be “sponsors of terrorism” was one of the most important measures,…

  • Al-Jazeera journalists held over Paris drone

    —

    in ,

    Three Al-Jazeera journalists were arrested in Paris after flying a drone from a park on the edge of the city, a judicial source said. “The first was piloting the drone, the second was filming and the third was watching,” the source said. The arrests were made Wednesday after multiple drone sightings over the French capital…

  • Bibi condemned for opposing Iran’s n-talks

    —

    in , , ,

    US Secretary of State John Kerry has said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was wrong in opposing the ongoing nuclear talks between Iran and the world powers. Netanyahu intensified his criticism of the US-led nuclear talks with Iran, accusing the world powers of “giving up on their commitment” to stop Tehran from getting nuclear weapons,…

  • Modern rail network with no fare hike

    —

    in ,

      Without tinkering with passenger fares, Minister Suresh Prabhu presented his maiden budget for Indian Railways in the Lok Sabha, promising to balance passenger needs and long-term interests of the organisation and benchmark it globally on quality, safety and reach. “There will be no hike in railway passenger fares. We will focus on improving passenger…

  • Everybody’s responsibility is nobody’s responsibility

    —

    in , , ,

    The girls were being ‘wilfully groomed’ in effect to buy into an ideology which seemed exciting and a world away from the everyday drudgery of school and all this was being done in the safety of their bedrooms…writes YZ Patel The eloping of Kadiza Sultana, 16, Amira Abase, 15, and Shamima Begum, 15,  the three…

  • A Message To Bibi: Enough Is Enough

    —

    in , , ,

    Israel represents a sanctuary where any Jew is welcome, not a single non-Israeli Jew living outside Israel has appointed Netanyahu to be their spokesperson or protector….writes Dr. Alon Ben-Meir, a professor of international relations at the Center for  Global Affairs at NYU The killing of a security guard at a synagogue in Copenhagen over two weeks…

  • Lib Dem put up Asian woman in British polls

    —

    in

    Indian-origin mother-of-two Gita Gordon was chosen by Britain’s Liberal Democrats as their candidate from the South Shields constituency for the parliamentary elections slated in May, media reported. The Blackpool-based Gordon is the first black and minority ethnic (BME) candidate chosen to fight a northeast British constituency for the Liberal Democrats, The Shields Gazette reported. However,…

  • Amnesty against Veto culture

    —

    in , ,

    The five permanent of the U.N. Security Council have been urged by Amnesty International to give up their power of veto in cases where atrocities are being committed. In its annual report, the rights group said 2014 had been a catastrophic year for victims of conflict and violence. The report stated that richer countries took an…

  • NHS budgets going local

    —

    in ,

    The £6bn health and social care budget for Greater Manchester is to be taken over by the region’s councils and health groups, it is understood. The devolved power agreement is expected to be confirmed by the Chancellor George Osborne reported BBC. It will see NHS England hand spending decisions on regional healthcare to local politicians,…