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South Asia
India sucessfully retests missile that can reach Chinese cities like Shanghai
India successfully test-fired for the second time a nuclear-capable missile that can strike the major Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai, officials said. Ravi Gupta, a spokesman for the Defence Research and Development Organisation, said the latest test of the Agni-V brought the missile a step closer to being inducted…
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South Asia
The missing links of Asian history
Emeritus Professor Kim Byung-Mo of the Department of Cultural Anthropology at Hanyang University in South Korea has been looking for his roots. After a laborious forty years of research, he was perhaps not surprised to find that he shared a “genetic connection” with the royal family of Ayodhya, a non-descript…
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South Asia
Pakistani women take part in a rally for the World Hijab Day
Pakistani women take part in a rally to mark the World Hijab Day in southern Pakistani port city of Karachi on Sept, 4, 2013. Nationwide rallies were organized to highlight the importance and value of hijab for Muslim women in Pakistan. <Xinhua/NEWSis>
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South Asia
India passes $20 bln law to expand food welfare
India plans to subsidize wheat, rice and cereals for some 800 million people under a $20 billion scheme to cut malnutrition and ease poverty. The Food Security Bill, sent this week by India’s parliament to the president for approval, guarantees citizens a legal right to food. India has some of…
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Chicken goes missing from Kathmandu’s kitchens
Chicken that used to be one of the compulsory items in almost all kitchens in Kathmandu until a month ago has now disappeared from Kathmandu valley, thanks to the outbreak of bird flu. One cannot find chicken in the butchers’ shops, neither do the retail shops dare to sell the…
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South Asia
India’s gov’t struggles to halt rupee slide as financial crisis deepens
Indians returning from abroad bring nearly 3,000 flat screen televisions into the country a day, turning airport luggage belts into revolving electronics displays. A stiff new customs duty aims to sink that popular trade as officials scramble to halt a dizzying plunge in the rupee. The 36-percent TV tax is…
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South Asia
Pakistan’s PM Nawaz Sharif calls for peace talks with anti-gov’t militants
Pakistan’s prime minister reiterated Monday an offer of peace talks with militants in the country’s northwest who have waged a bloody campaign against the government and so far rejected any talk of negotiations. But Nawaz Sharif also held out the option of new military operations to root out the militants…
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South Asia
37 killed as train runs over Hindu pilgrims at eastern India’s station
A train ran over a group of Hindu pilgrims at a crowded station in eastern India early Monday, killing at least 37 people. A mob infuriated by the deaths beat the driver severely and set fire to coaches, officials said. Several hours after the accident, flames and dark smoke could…
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Challenging social norms easier said than done in Pakistan
Challenging Social Norms is easier said than done in Pakistan Society is a regulatory authority for individuals connected through diverse relationships either based on blood, love or friendship. Criticism by society is deterrence for individuals, which makes them move in a specific direction shunning certain unwelcome behaviors no matter…
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South Asia
India marks Independence Day amid tight security in disputed Kashmir
The local government in Indian-controlled Kashmir Thursday held Indian Independence Day functions amid tight security arrangements and complete shutdown called by separatists, officials said. The main function was held at the Bhakshi stadium in Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. The region’s Chief Minister Omar Abdullah hoisted the…
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