Asian Lite News Archive

Category: -Top News

  • Pakistan court suspends execution

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    The Sindh High Court (SHC) Monday suspended the black warrants of two convicts observing that proper legal procedures were not followed. The suspension of the warrants came after the SHC heard appeals filed by the families of Muhammad Azam and Ataullah alias Abdullah, who were member of banned organisations, The News International reported. The appeals…

  • Mamata’s war against media see red

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    By Anurag Dey   “Don’t loiter around or you will be arrested” – a policeman’s warning, usually used against criminals or anti-social elements, was in fact directed towards journalists. The unusual scene of a policeman threatening to arrest reporters for doing what they do best – hunting for news – actually panned out at West Bengal’s…

  • Asian donors can become ‘Christmas List’ lifesavers

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    While many people across the UK are looking forward to presents and spending time with their families this festive season, regardless of their religious heritage, 6,891 people on the transplant list are hoping for the gift of an organ, including 1,077 Asian people.* This December, NHS Blood and Transplant is running a seasonal campaign to…

  • Isolating Moscow will not help

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    By Amit Dasgupta By all accounts, the Russian economy is in imminent danger of collapse. After a period of relative economic stability under President Vladimir Putin, the rouble is now in free-fall. The central bank has announced an increase in interest rates from 10.5 percent to 17 percent. It failed to stabilize the rouble. This…

  • TV stars memorable X-mas

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    What is the most memorable X-mas you had? TV celebrities say the best memories of their Christmas are from their school days, and if they get Rs.1 lakh from Santa Claus today, they would like to give it to charity or buy gifts for their loved ones. Here’s what TV stars have to say about…

  • Amit Shah in charge of Delhi polls

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    By Rahul Vaishnavi  Miffed with infighting and lack of coordination among state leaders that may harm the party’s prospects in the upcoming Delhi assembly polls, BJP president Amit Shah has decided to take charge of the election machinery in the capital from Dec 25, a top source said. According to a senior party leader who…

  • Two NY police officers shot dead

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    Two New York police officers were shot dead in their patrol car  afternoon by a gunman who claimed that he was angered by two recent racially-charged controversies. Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were shot dead in their car while working overtime in the East Flatbush neighbourhood of Brooklyn, Xinhua quoted New York Police Commissioner William…

  • Pakistan executes four more terrorists

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    Four prisoners, convicted for attacking former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf, were executed  at a district jail in Faisalabad. Zubair Ahmed, Rasheed Qureshi, Ghulam Sarwar Bhatti and Russian citizen Akhlaque Ahmed were shifted from the central jail in Faisalabad to another district jail late Saturday to be hanged, Dawn online reported. Family members were allowed to…

  • BJP keeps everyone guessing in Jharkhand

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    Exit polls are predicting a BJP government in Jharkhand, but nobody appears to know who will be the next chief minister in the event of a BJP win. Most exit polls say the Bharatiya Janata Party will secure enough seats in the 81-member house to form a government of its own. BJP leaders and activists…

  • Pakistan plans counselling for traumatised children

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      Pakistan’s National Health Services (NHS) has prepared counselling session programme on post-traumatic stress management for the children who survived the gruesome Peshawar school attack, media reported Sunday. According to an official statement, sessions will be held with students, their families and teachers that would help them recover from the shock, Dawn online reported. A…

  • Indian football re-launched

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    By Santosh Rao   Football in India will never be the same again and Indian Super League (ISL) can take all plaudits for this monumental change in the country’s sporting culture. The inaugural ISL – a tournament borrowing on cricket’s incredibly popular Indian Premier League (IPL) concept – has managed to recapture the imagination of football…

  • No Singh memoirs yet

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    By Ranjana Narayan He has just completed 200 days out of office, but former prime minister Manmohan Singh keeps himself perhaps as busy when in power, attending parliament for half a day daily, meeting people and attending party meetings. And he hasn’t yet decided on writing his memoirs as yet. No, he also isn’t troubled…

