Asian News International

New York City has the world’s largest number of billionaires but Asian cities, which include Mumbai, dominate the list of top 20 billionaire places in the world, indicating that the region is at the beginning of a new cycle in wealth creation, says a report.

According to the Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2014, in Asia the billionaire population continued to increase in size and economic significance, with 30 per cent of the net increase in total billionaire wealth coming from the region.

Actress Anjali, who is currently shooting for a yet-untitled Tamil film with Jayam Ravi, has quashed marriage rumours and said that she still has a lot to achieve in her career before she can think of tying the knot.

“I’m not planning to get married to a businessman as it’s being rumoured. I’m extremely busy with my career. I still have so much to achieve and hence, I’m not thinking about marriage for now,” Anjali told IANS.

The 28-year-old also feels “she’s too young” to get married.

On the work front, she’s currently busy shooting for Kannada film “Dheera Rana Vikrama”.

–IANS

NASA’s Cassini spacecraft is closely monitoring the evolution of a mysterious feature in a large hydrocarbon sea on Saturn’s moon Titan.

The enigmatic feature, which appears bright in radar images against the dark background of the liquid sea, was first spotted during Cassini’s July 2013 Titan flyby.

The feature covers an area of about 260 square km in Ligeia Mare – one of the largest seas on Titan.

The appearance of this feature could be related to changing seasons on Titan, as summer draws near in the moon’s northern hemisphere.

Eminent Shia cleric and MLA of opposition PDP in Jammu and Kashmir Assembly Moulvi Iftikhar Hussain Ansari died today following prolonged illness. A four-time MLA from Pattan in North Kashmir, Ansari, 74, died in the wee hours today after battling a liver ailment for more than a year, his family said.

He is survived by wife, two sons and a daughter. Starting his career as a Congress leader in early 1960’s, Ansari was made Member of state’s Legislative Council on a Congress ticket in 1973. However, he switched over to Janata Party in 1977.

Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan today left all key rates unchanged citing increased risks to inflation and difficult external situation especially on the geopolitical front.

This is the fourth consecutive time that the RBI has kept key interest rates unchanged despite clamours from the industry to cut rates to boost economy.

The short-term lending rate (repo) rate now stands at 8 per cent, and the cash reserve requirement of banks at 4 per cent. The statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) has also been retained at 22 per cent.

Scientists have come across a tooth lodged in a thigh bone of a giant ancient reptile, which has shed light on how the animals lived 220 million years ago.

Till now, it was thought that animals at the age of dinosaurs, where some lived on land and others in water, didn’t much interact. But the tooth, which was found by a University of Tennessee, Knoxville, researcher in the thigh of one of these ancient animals, has challenged the belief.

The demise of the scion of the royal family, Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wodeyar, which marked the end of the 600-year-old Mysore royal dynasty, has subdue the world- famous Dasara festival in Mysore.

As a rule, the scion of the royal family presides over the private darbar but this time, the successor of the royal family was not announced because of civil disputes with the state government.

As Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached the White House for the private dinner hosted by President Barack Obama, India and the US today issued a vision statement “Chalein Saath Saath: Forward Together We Go” that called for a joint endeavour for prosperity and peace.

“As leaders of two great democratic nations with diverse traditions and faiths, we share a vision for a partnership in which the United States and India work together, not just for the benefit of both our nations, but for the benefit of the world,” the White House said in a statement.

The rupee weakened by nine paise to trade at a fresh seven-month low of 61.62 against the dollar in early trade at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market today following increased demand for the US currency from importers ahead of RBI’s policy review.

A lower opening at the domestic equity market and the dollar’s rise against other major currencies overseas also put pressure on the rupee, dealers said.

Aral Sea – the giant lake between Kazakhstan in the north and Uzbekistan in the south – has dried up completely, says NASA.

In the early 1900s, the Aral Sea was the fourth largest lake in the world.

Today, the vast lake – formed 5.5 million years ago in Central Asia – in the middle of the Kyzylkum desert has shrunk to a level where water is no more visible to the eyes, revealed a series of images from Nasa’s Terra satellite.

A massive water diversion project begun by the Soviet Union in the 1960s caused it to shrink dramatically.

Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has rued the absence of a system to identify and nurture talent early in India, saying they are spotted only in their later years, by which time it was too late for them to compete in international level.

“I feel in many countries, talents are identified at a young age. That is what we lack in India. When we identify talents, they are in teens. That is too late for competing in international matches,” he said during a brief interaction with reporters here soon after launching ISL franchise Kerala Blasters’ team anthem and jersey.

“You reap what you sow”, Bollywood actor Shakti Kapoor said about the conviction of Jayalalithaa, who has been awarded four-year jail term in a disproportionate assets case.

“Jo jaisa boyega, vaisa katega (You reap what you sow). And it is the media power that exposes every bad work in the society,” said Kapoor when asked about Jayalalithaa.

“Jaya becomes ‘Jail Lalitha'”, Kapoor added.

The actor was here to promote an upcoming health and wellness mall.

