Asian News International

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Pfizer’s sweetened $106 bn offer for AstraZeneca rejected

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US pharma major Pfizer’s third attempt to acquire AstraZeneca with a sweetened offer of USD 106 billion was rejected on Friday.

This is the third time that AstraZeneca has rejected Pfizer’s offer and the second in less than a week. Pfizer, the New York-headquartered maker of cholesterol drug Lipitor and Viagra, had made an offer of USD 100 billion earlier.

“Pfizer today announces that, having consulted with major shareholders, it has submitted a revised written proposal to AstraZeneca plc to make an offer to combine the two companies,” the company said in a statement.

India 3rd on list of ‘green buildings’ countries outside US

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India has been ranked third on the list of top 10 countries in leadership in energy and environmental design outside America, according to the latest US Green Building Council report.

Canada followed by China occupy the top two slots in the ranking of the top 10 countries for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) outside the US.

The report said the list demonstrates the global reach of the movement that is transforming the building environment into healthy, high-performing structures that benefit the planet and its people.

CFI condemns telecast of faux video

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Campus Front of India (CFI) has condemned the telecast of faux video by television channels and also said that even the media houses have become prey to fascist powers.

While addressing a press meet, the General Secretary of CFI, Karnataka, Mr. Wasim Shareef refuted the allegation of raising anti-national slogans by CFI cadres during ‘Anti-Fascist’ day held three months ago. He said that people are being fooled through such fake videos.

Mass wedding ceremony held at Dharmasthala

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One hundred and forty two couples have tied the nuptial knot at the 43rd customary annual mass marriage function organized by the Dharmasthala Shree Manjunatheshwara Temple near here.

The mass marriage was organised last evening at the auspicious moment of ‘Godhooli Lagnam’ which occurred at 6.45 pm on May 2.

Karnataka minister K Abhaychandra Jain, who was present on the occasion, extended his wishes to the newly married couples.

Former speaker of State Legislative Council, B L Shankar, Former minister, Govind Karjol, and Vasant Bangera MLA, were also present.

Smuggled gold biscuits seized

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BSF troops have seized gold biscuits worth Rs 32 lakh which were allegedly being smuggled from across the Indo-Bangla border in West Bengal’s Nadia district.

Officials said the seizure of the nine gold biscuits was made yesterday from Banpur border post area when the consignment, wrapped in black polythene sheets, was thrown into the Indian side from across the border.

The estimated value of the seized metal is said to be Rs 32 lakh, the official said, adding the cache has been handed over to local customs authorities.PTI

Fire at city godown in Kolkata

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A fire broke out at a godown in the city’s whole sale market Burrabazar on Saturday morning.

Three fire engines worked to douse the fire, police said.

None was injured but the extent of damage and the reason behind the blaze is yet to be ascertained, the police added.

PTI

Watching porn leave men with a complex

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Does watching a porn film give you complex? You are not alone.

According to a recent survey in France, many young men are left with a complex over the size of their penis after watching porn.

“The sight of the over-sized male organs in porn films can increase anxiety among young men,” said the survey done by Ifop, a French institute of public opinion.

Overall, of the 90 percent of male respondents who admitted watching porn, 24 percent, felt ‘inadequate’ when watching the act.

Are Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie teaming up for new movie?

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Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are teaming up for another movie project, it has been revealed.

According to Hollywood Reporter, the script has been penned by the ‘Tomb Raider’ star and the movie will be the second time the two will share the screen since 2005’s ‘Mr. and Mrs Smith’.

Insiders have also speculated that the project could be a relationship drama centered on an estranged couple who go on a holiday together in the hopes of saving their marriage. (ANI)

Rohtang Pass reopens after five months

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The snowbound Rohtang Pass, gateway to the adventure tourism destination of Lahaul valley in Himachal Pradesh, reopened for traffic after remaining closed for five months, an official said Saturday.

The pass, located at 3,978 metres in the Pir Panjal mountain range, was closed for traffic since November due to heavy snowfall.

“State-run buses between Manali and Keylong towns started plying from today (Saturday),” Lahaul-Spiti Deputy Commissioner B.S. Thakur told IANS.

