Asian Lite News Archive

Category: World News

  • European kids happiest in friendships

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    Children are more likely to be happy with their friendships in Europe and more likely to be happy with their school lives in Africa, says a global survey from Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany. The survey asked 50,000 children in 15 countries about all key aspects of their lives, including their family and home life,…

  • British singer Sarah Brightman postpones space travel

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    British singer Sarah Brightman has for now dropped her plans to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) as a space tourist, according to a media report. Brightman was to travel to the ISS aboard a Russian Souyz TMA-18M spacecraft scheduled to blast off on September 1,tponed the plan. The Soyuz now will carry only…

  • Charles secret Letters made public

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    After 10-year court battle, estimated to have cost the taxpayer £400,000 in legal fees finally the letters sent by Prince Charles has been made public. The correspondence – known as the “black spider” memos because of the heir to the throne’s unusual handwriting style – was sent between September 2004 and March 2005, when Tony Blair…

  • Nuclear Iran new Israeli challenge: Netanyahu

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    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that one of the challenges facing the upcoming government would be handling Iran’s nuclear programme. “A conciliatory (move) with Iran would prove out to be a mistake that would cost a very heavy price,” Netanyahu said in a speech in the Knesset commemorating 70 years of the Allied Forces’…

  • EU urged to take firm stance on Israel

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    A group of 19 prominent former European leaders have urged the European Union to take a firm stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict in light of the lack of political will for peaceful resolution shown by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s new government, Efe news agency reported. In a letter to EU foreign policy chief, Federica…

  • Antarctic ice shelf thinning

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    Providing fresh insights into assessing Antarctica’s likely contribution to future sea-level rise, a new study says that the Larsen C Ice Shelf — whose neighbours Larsen A and B, collapsed in 1995 and 2002, respectively — is thinning from both its surface and beneath. Scientists were unable to determine whether it is warming air temperatures…

  • No clue of missing US Marine chopper

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    By Anil Giri    The armies of Nepal and the US have launched a joint search operation to trace a Marine chopper that went missing from Sunkhani in Charikot district, 67 km northeast of Kathmandu. The US Defense Department said the missing UH-1 Huey, carrying six Marines and two Nepal Army soldiers, had dropped off supplies,…

  • Barcelona reach Champions League final

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      Barcelona will play in its eighth Champions League final next month after defeating Bayern Munich 5-3 on aggregate, despite losing 3-2 here in the second leg of the semi-final. Brazilian striker Neymar and German goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen were the difference-makers for Barcelona, who began the contest with a 3-0 lead after last week’s…

  • ISS astronauts’ return delayed

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    The return of three International Space Station (ISS) astronauts, originally scheduled for later this week, has been delayed due to the failure of a Russian cargo spacecraft. The spacecraft, Progress 59, launched by a Soyuz rocket from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan on April 28, failed to dock with the ISS after suffering a…

  • UK 20th in global school rankings

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    Asian countries are in the top five places and African countries at the bottom in he biggest ever global school rankings ever published. Singapore heads the table, followed by Hong Kong, with Ghana at the bottom reports BBC. The UK is in 20th place, among higher achieving European countries, with the US in 28th. The OECD…

  • Palestine appreciates India’s support

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    By Sheikh Manzoor Mahmoud Al Habbash, special advisor to Palestine President Mahmmud Abbas, has lauded India for extending political, moral and material support to Palestinians and said the two sides recently evolved a new mechanism to strategise their relationship. “We are thankful to India for supporting an independent Palestine state and pleading their cause at…

  • Another white officer walks free in US

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    By Arun Kumar   Yet another white police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager in March in one of a spate of similar incidents sparking protests around America will not face criminal charges. Tony Robinson Jr, a 19-year-old black man was fatally shot by white police officer Matt Kenny in Madison, Wisconsin, on…

  • North Korea executes its defence chief

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    North Korea has publicly executed the country’s defence minister after the regime accused him of treason, said a media report. Hyon Yong-chol, the chief of North Korea’s People’s Armed Forces, was executed by firing squad using an anti-aircraft gun at a military school in Pyongyang around April 30, Yonhap News Agency reported quoting South Korea’s…

