Asian Lite News Archive

Category: -Top News

  • Is Didi Going the Amma way?

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    Anurag Dey says legal battles are Mamata’s Achilles’ heel?  The legal woes of West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee government seem to be unending. Constantly embroiled in legal battles, it has now been reprimanded by the courts, prompting the opposition to question the existence of rule of law in the state. In a blow to the ruling Trinamool…

  • MI6 has a new chief

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     Britain has named Alex Younger, a career intelligence officer, as the next chief of the MI6 Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) announced . The SIS, commonly known as MI6 (Military Intelligence, Section 6), refers to the British intelligence agency supplying foreign intelligence to the British government, according to Xinhua. Younger…

  • ‘What a shame’ Alan Henning executed

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      A video purporting to show UK hostage Alan Henning being beheaded has been released by Islamic State militants. The Salford taxi driver was delivering aid to Syria in December when he was kidnapped and then held hostage by ISIS. “What a world,” the president of the UN Security Council said late last night as…

  • Nikki Haley lead in governor’s race

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    South Carolina’s Indian-American Republican governor Nikki Haley has a 10 point lead over her Democratic challenger and state Senator Vincent Sheheen in the governor’s race, according to a new poll. The poll of 1,082 likely voters by Winthrop University shows Haley, born Nimrata ‘Nikki’ Randhawa, daughter of Sikh immigrant parents from Punjab, with a 43.6…

  • US mum on joint military ops inside Pakistan

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    The US would not say whether India-US cooperation against Pakistan-based terrorist groups could involve coordination on drone strikes, but was open to talk with all its partners how they could help Washington’s own efforts. “Those are not conversations that I’m going to get into here,” Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Nisha…

  • When yoga and warm water clicked

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      As a fasting Prime Minister Narendra Modi sipped warm water at a very “warm dinner” at the White House, US President Barack Obama wondered how his guest kept up a rigorous schedule on such a diet. “It was a very warm dinner,” said US point person for South Asia Nisha Desai Biswal, who was…

  • Dussehra stampede kills 32 in Patna

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      At least 32 people, including women and children, died in a stampede Friday evening after the burning of the Ravana effigy at the Gandhi Maidan here, officials said. “Thirty-two people including women and children died due to stampede after the ‘Ravan vadh’ and 18 people were seriously injured,” Bihar Director General of Police P.K.…

  • London pays tribute to Gandhiji

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    High Commissioner of India Mr Ranjan Mathai led a cross-section of people from the Indian diaspora to pay tributes to Mahatma Gandhi to mark Gandhi Jayanti in London. The event held near the Gandhi statue at Tavistock Square was attended by mayors, senior politicians, diplomats besides members of Indian Journalists Association, London. Chairman of India League…

  • Dewani trial begins Monday

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    The British Indian businessman, accused of arranging the murder of his wife on their honeymoon trip to South Africa, is due to face trial Oct 6, BBC reported . The trial of Shrien Dewani, 34, will begin at South Africa’s Western Cape High Court. He was extradited from Britain in April and was held at Valkenberg…

  • UK deplores Israeli plans

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    UK deplores Israeli government decision to advance plans for settlement units in Givat Hamatos and urges them to reverse decision The Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said:   “The UK deplores the Israeli government’s decision to advance plans for 2610 settlement units in Givat Hamatos.  This is an ill-judged decision which will have serious implications for the possibility…

  • Cable seeks ethnic diversity at top firms

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    Liberal Democrat Business Secretary Vince Cable has launched a campaign to increase the number of ethnic minorities at the top of British FTSE companies. On the eve of launching the British Black Business awards in East London,  Cable revealed he is in discussions with Lenny Henry and former Chair of the Equalities and Human Rights…

  • UK cities seek more power

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    Ten city leaders represented by the umbrella organisation Core Cities UK signed a strongly-worded letter to first secretary of state William Hague asking for devolution to cities across the UK to be enacted at the same speed as devolution to Scotland. The leaders welcomed a statement from Prime Minister David Cameron saying that the UK’s great cities…

  • Birmingham Rejects EDL March

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    A number of faith leaders, the three party group leaders on Birmingham City Council and the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, issued a joint statement in response to the news the English Defence League plan to stage a demonstration in the city on October 11: “What the EDL just does not seem to understand is that Birmingham’s…

  • UK uni fined over VAT fraud

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    A tax tribunal has backed HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in yet another tax avoidance case – this time against a university which claimed over £610,000 in VAT. The University of Huddersfield used the scheme to recover more VAT than it was entitled to on the costs of refurbishing leasehold property. The case relates to…

  • Durga Puja celebrated

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  • Increase in India’s domestic air passenger demand

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    Travel industry body International Air Transport Association (IATA) said India’s domestic market increased by 7.4 percent in August over the previous year. “Results for the last two months have been solid, perhaps an early sign of improvement as a result of the new business-supportive government regime,” IATA said in a statement. According to IATA, India’s…

  • RSS speaks Swadeshi

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    RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat urged the government to go for Swadeshi by embracing “a new model of development” and also came out strongly against caste discrimination in Hindu society. In his annual Dussehra speech to mark the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh’s founding day, Bhagwat patted Prime Minister Narendra Modi government saying it was “moving in the…

  • Holiday journey like no other

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  • How Facebook boosts self esteem

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    If you have had a bad day, chances are you might end up spending time on social networking sites like Facebook with people who are worse off, says a study. “When people are in a negative mood, they start to show more interest in the less attractive, less successful people on their social media sites,”…

  • Designer Nida Azwer creations for Bridal Week

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    Models present creations by designer Nida Azwer on the last day of the Pakistan Fashion Design Council (PFDC) Bridal Week in eastern Pakistan’s Lahore.