The idyllic Lahaul Valley attracts a number of backpackers, especially foreigners.IANS

MERS virus can spread from camels to humans

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The recently emerged Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) can be transmitted from camel to man, it has been found.

Scientists at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, show that the MERS coronaviruses in man and camels from a single region are almost identical.

The MERS coronavirus was first found in June 2012 in a patient from Saudi Arabia, who suffered from severe pneumonia.

The fact that the Arabian camel is the origin of the infectious disease has been confirmed recently. The transmission pathways of the viruses, however, have not been clear until now.

Adriana Lima splits from husband of five years

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Actress Adriana Lima has split from her husband Marko Jaric after five years of marriage.

The Victoria’s Secret model and the NBA star, who tied the knot in a civil ceremony in Jackson Hole, Wyoming in 2009, plan to continue co-parenting their two daughters, Valentina, four, and 19-month-old Sienna, reports contactmusic.com.

In a joint statement to people.com Friday, the former couple said: “After long and careful consideration, we have decided to separate after five years of marriage.

Barack Obama troubled by botched US execution

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President Barack Obama called the botched execution of an Oklahoma inmate “deeply troubling” and announced that he’s going to ask the attorney general to analyse problems surrounding the application of the death penalty in the United States.

In his first public comments on the case of convicted murderer Clayton Lockett yesterday, the president, who formerly taught constitutional law, expressed conflicting feelings about the death penalty and said Americans need to “ask ourselves some difficult and profound questions around these issues.”

My mom my biggest support: Jacqueline

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Sri Lankan beauty Jacqueline Fernandez, who moved base here in 2009 to puruse her career as an actress in Bollywood, says her mother has been a strong source of support and inspiration in her life.

“My mom always supported me. I miss her a lot. I live here alone without my parents. There are these two people who have been so strong and they have been such an inspiration for me which always keeps me going,” Jacqueline told reporters here Friday during an event for a cosmetic brand.

Colour block jumpsuits: The easy-to-wear staple

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Jumpsuits are perfect for summer as they’re easy to wear and look incredibly chic. So, pick a stylish colour block number as it looks like you’re wearing a stylish two-piece.

Kim Kardashian sauntered into an airport this week wearing a draped monochrome number. Paired with smart nude court shoes, the reality star was looking all levels of chic.

Monochrome numbers are ideal for a sleek and sophisticated look, plus one can add flashes of colour via accessories depending on mood, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Grandmother’s favorite recipe eggs and chips

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A great-grandmother, who is celebrating her 102nd birthday, has revealed that the secret to a long life is eating double egg and chips every day.

Former dressmaker Winnie Dickinson has eaten a meal of double egg and chips around 30,000 times and even turned down a Christmas dinner in favour of it.

According to the Daily express, Dickinson said that the meal has never done her any harm.

A widow born in Colchester, Essex, she now lives at Amethyst Care Home, Rossington, South Yorks. (ANI)

Sikh cab driver in US found guilty of raping, kidnapping woman

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A Sikh cab driver in the US has been found guilty by a jury here of raping and kidnapping a 29-year-old woman and faces up to 25 years in prison for the 2011 assault.

Gurmeet Singh, 42, will be sentenced on May 12 after the jurors at his trial in Brooklyn Supreme Court yesterday found him guilty of raping and kidnapping.

The jurors cleared him of the charges of robbery and assault as well as the on the count of predatory sexual assault.

The victim, a non-profit employee, recounted in court her trauma of being held at knife point during the 2011 assault.

Nine more bodies recovered in Assam, death toll in militant attacks rises to 32

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Nine more bodies were recovered from a village in Baksa district on Saturday morning, taking the toll to 32 in the violence unleashed by NDFB-Songbijit militants in Bodoland Territorial Administration Districts (BTADC) area in Assam.

The bodies of the victims, including four children and two women, were recovered from Khagrabari village under Salbari sub-division adjacent to the Manas National Park, official sources said.

Bodies of two children were identified as Ilina Khatun and Ariful Islam.