“I am not pinpointing anybody. But ‘jo jaisa boyega, vaisa katega…jaisee karni, vaisee bharni’,” he said.

–PTI

A spread comprising of compressed avacados, crisped halibut, safron Basmati rice and salmon were part of the menu for dinner that US President Barack Obama hosted for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had only warm water due to his fast.

Though there was a plate put in front of the Prime Minister as per the protocol, he only had warm water and asked rest of the guest not to feel embarrassed and continue with their normal dinner, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said.

The dinner was attended by limited number of guests from each side.

The benchmark BSE Sensex rose over 90 points late morning trade on Tuesday after the Reserve Bank kept key interest rate unchanged in its bi-monthly monetary policy.

This is the fourth consecutive time that the RBI has kept key interest rates unchanged despite clamours from the industry to cut rates to boost economy.

After commencing 30 points lower, the 30-share index was up 90.07 points, or 0.34 per cent, to trade at 26,687.18 at 1145 hrs.

–PTI

A new research has revealed that self-compassionate women have more positive body image and cope better with personal disappointments and setbacks in their daily lives.

Research at the University of Waterloo found that this self-compassion might be an important means to protect girls and young women against unhealthy weight-control practices and eating disorders.

Pakistan has arrested 25 Indian fisherman for violating the territorial waters of the country, its maritime security agency said today.

The Indian fishermen were arrested and their boats seized early yesterday morning. “We are preparing documents to produce all of them in court,” police official Mohammad Anwer told AFP.

Indian and Pakistani fishermen are frequently detained on the charge, as the two countries’ borders are not clearly defined in the Arabian Sea.

Firing a salvo at his estranged ally Prithviraj Chavan, NCP President Sharad Pawar has criticised the former Congress Chief Minister for not having a “coalition mindset” and accused him of indulging in “diversionary tactics”.

Stepping up his attack on the Congress, Pawar said, “The previous Congress chief ministers who led the alliance namely Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushil Kumar Shinde and Ashok Chavan displayed the coalition mindset to run the government. But Prithviraj Chavan seemed to have a different mindset that queered the pitch.”

A chef in England has created a beastly 8,000 calorie breakfast that he claims can put the person eating it to sleep.

Mark Winder of the Bear Grills Cafe in Congleton, Cheshire, has made a breakfast that includes eight rashers of bacon, eight sausages, four hash browns, four fried eggs, a four-egg cheese omelette, four waffles, four pieces of toast, four pieces of fried bread, four black pudding, two ladles of beans, two ladles of tomatoes, mushrooms, a portion of large chips and a two-pint milkshake, the Daily Star reported.

The White House dinner menu for Prime Minister Narendra Modi included a scrumptious offering of saffron basmati rice, mango creme brulee, and goat cheese and baby bell peppers, even though the Prime Minister sipped only warm water as he was fasting.

The guests were also served a Shafer Chardonnay ‘Red Shoulder’ 2010 wine, with compressed avocados, micro basil, grapeseed oil, roti crisps and ginger tuille being the other delicacies on offer.

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has released a third video featuring British journalist, John Cantlie, in a series of videos released by it with an aim to explain the ISIS philosophy to the world and to condemn the military build-up in the region.

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) Chief J. Jayalalithaa’s petition to the Karnataka High Court challenging her conviction in the disproportionate assets case, seeking immediate release on bail, has been admitted by the court here today.

The next hearing has been scheduled on 6th of October, which means that the former Tamil Nadu chief minister will have to stay in jail till the hearing place.

Earlier today the supporters of ‘Amma’ staged a silent protest, which also saw famous Tamil film stars in attendance. (ANI)

It comes as a big shock to Congress and NCP as the leaders of the Muslim community are intending to support BJP or Shiv Sena in return for an assurance that the basic problems of the community would be tackle.

And adding to NCP’s embarrassment, Muslims in that party led by its minority cell chief Habib Fakih have left the party fuming over Muslims not being nominated as candidates from minority pockets in Vidarbha and Marathwada.

A new study has suggested that consumers are likely to eat more nutritious and tailored to meet food in 2050 with the help of technological developments that could reduce waste and decrease the amount of water needed for agriculture.

The study conducted focused on the innovative solutions for feeding the world’s projected 9 billion-plus people in 2050.

PepsiCo’s executive vice president and chief scientific officer Mehmood Khan, said that seven billion people on the planet today, 9 billion by 2050 was a massive increase in consumer base. (ANI)

Congress yesterday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proved himself a “very good event manager” but got “carried away” on his visit to the USA even as it charged that he was “diluting” the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi.

The party, however, at the same time praised Modi for his speech at United Nations in which he had given a strong response to Pakistan’s criticism of India on the Jammu and Kashmir issue.

Actor Brad Pitt, who exchanged vows with his long-term partner and actress Angelina Jolie in August, says marriage is more than just a title.

The 50-year-old actor shared his views on marriage in an interview with British GQ magazine, reports dailymail.co.uk.

“I wouldn’t say (marriage is) just a title. There’s more to it than that,” said the “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” star.

He also addressed the subject of his good friend and actor George Clooney, who called him “unreachable” recently.