Hindus in Pakistan demand holiday, aid package on Diwali
Islamabad: Pakistan's minority Hindu community leaders have asked Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to accept their demand for a public holiday on Diwali and announce a special aid package for them on the festival. Pakistan Hindu Council Patron-in-Chief Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, also a ruling party legislator, said that grant of a holiday will help reduce the community's sense of deprivation. "We are patriotic Pakistanis and it is our consti
Modi to address joint session of Australian parliament
Melbourne: Narendra Modi will be the first Indian Prime Minister to address a special joint session of the Australian parliament during his visit to the country to attend the G20 leaders' Summit in Brisbane next month. While several Australian lawmak
Tamil poet named for Singapore's highest cultural award
Singapore: Indian-origin Singaporean poet and writer K T M Iqbal will be awarded Cultural Medallion, the country's highest cultural award, by President Tony Tan Keng Yam. It is the highest recognition for the 74-year-old Tamil poet whose achievements
Australian couple abandons surrogate baby in India
Melbourne: An Australian couple abandoned one of their biological children born to a surrogate mother in India because of the baby's gender, despite Australian consular officials pleading with them to take home the twins. Australian Family Court Chie
Lankas BBS wants ties with RSS to form peace zone in S Asia
Colombo: A controversial Sri Lankan Buddhist nationalist group, accused of fanning communal tensions here, today claimed it is in talks with the RSS to create a "Buddhist-Hindu peace zone" in South Asia to counter Islamic extremism in the r
Indian couple drowned in Thailand after boat capsizes
Bangkok: An Indian couple drowned on Sunday after their chartered long-tailed boat capsized in bad weather off southern Thailand's popular Krabi province known for its pristine beaches, the latest incident to hit the country's tourism industry. The
Malaysian Sikhs lodge report against offensive Facebook remark
Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian police are investigating reports lodged by members of the minority Sikh community against a Facebook user for allegedly posting an offensive comment against a Sikh religious figure. Lawyer Gurmukh Singh, who lodged the report,
3 Indian-origin leaders elected to New Zealand's Parliament
Melbourne: Three Indian-origin politicians, including a woman, have been elected to New Zealand's Parliament in the just-concluded general elections. Kanwaljeet Singh Bakshi, Dr Parmjeet Parmar and Mahesh Bindra have successfully made it to the 121-m
Royal prank: Australian radio station donates $5,50,000 to Jacintha's family
Melbourne: The Australian radio station, which aired a prank on an India-born nurse who later took her life after the broadcast of the prank, has donated 550,000 dollars to her family to help them rebuild their lives. Southern Cross Austereo sai