  • Naidu pleads to Rajya Sabha members

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    Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu  appealed to opposition parties to allow the Rajya Sabha to function to pass important bills. The minister alleged that by obstructing the business of the house for political reasons, the opposition was hurting national and people’s interests. Naidu said the opposition should allow the house to pass several important…

  • Air India’s turnaround alliance

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    By Rohit Vaid   Air India stands to gain upto $100 million (over Rs.600 crore) in the first year of its membership of Star Alliance, the the world’s largest airline accord that brings together 27 carriers for increasing passenger share and earnings, the top official of the grouping has said. It’s an infusion that would greatly…

  • More power for NRI’s in US

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    By Arun Kumar   Notching successes in fields as diverse as poetry and politics, some three million- strong Indian American community packed more power and influence far beyond their numbers in the year gone by. A record 30 Indian Americans jumped into November’s electoral battle with Republican Nikki Haley and Democrat Kamala Harris handily winning back…

  • Can Modi really take on the Hindu hawks?

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    By Amulya Ganguli  The sudden cancellation by the saffron hotheads of the religious reconversion programmes to welcome the minorities into the Hindu fold suggests that Narendra Modi has finally decided that enough is enough. However, he may have left it a little too late to ask the Hindutva Gestapo to pipe down. Perhaps he was…

  • Obama’s Cuban revolution begins

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    Cuba’s parliament  unanimously approved a government decision to restore diplomatic relations with the United States, which was a long-time foe. More than 600 deputies of the National Assembly of People’s Power voted for the bill, in sharp contrast with the backlash from conservative US legislators to such a decision by President Barack Obama, Xinhua reported.…

  • Voting ends in Kashmir

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    The fifth and final phase of assembly elections in Jammu and Kashmir ended peacefully Saturday, with over 65 percent of the voters casting their ballot in 20 constituencies, officials said. “Polling ended peacefully in all the 20 constituencies of Jammu, Rajouri and Kathua districts at 4 p.m. today (Saturday),” an Election Commission official said. Initial…

  • Lakhvi still in jail: Pakistan

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    Pakistani Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah may have been killed as Pakistan stepped up its war against terror, ordering the execution of 10 more terrorists and assuring that Mumbai terror attack mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi has not been released. A dozen terrorists were killed in separate operations across the country, including in Peshawar where 132 school…

  • Umar Mansoor warns of more attacks

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    The terrorist who supervised the Peshawar school massacre has threatened more attacks, if the military and the intelligence agencies do not stop anti-terror operations, media reported . In a video with English subtitles posted on Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan’s (TTP) website, Umar Mansoor said that Tuesday’s attack on the Army Public School which killed 148 people, including…

  • India go down fighting at the Gabba

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      Australia took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series with a four-wicket win over India on the fourth day of the second Test at the Gabba here Saturday. Chasing 128 for victory, the hosts were made to sweat but ultimately got over the finishing line, scoring 130 for six, leaving India rueing the…

  • India opens Green corridor for transplants

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     The heart of a brain dead one year and 10-month-old infant was harvested here and flown to Chennai  by a special aircraft to be transplanted in a two year and eight-months-old child, in record time, thanks to the ‘green corridor’ the city traffic police opened up for the emergency operation. “We got a call from…

  • Modi greets Jews on Hanukkah

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      Prime Minister Narendra Modi  wished the Jewish community on the occasion of Hanukkah. “Wishing my Jewish friends a Happy Hanukkah! May this Festival of Lights and the festive season ring in peace, hope and well-being for all,” Modi said in a tweet. The prime minister also tweeted the wishes in Hebrew in another tweet.…

  • Pakistan begin terror executions

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    Two convicted Pakistani terrorists were executed , in the first capital punishment carried out in the country since Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif lifted the 2008 moratorium on the death penalty in wake of the Peshawar school attack. The executed terrorists were Usman, a former soldier of the Army Medical Corps who was sentenced to death…

  • Shattering Israel’s Image

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      By Alon Ben-Meir No Israeli government has shattered Israel’s international image more than the Netanyahu government has over the past six years. Not only have Netanyahu and his cohorts systematically been engaged in rancorous public narratives against the Palestinians, but they have taken action that could only attest to his unwavering commitment to expand…