  • The world now has a billion smokers

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    Almost five percent of the world’s adult population (240 million people) have an alcohol use disorder and more than 20 percent (one billion people) smoke tobacco, new research on global addictive disorders has found. The report estimates the number of people injecting drugs at around 15 million worldwide. “Bringing all this data together has been…

  • Greenpeace on the chopping block in India

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    By Sajai Jose   As Greenpeace India struggles to stay afloat, the real reason why the government wants to shut down the global environmental NGO hasn’t got much attention: Coal, the single biggest source of primary energy in India, is at the heart of the Narendra Modi government’s ambitious plans to ramp up industrial production in the country. A…

  • Nepal toll in fresh quake rises to 65

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    The death toll in the powerful earthquake that rocked Nepal has reached 65, authorities here said. As many as 1,926 people sustained injuries in the May 12 quake which measured 7.3 on the Richter scale, according to the Home Ministry’s National Emergency Operation Centre. Geologists describe the May 12 temblor as an aftershock of the…

  • NRI scientist develops new tool for cancer diagnosis

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    Rohit Bhargava, an IIT-Delhi graduate and now with University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has developed stainless staining that provides a new tool for clinicians and researchers for better diagnosis of cancer. Till date, prepared biopsy samples are stained and examined under a light microscope. Using infrared spectroscopic imaging for microscopy, Bhargava has reported the development…

  • UK to set new laws to target radicalisation

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    David Cameron is to set out new powers to tackle radicalisation, saying the UK has been a “passively tolerant society” for too long. The PM will tell the National Security Council a counter-extremism bill will be in the Queen’s Speech on 27 May reports BBC. The bill will include new immigration rules, powers to close…

  • Karachi terror attack claims 43

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    At least 43 people were killed and 13 others injured when unidentified gunmen opened fire at a bus in Pakistan’s Karachi city on Wednesday. The incident took place near the city’s Safoora Chowk area, Dawn online reported.  Those travelling in the bus belonged to the Ismaili community of the city. Sindh Police Inspector General Ghulam…

  • Al Qaeda leaders killed in Yemen drone strike

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    Four leading members of Yemen’s Al Qaeda branch have been killed in a suspected US drone strike in the east of the country, security officials and news outlets close to the Islamic State militant group said. The suspected US drone fired rockets in the southern port of Mukalla on Monday, killing the Al Qaeda leaders…

  • Obama’s presidential library to be built in Chicago

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    The future library and museum commemorating Barack Obama’s two presidential terms will be built in Chicago, the US president’s foundation said. The project, which includes the construction of an academic institute, will occupy land provided by City Hall in a public park that will be identified on Tuesday at noon, when the university that will…

  • Hanged activist indicts MQM chief

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    Saulat Ali Khan, alias Saulat Mirza, admitted to carrying out several political assassinations of rival party leaders and government officials as well as attacks on security forces on orders from the MQM leadership, in particular London-based party chief Altaf Hussain   Pakistan’s most famous death-row inmate was executed on Tuesday in the high-security Machh jail…

  • Andhra to House Mega Google Campus

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    Google to build largest campus outside US in Hyderabad….reports Asian Lite, UK’s No 1 newspaper fro British Asians  Global Internet services company Google will build its largest campus outside the US in Hyderabad with an investment of Rs.1,000 crore, announced Telanagana Information Technology Minister K. Tarakarama Rao on Tuesday. The minister, who is on a…

  • Modi Seeks ‘Cricket Diplomacy’

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    Prime Minister Narendra Modi is determined to break the ice with Pakistan through “cricket diplomacy” Despite apprehensions raised by some BJP MPs about a proposed India-Pakistan cricket series, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is determined to break the ice with the neighbouring country through “cricket diplomacy”, informed sources said. “We have taken the decision to start a…

