22 May 2017

Mumbai Indians clinch thrilling IPL final against Supergiant

Mumbai Indians celebrate after winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket final against Rising Pune Supergiant in Hyderabad, India, Sunday, May 21, 2017.
Mumbai Indians won their third Indian Premier League title on Sunday, defeating Rising Pune Supergiant by just one run in a dramatic final which went to the last ball.

Supergiant lost three wickets in the last over — bowled by Mitchell Johnson (3-26) — to be restricted to 128-6 after Mumbai Indians scored 129-8.

Supergiant needed 11 runs off the last over but Johnson dismissed Manoj Tiway and top-scorer Steve Smith (51) off successive deliveries after conceding a boundary off the first ball.

19 May 2017

Reema Lagoo, who played mother to top Bollywood actors, dies

A woman wails near the body Bollywood actress Reema Lagoo during her funeral in Mumbai, India, Thursday, May 18, 2017. Lagoo, the ever-smiling screen mother to some of India’s top actors, died Thursday. She was 59.
Bollywood actress Reema Lagoo, the ever-smiling screen mother to some of India’s top actors, died Thursday. She was 59.

Condolences and tributes to the actress poured forth on Twitter, including from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Reema Lagoo was a versatile actor who left a big impact in the film & TV world. Her demise is saddening,” Modi tweeted.

Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor tweeted “Good friend. heartfelt condolences.”

18 May 2017

UN court orders Pakistan not to execute Indian national

Friends of Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav celebrate the International Court of Justice order on Jadhav as they gather near a portrait of him in Mumbai, India, Thursday, May 18, 2017. The U.N. court on Thursday ordered Pakistan not to execute the Indian naval officer convicted of espionage and terrorism, in a case that has further strained relations between the Asian neighbors.
The International Court of Justice on Thursday ordered Pakistan not to execute an Indian naval officer convicted of espionage and terrorism, a case that has further strained relations between the Asian neighbors.

The officer, Kulbhushan Jadhav, was convicted in Pakistan and sentenced to death on April 10. The U.N. court ruled unanimously that Pakistan shouldn’t put Jadhav to death until India’s allegation that Pakistan breached his right to consular assistance is legally resolved.

Asian funerals go green, high-tech at Hong Kong trade fair

Wicker and seagrass coffins are displayed at the Asia Funeral and Cemetery Expo & Conference in Hong Kong, Thursday, May 18, 2017. The expo underscores how for some investors Asia’s rapidly aging population makes its death industry a potentially lucrative market. Asia’s aging population is projected to hit 923 million by mid-century, according to an Asian Development Bank, putting the region on track to become the oldest in the world.
Death is inevitable but it doesn’t have to be bad for the environment.

Caskets made of paper and wicker coffins on display at a recent Hong Kong funeral industry trade highlighted a trend toward “green burials” in an industry booming as Asia’s population rapidly ages.

Chinese businessman Alex Sun’s company, Shandong Ecoffin International, makes wicker and seagrass coffins, which first became popular in the West and are now catching on in Asia. Basket-weaving dates to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD) in northeast China’s Shandong province, where Sun’s factory uses fast-growing willow reeds to make caskets that are an eco-friendly alternative to wood.

17 May 2017

Christian sect attacks Congo prison, frees leader, 50 others

Burned minivans are seen outside the main prison in Kinshasa, Congo, Wednesday May 17, 2017. Christian sect members stormed a prison in Congo’s capital Wednesday, freeing the leader of their movement and 50 others, Congo’s justice minister said. Bundu dia Kongo movement leader Ne Mwanda Nsemi is now on the run after a 4 a.m. attack on Malaka prison in Kinshasa, Justice Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba told local radio station Top Congo FM.
Christian sect members stormed a prison in Congo’s capital Wednesday, freeing the leader of their movement and 50 others, Congo’s justice minister said.

Bundu dia Kongo movement leader Ne Mwanda Nsemi is now on the run after the 4 a.m. attack on Makala prison in Kinshasa, Justice Minister Alexis Thambwe Mwamba told local radio station Top Congo FM.

Gunfire could be heard in the morning, but the justice minister said the situation is now under control.

What we currently know about the global cyberattack

In this May 13, 2017 file photo, a screenshot of the warning screen from a purported ransomware attack, as captured by a computer user in Taiwan, is seen on laptop in Beijing. Global cyber chaos is spreading Monday, May 14, as companies boot up computers at work following the weekend’s worldwide “ransomware” cyberattack. The extortion scheme has created chaos in 150 countries and could wreak even greater havoc as more malicious variations appear. The initial attack, known as “WannaCry,” paralyzed computers running Britain’s hospital network, Germany’s national railway and scores of other companies and government agencies around the world.
As danger from a global cyberattack that hit some 150 nations continues to fade, analysts are starting to assess the damage.

Hard-hit organizations such as the U.K.’s National Health Service appear to be bouncing back, and few people seem to have actually paid the ransom. But the attack has served as a live demonstration of a new type of global threat, one that could encourage future hackers.

Here’s what we currently know about the ransomware known as WannaCry, which locked up digital photos, documents and other files to hold them for ransom.