  • Madan Mitra denied bail

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    West Bengal Transport and Sports Minister Madan Mitra – arrested in the multi-crore rupee Saradha scam – was Friday yet again denied bail and sent to judicial custody till Jan 2 by a court here. Arrested Dec 12 by the CBI for criminal conspiracy, cheating and deriving undue financial benefits, Mitra’s bail plea was rejected…

  • Pakistan on high alert before executions

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    All prisons across Pakistan went on high alert, with officials preparing to start executing prisoners jailed for terrorist crimes from dawn Saturday. Six of the seven who will face the gallows in Faislabad and two jails in Lahore have been convicted for attempting to assassinate then president and army chief Pervez Musharraf, Geo TV reported…

  • Russia push for Palestine independence

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    Russia is interested in the earliest resolution of the issue concerning the state status of Palestine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said . The foreign minister said his country recognised the state of Palestine in the late 1980s. “Therefore, we have no questions whatsoever concerning the recognition of the Palestinian statehood as it was proposed…

  • RSS chief goes mute

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      RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat avoided questions on the controversy over religious conversion, saying it was not his job to comment on such issues. Asked to respond on an issue that has stalled the Rajya Sabha for days, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader said: “There others who are authorised to speak. It is not my…

  • ? Indian aviation in turbulence

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      By Rohit Vaid   India’s civil aviation industry faced turbulent weather in 2014 even as two new airlines with foreign collaborators joined the five scheduled operators to trigger a price war that squeezed margins further, with falling fuel costs giving some respite in later months. The Tatas-promoted AirAsia, in collaboration with the Malaysian budget carrier…

  • Bikini round out from Miss World pageant

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      The Miss World contest, which has been an annual feature since 1951, will no longer feature a swimsuit round in their competition, the organisation’s chairwoman Julia Morley has said. The owners of the Miss World pageant have announced that there will be no swimsuit round in next year’s competition, reports dailymail.co.uk. “I really ……

  • Britain to allow women in combat role

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    In a first, women could be allowed to serve in the British infantry units by 2016, a media report said . An army review of the ban on women serving in close combat is continuing, having been commissioned by former Defence Secretary Philip Hammond, BBC reported. But military officials say there is now a “real…

  • Sonia Gandhi stable: Doctor

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    Congress president Sonia Gandhi was “stable and recovering well”, a hospital statement said . The Congress president was admitted to the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital here Thursday for an infection in the lower respiratory tract. “Sonia Gandhi was admitted to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital yesterday (Thursday) evening with lower respiratory tract infection and some breathing…

  • Bajaj donates £200K for Gandhi statue

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    The Gandhi Statue Memorial Trust this week received £200,000 – the largest donation so far – towards the statue of Mahatma Gandhi in Parliament Square, London. The donation is from Rahul Bajaj, chairman of Bajaj Auto, to the trust established by Professor Lord (Meghnad) Desai to raise funds for the Mahatma Gandhi statue which will…

  • Test evenly poised after Smith’s heroics

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      Steven Smith and Mitchell Johnson’s whirlwind partnership propelled Australia to a first innings score 505 runs, a lead of 97, but India made a solid start to their second innings, reaching 71 for one to trail by only 26 at stumps on day three of the second Test at the Gabba here. At stumps,…

  • Execution of six Pakistani terrorists cleared

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      Pakistan Army Chief General Raheel Sharif has approved the execution of six terrorists who were sentenced to death by military courts, a media report said Friday. “Chief of Army Staff today signed death warrants of six hardcore terrorists convicted by the Field General Court Martial in accordance with law,” Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director…

  • Indian pressure gets Lakhvi back in detention

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    Mumbai attack mastermind Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, who was granted bail, has now been detained under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) at Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail, a media report said . A government source told Dawn that the government has also decided to appeal in superior courts against Lakhvi’s bail. An anti-terrorism court in Islamabad granted…