I’ll won’t be part of Modi government: Rajnath Singh

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Rajnath Singh, the President of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has said that to avoid two power centers he will not be a part of a future Narendra Modi government at the centre if the NDA was voted to power.

Rajnath Singh, 62-year-old who is a candidate for the Lok Sabha from Lucknow, told in an interview to a news channel, “There cannot be two centres of power.”

A government is run by moral authority and only Narendra Modi has that authority to become the Prime Minister and run the government, he told the channel.

Modi doesn’t have ’56-inch chest’, he has a ’56-inch belly’: Akhilesh Yadav

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Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday hit back at Narendra Modi for the “56-inch chest” remark alluding to his father and SP supremo Mulayam Singh, saying the BJP prime ministerial candidate is the “biggest liar” with a “56-inch belly”.

“He is the biggest liar in the world. His campaign is based on lies.. he does not have a 56-inch chest but a 56-inch belly,” Yadav said while addressing an election rally at Kaiserganj.

“In politics what is needed is a big heart not a big chest,” he added.

There’s no ‘Modi wave’, only heat wave in Barmer: Jaswant Singh

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There’s no ‘Modi wave’, only heat wave in Barmer, said expelled senior BJP leader Jaswant Singh and nine-time MP on Friday who ruled out the possibility of his rejoining the party even if it showed willingness to re-induct him.

Asked in a meet-the-press event here if he would consider an invitation to rejoin the Bharatiya Janata Party if the party so intended, Jaswant Singh said, “I will not join the BJP.”

BTC area of Assam witness curfew

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Gyanendra Tripathy, Home Secretary of Assam said that the death toll in the Bodoland Territorial Council violence had gone up to 23, with the recovery of 12 more bodies from Baksha district on Friday evening.
Earlier, 11 Muslims were reported killed in two attacks.

The state administration has clamped curfew in most of the areas of the BTC which are in a weak position, where incidents of fire-raising and mob violence was reported from Narayanpur and some other pockets.

The violence which was started Thursday night has triggered a mass migration of people from the Muslim villages.

MIM is amused by TRS and Congress

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With the MIM deciding to keep its option unbolt on the subject of supporting a party for the formation of the next government in Telangana, both the Telangana Rashtra Samiti and the Congress are taking its support for granted.

Both parties have also asserted the support of a majority of Muslims, counting local MIM leaders, in several constituencies that went to the polls on April 30.

When asked for this, the reaction of party leader Asaduddin Owaisi was, “Garib ki biwi, sab ki bhabhi (a poor man’s wife is claimed as sister-in-law by everyone).”

Everest Climber Joby Ogwyn says deadly avalanche looked like big white dragon

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Everest Climber Joby Ogwyn, who was about to take the big leap from the summit, has revealed that the deadly avalanche which claimed 16 lives “looked like a big white dragon.”

Ogwyn was laying in his tent at Base Camp in the early morning hours of April 18, the snow-and-ice capped peak of Mount Everest looming overhead, when he heard it – the familiar “creaking and groaning” sound of nearby glaciers cracking apart.

But something about the noise made the 39-year-old adventurer sit up, poke his head out the back of his tent and what he saw horrified him.

Prasar Bharati CEO admits Narendra Modi interview edited

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In the wake of a massive controversy over Narendra Modi’s interview to Doordarshan, Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar on Friday acknowledged that certain portions of the Gujarat Chief Minister’s interview on Doordarshan “were apparently edited”.

Acknowledging that certain comments on personalities were apparently edited, the public broadcaster, which supervises the functioning of Doordarshan, said the free hand was given even though there were concerns that a “balancing interview” from the other side could not be procured despite best attempts of DD News.

Sun Pharma to shutter Detroit plant

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Drug major Sun Pharmaceuticals will close its facility at Detroit as part of manufacturing consolidation.

The Workforce Development Agency for Michigan state has been notified about the decision to stop operations and close the Detroit plant, which belongs to subsidiary Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories, Sun Pharma said.

The generic drugmaker recently inked a $3.2 billion deal to buy Ranbaxy Laboratories.
“The company has provided the requisite advance written notice of the facility closure to the employee union and all affected employees,” it added.