Author: TGI News Service

  • LitFest: a celebration of languages

    LitFest: a celebration of languages

    India’s popular Jaipur Literature Festival will bring together writers from across India representing a multitude of diverse languages this month. India’s colourful literary heritage will be a focus at this year’s Jaipur Literature Festival as it brings together writers from Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, Nagamese, Oriya, Prakrit, Rajasthani, Sanskrit,…

  • New wage rates may impact work visas

    New wage rates may impact work visas

    Auckland-based immigration lawyer, Aaron Martin, believes that the government’s decision to increase the minimum wage could impact the eligibility of migrant workers for work and residence visas. The New Zealand Government has lifted the minimum wage to $18.90 per hour effective April 2020 – before raising it to a $20…

  • Government reverses immigration authority’s directives on arranged marriage visa

    Government reverses immigration authority’s directives on arranged marriage visa

    Following a public backlash, the Government has reversed Immigration New Zealand’s directives which made getting a spouse visa impossible for migrants with arranged marriages. Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway says that the ministry has fixed an issue affecting how Immigration New Zealand has processed visa applications for culturally arranged marriages, which…

  • Allow kids to talk about sexuality – expert

    Allow kids to talk about sexuality – expert

    You don’t have to be an expert in sexuality education to help your child make sense of relationships and sex, says University of Canterbury’s (UC) Health Sciences lecturer Tracy Clelland. Tracy spoke to 60 parents of 11 to 14-year-olds for her PhD research, and found that young people are learning about…

  • US lacks high-skilled talent to stay competitive – CEO group

    US lacks high-skilled talent to stay competitive – CEO group

    The US is facing a skills shortage, and losing its race for international talent to Europe, Canada and even China.

  • NZ Indian body condemns Sri Lanka attacks

    The Waitakere Indian Association has condemned the terrorist attack on the Christian brothers and sisters, celebrating the Easter services across Sri Lanka. As the authorities continue to deal with what is an unprecedented and abhorrent event after years of turmoil in the country, Waitakere Indian Association stands and extends our…

  • UK public health urged to support vegan food

    UK public health urged to support vegan food

    The vouchers available to buy milk and animal-based vitamin D supplements should be extended to vegan food, says Vegan Society of UK. Currently, under the Healthy Start scheme of NHS UK, the vouchers cannot be used for buying plant milk and there are no vegan-friendly vitamin D supplements available. Dr…

  • Strong women with strong message at JLF

    Strong women with strong message at JLF

    The art can bring change – and does not have to be limited to playing a role of meager entertainment. In fact, these two goals can almost work concurrently, as can be experienced at the popular Jaipur Literature Festival which becomes an amalgamation of intellectual and social conversation. It has…

  • Urdu doesnt belong to one religion – Shabana

    Urdu doesnt belong to one religion – Shabana

    “We usually hear people say that Hindi is the language of Hindus and Urdu is the language of Muslims. A language cannot belong to a religion,” Shabana Azmi told a packed audience at the Jaipur Literature Festival, while discussing the role of language and poetry in the cultural discourse of…

  • KiwiBuild CEO resigns after weeks of absence

    KiwiBuild CEO resigns after weeks of absence

    KiwiBuild chief, Stephen Barclay, has left the organisation after just five months in the job. According to reports, he was on leave since November 2018, while the government denied rumours about his resignation in December last year. He was hired in May to lead the government’s ambitious scheme to build…

  • Seven things to do at Jaipur LitFest

    Seven things to do at Jaipur LitFest

    If you thought that the popular Jaipur Literature Festival is about interactive forums of writers and journalists engrossed in endless discussions on the world’s socio-economic and cultural issues, think again. While the famous event on the literary calendar offers intellectual bonanza of author-sessions, there’s more to enjoy at this annual…

  • Modi’s 10% quota masterstroke

    Modi’s 10% quota masterstroke

    In what could be described as an ‘elections masterstroke’, the Modi government has agreed to provide a 10% reservation in education and jobs for the economically weaker sections (EWS) among “general” category. This quota will be in addition to the existing 50% reservation available in government jobs and educational institutions…

  • Unilever buys The Vegetarian Butcher

    Unilever buys The Vegetarian Butcher

    Unilever is acquiring The Vegetarian Butcher, so as to expand its portfolio into plant-based foods that are healthier and have a lower environmental impact, according to a statement from the FMCG giant. It is no surprise that the multinational firm is interested in a vegetarian business, as the trend among…

  • 2019: Top Things to do in Auckland

    No matter the season, the lineup of events in Auckland in 2019 will have something for everyone. As well as events, the number of hotels and other construction projects that will be completed in 2019 will excite many Aucklanders and visitors to Auckland. Check out our top ten list of…

  • Indian chef loses weight for a Navy career

    Indian chef loses weight for a Navy career

    While the New Year brings up many health-related resolutions, for a Hamilton (NZ) chef fond of unhealthy food, the fitness regime started a few months earlier, with his selection in the Royal New Zealand Navy. Thirty-seven year old Ordinary Chef Sharfuddin Shaik credits his weight-loss to the five-week long training…

  • Jaipur LitFest to provide voice to prominent women

    As India’s popular literary event matures into its 12th year, the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival is aiming to provide a platform for the issues of successful women in conversation. Beginning 24 January, the cold lawns of Dinghi Palance in Jaipur will witness this five-day carnival of discussions and debates featuring…

  • Top honours for Indian-origin professor in NZ

    University of Canterbury Associate Professor Ekant Veer, from the College of Business & Law’s Management, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship department, has been awarded New Zealand tertiary teaching excellence honours in a ceremony at Parliament. Associate Professor Veer received a Sustained Excellence in Tertiary Teaching award from Ako Aotearoa National Centre for Tertiary Teaching Excellence,…

  • Bollywood: Is beauty in the eyes of the beholder?

    The recent demise (on 24 February 2018) of Bollywood superstar Sridevi has encouraged a frenzied discussion in Indian media about the dangers of varied fads related to Bollywood and overall glamour industry – ranging from unnatural crash diets to excessive cosmetic surgeries, use of steroids, and so on. These are…

  • JLF 2018: living with multi-ethnic identities

    Having multiple ethnic identities is never easy. It was never easy anyway – whether living in India or outside India. In a sense, India is complicated – a Muslim can be Gujarati-speaking in Gujarat or Malayali-speaking in a southern Indian state. However, second-generation Indian migrants face similar dilemma while living…

  • Aucklander dies in Afghanistan

    Dr Hashem Slaimankhel, a well-respected community leader from Auckland, lost his life in a suicide bomb blast in Afghanistan, which killed at least 95 people. Dr Slaimankhel, who was a co-founder of Afghan Association of New Zealand, was on visiting his family in Afghanistan when a Taliban suicide bomber struck…