  • India closer to manned space missions

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    By Venkatachari Jagannathan  India moved a step closer to sending its own manned mission to space as well as heavy satellites when it successfully tested a next generation rocket and crew module. The country took forward its rocket technology with the successful flight testing of its heaviest next-generation rocket — the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark…

  • Pakistan to begin executions from next week

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      Implementation of death penalty cases in Pakistan is expected to begin within a week with the country’s interior ministry working on the process of wrapping up mercy appeals of convicts, media reported Thursday. The interior ministry  sent 120 mercy appeals of death row inmates to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif who will forward them to…

  • 26/11 key accused Lakhvi gets bail in Pakistan

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      Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, commander of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and one of the main accused in the 26/11 Mumbai attack, was granted bail Thursday by Pakistan’s Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC). The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) prosecutor disagreed with the bail request. However advocate Rizwan Abbasi, representing Lakhvi, appeared before the court as the bail pleas was…

  • Priyanka Chopra sign US TV deal

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      Bollywood star Priyanka Chopra, who has already made inroads into foreign shores with her music, has signed a one-year TV development deal with US-based ABC Television Studios. “A new step… An evolution of my creative self…yikes… Here we go,” Priyanka tweeted. The 32-year-old National Award winning actress, known for Hindi blockbusters such as “Krrish…

  • A hug a day keeps the doctor away

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     It may not be a far-fetched idea to replace apple a day with a hug as researchers have found that more frequent hugs protect stressed people from getting sick. The team from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) found that greater social support and more frequent hugs protected people from the increased susceptibility to infection associated with…

  • UN calls for international mobilisation against terror

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    By Arul Louis  UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for “mobilising all resources and political will” to fight terrorism in the wake of the massacre of 132 school children in Pakistan and said he will consider measures to help that country combat extremism. Answering a reporter’s question at his year-end press conference here Wednesday…

  • India successfully test fires GSLV-Mark II

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    By Venkatachari Jagannathan India  moved forward in rocket technology with the successful flight testing of its heaviest next generation rocket and the crew module. Precisely at 9.30 a.m., the 630 tonne Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV-Mark III) standing 43.43 metre tall freed itself from the second launch pad and with a reverberating deep throated…

  • Jaya gets bail extension

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      The Supreme Court  extended the bail of former Tamil Nadu chief minister J. Jayalalithaa by another four months as it asked the Karnataka high court to decide on her appeal challenging her conviction in disproportionate assets case within three months. Noting that Jayalalithaa had complied with its Oct 17 order of filing her appeal…

  • Lord’s venue for 2019 world cup final

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    Lord’s Cricket Ground in London has been proposed as the venue for the ICC Cricket World Cup final when the tournament is staged in England and Wales in 2019. The venue will also host the ICC Women’s World Cup final in 2017. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) will also recommend to the ICC…

  • Cuba announces restoration of relations with US

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      Cuba and the US have agreed to the “re-establishment of diplomatic relations,” which were broken in 1961, and they have made a commitment to “take mutual measures to improve the bilateral climate,” Cuban President Raul Castro said . Castro thanked the Vatican and Pope Francis for their support in the “improvement” of relations between…

  • Diabetes UK & Tesco unveil eating guide

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    Diabetes UK and Tesco have teamed up to launch a new healthy eating guide available in combined English, Urdu, Bengali and Guajarati. The Enjoy Food guide will help South Asian families with diabetes shop, cook and eat well, and take the uncertainty out of cooking with diabetes. It offers nutritional advice and recipes as well…

  • Bolton Boy Rocks Las Vegas

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    BY  YZ Patel Headlining the bill in Vegas. That is the main attraction. The one everyone pays to come and see, what the event gets sold on, the focus of attention. That is the pinnacle for most boxers. To have their name up in lights on the strip at no other than the MGM grand.…

  • European Parliament Votes to Recognise Palestinian State

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      The European Parliament took a historic vote today to urge member states to recognize the State of Palestine with a majority of 498 to 88 in favour.  The motion was led by the Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament (S&D), of which Labour MEPs are members. It comes in light of the…