  • Chetan Bhagat`s book ‘Half Girlfriend’

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    Actress Kriti Sanon filmmakers Ekta Kapoor and Mohit Suri during the launch of author Chetan Bhagat`s new book `Half Girlfriend` in Mumbai. Chetan Bhagat’s Half Girlfriend has finally released. A lot of buzz has been going around on it since the writer declared that he is writing a book. With Mohit Suri saying that he…

  • Telangana dreams of big in tourism

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      The aroma of biryani slow-cooked over wood fire, a unique flower festival, beautiful waterfalls inside pristine tiger forests, Hyderabad’s famous Charminar and Salar Jung Museum and a modern IT hub: all this has led the newly-created state of Telangana to dream big about its tourism potential. Barely three months into existence, India’s 29th state,…

  • Portuguese PM candidate’s Goan connection

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    Socialist Antonio Costa, the top contender in Portugal’s prime ministerial race and known as Lisbon’s Gandhi, has a Goa connection. Antonio, who won the primaries of the country’s main opposition Socialist Party this week, is part Goan by origin. He has been a regular feature at several events organised by Goan expats in Portugal, which…

  • Palestinians, Israelis resume talks on Gaza

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    Palestinians and Israelis have resumed negotiations on implementation of the permanent ceasefire agreed to in August that put an end to 50 days of intense conflict on the Gaza Strip. The meeting was attended by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry and Israel’s Coordinator…

  • Modi urges people to rise up

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      Sharing his thoughts on radio, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recounted a story of a tigress and her two cubs as told by Indian mystic Swami Vivekananda, to urge people to recognise their own potential. “Swami Vivekananda used to recount a tale about a tigress who went hunting with her two cubs and saw a…

  • Indian pays tribute to 50 Australian greats

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    It’s a 50×1.5 metre canvas that took Melbourne-based, Kerala-origin Sedunath Prabhakar 18 months and AUS$7,000 to create as a tribute to 50 Australian greats, both living and dead, thereby bringing alive the country’s history. It is set to be unveiled next month. “Through my 50 portraits, I wanted to narrate the history of Australia. The…

  • Kamal Haasan calls millions to clean India

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    Actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan, who was nominated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to work towards a cleaner India, humbly accepted the invitation and invited nine million people to make this a “nation building” initiative. Modi  also nominated actors Priyanka Chopra, Salman Khan and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar among others. Modi has said the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched…

  • RSS pats Modi Govt

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    The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat  patted the government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying in the past six months it “is moving in the right direction”. In his customary Dussehra rally at the RSS headquarters here, Bhagwat said: “It is only six months but positive signs are already emanating.” Continuing the…

  • NSA talks counter-terrorism with US

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    Following up on the summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Barack Obama, Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval has met top US officials to discuss US-India security cooperation and counter-terrorism issues. Doval, who stayed back after Modi’s departure, met his US counterpart Susan Rice and Secretary of State John Kerry Thursday after meeting…

  • New dialling code comes into effect

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    Five areas of the UK will now need to include the area code when they dial a local number from a landline. Callers in areas including Bradford and Milton Keynes, will need to include the code for every phone call they make. The changes have been put into place to free up new telephone numbers…

  • Turkey clears action against ISIS

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    The Turkish parliament  passed a motion to authorise cross-border military actions in neighbouring Syria and Iraq to fight terrorist groups. Of the 396 parliament deputies who voted at Thursday’s session, some 298 voted for the motion while the rest 98 against, Xinhua reported. The decision will grant the government a one-year mandate to send Turkish…

  • INTERVIEW: King Khan

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    Bollywood ‘badshah’ Shah Rukh Khan prefers to avoid being judgmental about others. He says he doesn’t like to judge shows and competitions because he considers himself “weak-hearted”. The actor, along with the team of his forthcoming film “Happy New Year”, will soon don the hat of a judge for a one-of-a-kind reality show “Dil Se…

  • CSK set date with KKR

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     It will be an all-IPL final of Oppo Champions League T20 as Chennai Super Kings (CSK) crushed Kings XI Punjab by 65 runs in the second semifinal to set up a clash with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) who earlier defeated Hobart Hurricanes by seven wickets. The powerful Kings batting came a cropper chasing a target…