12 May 2017

India’s Modi emphasizes links with Sri Lanka to deepen ties

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the gathering at the UN celebration of Vesak ceremony in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, May 12, 2017. During his two-day visit Modi participated in the United Nations celebration of Vesak or the day of birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha. He also inaugurated a modern hospital for the benefit of tea plantation workers, ancestors of Indian laborers brought by the British from the 18th century.
India’s prime minister emphasized common heritage with Sri Lanka on Friday as he tries to woo the island neighbor that’s become an important cog in China’s plans for control of the Indian Ocean.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a speech in the Sri Lankan capital marking the International Day of Vesak, the remembrance of Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death as part of his two-day visit to the country. He later went to meet tea-plantation workers with Indian ancestry.

11 May 2017

How are saints made? A primer on miracles, martyrs, virtues

In this photo taken May 4, 2017, souvenir tiles are displayed for sale at a shop in the village of Aljustrel, outside Fatima, Portugal. The tiles show Lucia Santos, Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto, the Portuguese shepherd children who say they saw visions of the Virgin Mary 100 years ago. Pope Francis is visiting the Fatima shrine on May 12 and 13 to canonize Francisco and Jacinta Marto.
Lengthy historic investigations. Decrees of “heroic virtues.” Miraculous cures.

The Vatican’s complicated saint-making process has long fascinated Catholics and non-Catholics alike, and will be on display Saturday when Pope Francis canonizes two children whose “visions” of the Virgin Mary 100 years ago turned the sleepy farming town of Fatima into a major Catholic pilgrimage site.

Francis recently reformed the process to address financial abuses that had long tarnished the Vatican’s saint-making machine, but the basic criteria remain.

9 May 2017

Jakarta governor sentenced to 2 years prison for blasphemy

Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama, center, enters the court room as he attends his sentencing hearing in Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, May 9, 2017. The minority Christian governor is currently on trial on accusation of blasphemy following his remark about a passage in the Quran that could be interpreted as prohibiting Muslims from accepting non-Muslims as leaders.
An Indonesian court sentenced the minority Christian governor of Jakarta to two years in prison on Tuesday for blaspheming the Quran, a jarring ruling that undermines the reputation of the world’s largest Muslim nation for practicing a moderate form of Islam.

In announcing its decision, the five-judge panel said Gov. Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama was “convincingly proven guilty of blasphemy” and ordered his arrest. He was taken to Cipinang Prison in east Jakarta. At the court, supporters of the governor wept and hugged each other amid shouts of jubilation from members of conservative Islamic groups.

Indian tycoon Vijay Mallya guilty of disobeying top court

In this June 3, 2010 file photo, United Breweries Group Chairman Vijay Mallya attends the Global Investors Meet organized by Karnataka state government in Bangalore, India. India’s top court on Tuesday, May 9, 2017, found wanted tycoon Mallya guilty of disobeying its order barring him from transferring $40 million to his children. Mallya, who fled to London last year, is wanted in India on charges of money laundering and bank demands that he pay back more than a billion dollars in loans extended to his now-defunct airline. India has been seeking his extradition over the charges, which Mallya denies.
India’s top court on Tuesday found wanted tycoon Vijay Mallya guilty of disobeying its order barring him from transferring $40 million to his children.

Mallya, who fled to London last year, is wanted in India on charges of money laundering and bank demands that he pay back more than a billion dollars in loans extended to his now-defunct airline. India has been seeking his extradition over the charges, which Mallya denies.

3 May 2017

India summons Pakistan envoy over killing of 2 soldiers

Indians burn an effigy of Pakistan and shout anti-Pakistan slogans during a protest in Ahmadabad, India, Wednesday, May 3, 2017. Two Indian soldiers were killed and their bodies mutilated Monday in an ambush by Pakistani soldiers along the highly militarized de facto border that divides the disputed region of Kashmir between the nuclear-armed rivals, the Indian army said. But Pakistan denied any such attack, calling the Indian claims false.
A top Indian diplomat Wednesday summoned Pakistan's ambassador to demand that Islamabad take action against soldiers and officers responsible for the killing and mutilation of two Indian soldiers.

The Indian army has said the soldiers were killed and mutilated Monday in an ambush by Pakistani soldiers along the highly militarized de-facto border that divides the disputed region of Kashmir between the nuclear-armed rivals.

Daredevils beat Sunrisers by 6 wickets in IPL

Sunrisers Hyderabad's cricketer Yuvraj Singh ties the shoelaces of Delhi Daredevils' batsman Rishabh Pant during their Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match in New Delhi, India, Tuesday, May 2, 2017.
Delhi Daredevils broke their five-match losing streak in style on Tuesday with a six-wicket win against defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League.

Daredevils' third victory in the tournament lifted them from the bottom of the eight-team table to the No. 6 spot with six points after nine matches.

Sunrisers, with 13 points from 11 matches, still occupy third spot behind leader Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders.

1 May 2017

India says Pakistan killed 2 Indian soldiers in Kashmir

Two Indian soldiers were killed and their bodies mutilated Monday in an ambush by Pakistani soldiers along the highly militarized de facto border that divides the disputed region of Kashmir between the nuclear-armed rivals, the Indian army said. But Pakistan denied any such attack, calling the Indian claims false.

Separately, five police officials and two bank employees were killed when suspected rebels ambushed a bank van in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said.