  • Codes of Corporate Dressing

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    The first code is –  Don’t overplay, underplay…says Sheena Agarwaal First impressions tend to last longer when it comes to the world of professionals. Wear properly fitting clothes with smaller prints, and glam up with subtle makeup if you’re in the corporate world, says an expert. Sheena Agarwaal, image consultant at Gurgaon-based Urbanista Image Consultancy, has…

  • Hollande meets Fidel Castro

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     French President Francois Hollande has met retired Cuban leader Fidel Castro in Havana, Spanish news agency Efe reported. The meeting  about 40 minutes, a French diplomat told Efe. After meeting the 88-year-old Castro, Hollande paused to place a floral wreath at the monument to Cuban founding father Jose Marti at the Plaza of the Revolution,…

  • Facebook bug bombards users with birthday reminders

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    If you are being flooded with birthday reminders from Facebook for the past few weeks, you can blame a bug for that. Also, you are not alone being inundated with such reminders for friends’ birthdays. The social network has confirmed that a bug in its notification system meant that it sent out many more push…

  • King Salman calls Obama after cancelling US visit

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    President Barack Obama spoke by telephone with Saudi Arabia’s King Salman, one day after Riyadh announced that the monarch will not attend a US summit of Persian Gulf leaders scheduled for later this week. The White House said that Salman called the president on to “apologise” for not being able to come to Washington this…

  • US approves Arctic drilling

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    The US has granted conditional approval to energy giant Shell to begin oil drilling in the Arctic waters off the coast of Alaska. The interior department wrote in a statement, issued on Monday, that Shell could begin drilling in the Chukchi Sea once several environmental conditions are met, including a sign-off from agencies assessing the…

  • Sharif arrives in Kabul

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    Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif arrived in Afghanistan on a one-day official visit. Sharif is accompanied by his Advisor on National Security and Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, army chief General Raheel Sharif, Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar and other senior officials, Khaama Press reported. Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabani received the…

  • 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…

  • Is Obama planning to ‘invade’ Texas?

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    By Arun Kumar    American politics can sometimes border on the bizarre. Conspiracy theorists would have one believe that Democratic President Barack Obama is hatching a secret plot to invade the Republican-ruled southern American state of Texas and impose martial law? Rumours gained traction after Texas Governor Greg Abbott vowing to “protect Texas” ordered the state…

  • 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…

  • What Ails Indian Healthcare?

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    Amit Kapoor exploring the strength and challenges of India’s healthcare system One of the biggest challenges India faces and will continue to face in the forthcoming decades is in the context of healthcare. It would include issues like health accessibility, infant mortality rates, the stunted growth of children because of ill health, maternal health, disease…

  • 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…

  • Hollande arrives in Havana

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    Francois Hollande arrived in Havana  marking the first official visit by a French president to Cuba amidst a historic diplomatic thaw between the US and Havana, Efe news agency reported. Hollande’s journey to Cuba is part of a Caribbean tour which began in the French Antilles, consisting of St. Martin, St. Barthelemy, Martinique and Guadeloupe,…

  • 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…

  • Scotland tops league for gay equality

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    Scotland has been rated as the best country in Europe in terms of legal equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people, media reported . Scotland ranked top of the Rainbow Index after meeting 92 percent of International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA)-Europe’s criteria for equality and human rights, BBC…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Putin ready to re-build relations with EU

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      Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Russia is ready and willing to fully re-establish its relations with the European Union while meeting with his Czech counterpart, Milos Zeman. “Unfortunately, we have suffered a certain decline in trade, due to the matters we know about all too well, including mutual economic sanctions,” Putin said on…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • US labels Al Jazeera bureau chief as Al Qaeda member

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    The US government has labelled Al Jazeera’s bureau chief in Pakistan’s capital as a member of Al Qaeda and put him on a watch list of suspected terrorists, an online magazine reported. Ahmad Muaffaq Zaidan, a Syrian national based in Islamabad, has covered the Taliban and Al Qaeda throughout his career and has conducted a…

  • NEWS N PICS – Cameron Returns to No 10

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