  • REVIEW: Haider – A Masterstroke

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    Subhash K. Jha reviews Haider’ – Vishal Bhardwaj’s masterstroke . To see or not to see? That isn’t a question at all. Rush to the movies and forget all the slam-bang-bang stuff that is beckoning in glamorous postures. The glamour of “Haider” lies in fold after fold of poetic statement on love, life and politics. You…

  • IMF: Global economy at inflection point

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    International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde said Thursday that the global economy was at an inflection point with weaker than expected recovery momentum, as he called for bolder policies and multilateral efforts to inject new impetus. Speaking at the IMF-World Bank annual meeting in Georgetown University, Lagarde said the global economy was weaker than…

  • Farmers urged to focus on basmati

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    Punjab wants farmers to grow Basmati …. reports Jaideep Sarin The Punjab government wants its farmers to diversify to other varieties of crops to reduce the burden on soil as well as water level from the water-guzzling common paddy variety. The farmers are being told to shift to growing the Basmati variety of paddy, which is…

  • Australia lauds the bravery of Indian soldiers

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    Indian soldiers’ bravery revisited on Haifa Day in Sydney….reports Sandeep Datta The Indian soldiers’ valour as displayed in 1918 during first World War to free the Israeli city of Haifa was remembered in Australia . On Sep 23, 1918 Indian soldiers of two elite army units from Jodhpur and Mysore, in a heroic battle with Ottomans,…

  • Indians fuel housing market in US

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    Affluent Indians as also the not-so-super rich Indians are joining a wave of foreign property buyers, who see the recovering US housing market as a safe haven for their money, according to the New York Times. While for affluent Indians, American real estate is a security blanket in the face of a bubble in real…

  • GALLERY: China National Day

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    China, the world’s most populous country, has celebrated its national day on October 1.   The People’s Republic of China (PRC) was founded on October 1, 1949 with a ceremony at Tiananmen Square. The Central People’s Government passed the Resolution on the National Day of the People’s Republic of China on December 2, 1949 and…

  • PICS: Horror Show

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     The Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Singapore is a hit. The studio held a media preview 

  • SPECIAL COLUMN: Keeping us safe

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     Sabina Ahmed looks into the Home Secretary’s move to curtail rights in the name of safety and national security                     Keeping us safe The Home Secretary gave a rousing speech to the Conservative conference. We need to, she said, give extra powers to the security services, to…

  • Designer Manav Gangwani’s creations

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    Models showcase fashion designer Manav Gangwani’s creations in New Delhi.

  • Where older women beat men voters

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    By Jaideep Sarin  As they grow older, women voters in Haryana get the better of men – numerically speaking. In the 70-years plus age group, it is the women who outnumber men among eligible voters in the state. That is quite an achievement given the fact that Haryana has the worst sex ratio (number of…

  • India win Asian Games hockey gold

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    Two-time champions India beat holders Pakistan 4-2 via penalties in the men’s hockey final to win the Asian Games gold medal after 16 years at the Seonhak Hockey Stadium here , and thus booked a berth for the 2016 Rio Olympics. Goalkeeper P.R.Sreejesh pulled off two brilliant saves as India won 4-2 in the shoot-outs.…

  • Modi’s ‘clean India’ a super hit

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      “I feel totally inspired. I will not only follow the rules of cleanliness, but will also try to influence others,” said Iqbal Khan, a Class 4 student of a government school when he heard Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s spirited speech here  on cleaning India by 2019. Iqbal was not the only one to have…

  • Modi nominates clean India campaigners

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    Forget the ice bucket challenge, Prime Minister Narendra Modi  started a similar chain, nominating actors Salman Khan and Priyanka Chopra, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and industrialist Anil Ambani among nine people to spread the message of Clean India. Modi, launching the Clean India Campaign Thursday, nominated nine eminent personalities to take forward his message to clean…

  • INTERVIEW: Hrithik Roshan

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    He overcame stammering; witnessed his father’s failure as an actor and producer and his surviving a gunshot wound; saw his sister battle cancer; underwent a near fatal brain surgery; and has faced a broken marriage with his childhood sweetheart. Yet, Hrithik Roshan calls his journey a “fairy tale” and says it is life’s adversities that…

  • Muslim & Jewish Leaders Denounce Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia

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      A gathering of Muslim and Jewish leaders took place in the European Parliament to denounce Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and all other forms of bigotry. The gathering, organised by Afzal Khan MEP in conjunction with the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, was called in response to the searing clashes that took place over the Summer between Muslims…

  • FASHION: ‘Summer ready-to-wear collection’

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    Models present creations of Agnes B. during the 2015 Spring/Summer ready-to-wear collection fashion show in Paris, France.  

  • Bollywood Celeb Celebrates ‘Durga Puja’

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    Actors Sushmita Sen, Rani Mukerji, Raveena Tandon, Singer and BJP MP from Asansol (West Bengal), Babul Supriyo, Tanuja, Sharbani Mukherjee and Tanishaa Mukerji and others during the Durga pooja celebration 2014.