Category: Other
‘s Carrefour to quit India: reports
NEW DELHI, May 3, 2014 (AFP) – Carrefour, the world’s second largest retailer, is working on a plan to exit India, media reports said Saturday, amid political uncertainty about the future of multi-brand retail in the South Asian giant.One of the few foreign retailers to commit to India recently is Britain’s Tesco, which has declared […]
Boat People
COLOMBO, May 2, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s navy Friday arrested 54 would-be illegal immigrants in the first major detection of boat people heading to Australia this year, an official said.A fishing trawler was detected with the passengers, including 11 women and 13 children, off the island’s north-eastern coast of Mullaittivu, navy spokesman Kosala Warnakulasuriya […]
One dead in bomb blasts at Indian train station: official
CHENNAI, May 1, 2014 (AFP) – Twin bombs planted on a train killed at least one person and wounded nine others in the main southern Indian city of Chennai on Thursday, a railway official said.“At least two people have suffered grievous injuries and seven have minor injuries,” he told reporters in comments aired on Indian […]
Arrested
May 01, 2014 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan national has been arrested in India over alleged links to Pakistani intelligence, the Times of India newspaper said. The newspaper said Sakir Hussein, 37, was in Puzhal prison after being remanded by a court in Tamil Nadu Tuesday. He had flown in from Sri Lanka on a […]
Religious Police
COLOMBO, April 28, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka police Monday announced a new unit to investigate religious hate crimes after attacks by Buddhist monks on churches and mosques last year raised concerns about religious freedom.Police Inspector-General N. K. Illangakoon said the new unit would swiftly investigate any complaint relating to “religious matters” on the majority […]
India test-fires anti-ballistic missile
NEW DELHI, April 27, 2014 (AFP) – India successfully test-fired a new anti-ballistic missile on Sunday in a step towards developing a missile defence system which only an elite club of countries has built.India, which shares borders with arch-rival Pakistan and giant China, both of whom are nuclear-armed, is developing the system that aims to […]
Sri Lanka pick Atapattu as interim coach
COLOMBO, April 25, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka Cricket on Friday named former captain Marvan Atapattu as interim head coach, making him the island nation’s seventh coach in the last four years.Atapattu, 43, was appointed for the tour of England and Scotland starting next month and the subsequent home series against South Africa in July, […]
”’s media
ISLAMABAD, April 23, 2014 (AFP) – The shooting of one of Pakistan’s most famous TV presenters has highlighted the climate of “extreme fear” facing the country’s media, journalists say, as hardliners of different stripes seek to silence dissenting voices. Hamid Mir, host of Capital Talk, a primetime current affairs show on the Geo channel, was […]
Rights Call
DUBAI, April 22, 2014 (AFP) – Amnesty International accused authorities in gas-rich Qatar on Wednesday of failing to protect domestic workers, citing cases of abuse, sexual violence and “forced labour”.As she lay injured on the ground, her attacker sexually assaulted her before finally calling an ambulance. Six months later, she was still using a wheelchair, […]
”’ statement
NEW DELHI, April 22, 2014 (AFP) – Indian election frontrunner Narendra Modi on Tuesday condemned virulent anti-Muslim remarks by a one-time associate as he sought to keep attention on his core message of development and corruption-free administration.The BJP, last in power from 1990 to 2004, is widely forecast to emerge as the biggest party in […]
Ex-Apple chief plans mobile phone for India Origin: India
NEW DELHI, April 19, 2014 (AFP) – Former Apple chief executive John Sculley, whose marketing skills helped bring the personal computer to desktops worldwide, says he plans to launch a mobile phone in India to exploit its still largely untapped smartphone market.Inflexionpoint, an information technology supply company co-founded by Sculley, will start selling the smartphones […]
Preglacial landscape found deep under Greenland ice
WASHINGTON, April 18, 2014 (AFP) – US geologists said Thursday they have uncovered a preglacial tundra landscape preserved for 2.7 million years far below the Greenland ice sheet. They then sampled a rare form of the element beryllium, the beryllium-10 isotope formed by cosmic rays. The research, backed by National Science Foundation funding, found that […]