Category: Other
IMF avoids comment on speculation India seeking aid
WASHINGTON, August 29, 2013 (AFP) – The International Monetary Fund declined to comment Thursday on speculation that India, reeling under a currency crisis, may seek IMF assistance.A wave of poor economic news for India — the rupee crashed to a new record closing low Wednesday — has fueled talk that New Delhi might need to […]
” interventions
MUMBAI, August 30, 2013 (AFP) – India’s rupee resumed its downward trend against the dollar on Friday, after strong gains in the previous session, as dealers await GDP growth data and a statement from the prime minister on the ailing economy.The rupee — Asia’s worst-performing currency this year — was at 67.37 against the dollar […]
Indians made poorer by currency depreciation
NEW DELHI, August 29, 2013 (AFP) – Seventeen-year-old Indian student Appu Sharma was going to apply to a US university to study economics but with the rupee on the ropes, he’s set his sights closer to home.Jayakrishnan declined to name figures but press reports calculated the three-day wedding he helped design for the daughter of […]
‘s rupee hits fresh lifetime low
MUMBAI, August 27, 2013 (AFP) – India’s rupee fell to a new low Tuesday on fears over the country’s slowing economy and the impact of a new food programme for the poor on already strained finances.The rupee, like currencies of other emerging markets, has also fallen on fears of foreign fund outflows as the US […]
India says people can afford food-for-poor scheme as markets tank
NEW DELHI, August 27, 2013 (AFP) – India’s finance minister insisted Tuesday the government could afford a vast new food programme for the poor despite growing concern about public finances which drove the rupee to a new record low.The Indian currency, which has been under sustained pressure, fell 2.73 percent to 66.07 against the dollar […]
Bangladesh holds Fonterra milk products over scare
DHAKA, August 27, 2013 (AFP) – Bangladesh authorities have restricted imports of powdered milk mostly from New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra following a contamination scare that has seen global recalls, officials said Tuesday. Customs officials are holding more than 600 tonnes of powdered milk mostly from Fonterra until mandatory chemical tests showed they were safe, […]
Not Us
August 25, 2013 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s army Sunday denied involvement in an armed robbery at the home of a journalist who has been critical of the government.Media rights groups have said Sri Lanka remains a dangerous place for journalists despite the end of a decades-long war between the military and Tamil separatist rebels in […]
Maldivian foreign minister dies in Singapore hospital
COLOMBO, August 25, 2013 (AFP) – Maldivian Foreign Minister Abdul Samad Abdullah died Sunday while undergoing treatment for kidney and heart disease in a Singapore hospital, the government said.He was 67. Abdullah was a key ally of President Mohamed Waheed who is seeking re-election in September 7 elections in the Indian Ocean atoll nation. Waheed […]
Separate
August 23, 2013 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president has bowed to international pressure and relinquished the defence ministry’s authority over the police department, an official said Friday. President Mahinda Rajapakse has created a new ministry for law and order, and placed it in charge of the 80,000-strong police which had been overseen by the defence […]
Threatened
COLOMBO, August 24, 2013 (AFP) – Five armed men held a Sri Lankan newspaper editor at knifepoint as they searched her home on Saturday before police burst in and shot one of the intruders dead, officials said.The latest incident came a day ahead of a fact-finding mission to the island by the UN’s human rights […]
India rupee slide takes breather, dollar up against yen
TOKYO, August 23, 2013 (AFP) – The dollar’s surge against the Indian rupee took a breather on Friday after hitting record highs for most of the week, although upbeat manufacturing data from around the world helped the greenback against the yen. — Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this article — However, traders remain on edge […]
Maldives court quashes flogging of rape victim
MALÉ, August 22, 2013 (AFP) – The Maldivian High Court has overturned a public flogging sentence for a 15-year-old rape victim whose conviction sparked outrage among rights groups and focused attention on the island nation’s treatment of women.The High Court issued a statement on Wednesday saying that the girl, whose step-father is on trial for […]