Kuala Lumpur, Dec. 10 : Yoga has been declared "haram" in the Malaysian state of Sarawak, which is one of two on the island of Borneo.

Kuala Lumpur, Dec. 10 : The outlawed Hindraf and the Penans of Ulu Baram in Sarawak have jointly been awarded the Suaram's Human Rights Award 2008.

Sydney, Dec 10 : Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson, who opted out of the inaugural IPL ballot to shore up his position in the national team, will seek a contract with an Indian franchise for the next tournament which can only include Australian players if the rescheduled limited-overs tour of Pakistan is again put off for security reasons.

His manager, Sam Halvorsen, said the left-arm paceman was ready to add the extra demands of the rich Twenty20 league to his workload and would nominate for the February auction.

Today, the country’s second largest private sector lender HDFC Bank lowered prime lending rate (PLR) 50 basis points and state-owned Union Bank 75 basis points to 12.5 per cent. It comes just two days after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced 100-basis point cuts in key lending rates.

It was informed by HDFC Bank that its benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) will fall to 16 per cent in two stages. From 15th December, the 25 basis point reduction will come into effect and from 1st January, 2009, a similar cut will also come into effect.

Rome (Italy), Dec. 10 : US Central Command chief, General David Petraeus has said that the Mumbai attacks were of more significance for Pakistan than India, as these attacks help comprehend the magnitude of challenges confronting Islamabad.

Addressing at American Studies Centre in Rome, General David Petraeus said that the terrorist attacks in Mumbai were although quite horrible for India also, but for Pakistan this situation was more dangerous than the one that had emanated in the aftermath of 9/11.

"It doesn't mean that these attacks were less dangerous for India, but these attacks have brought to the fore the challenges facing Pakistan", The News quoted him, as saying.

A stimulus package for the crisis-hit tea industry in the country has been prepared by the Commerce Ministry, following a big economic crisis. The basic aim of the package, worth Rs 2,800 crore, which is submitted to the Government for Cabinet approval, is to improve the tea plantations.

It was announced by the Minister of State for Commerce, Jairam Ramesh, while launching the new e-auction and a GI logo for Assam orthodox tea at the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre that the tea growing states like Assam would immensely benefit from the new scheme.