Category: Other
Fake
BANGKOK, December 11, 2009 (AFP) – Thai authorities have arrested five people for producing and smuggling more than 300 fake EU passports and other official European documents, officials said Friday.“He (Fathi) confessed that he had trafficked stolen passports into Thailand more than 20 times,” the statement said. The DSI said Thailand is a known hub […]
UN Call
December 11, 2009 (AFP) – A top United Nations envoy asked Sri Lanka on Friday to release detained Tamil Tiger child soldiers and urged the authorities to re-unite them with their families.The government allowed tens of thousands of civilians held in the IDP camps to go in and out freely from December 1, but aid […]
VW starts production of first Indian-made Polo
NEW DELHI, December 12, 2009 (AFP) – Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest carmaker, began production of its popular mass-market Polo hatchback in India on Saturday and said it aimed to grab up to 10 percent of the rapidly growing market. But the Polo is seen by analysts as a key model for Volkswagen to penetrate the market […]
Indian navy rescues coastguard abducted on Sri Lanka trawler
NEW DELHI, December 11, 2009 (AFP) – The Indian navy on Friday rescued two coastguard personnel abducted earlier this week by Sri Lankan fishermen, a spokesman said.Navy spokesman P.V.S Satish said the two were among 14 coastguard officers who had boarded seven Sri Lankan trawlers found fishing in Indian waters on Tuesday. They had been […]
India sticks with stimulus despite good growth
NEW DELHI, December 11, 2009 (AFP) – India’s car sales are racing ahead, mobile phone sales are booming and share prices have rocketed, but policy makers are signalling a go-slow approach to ending economic stimulus and hiking rates.Even with inflationary pressure returning, central bankers and the government are suggesting only a gradual roll-back of stimulus […]
‘s Supreme Court suggests legal prostitution: report
NEW DELHI, December 10, 2009 (AFP) – India’s Supreme Court suggested legalising prostitution as a solution to the rampant sex trade that has flourished despite a raft of laws, a report said Thursday.“When you say it is the world’s oldest profession and when you are not able to curb it by laws, why don’t you […]
Progress Call
December 9, 2009 (AFP) – The United States said Wednesday it was willing to extend more aid to Sri Lanka provided there was progress in political reconciliation and human rights.He commended the government’s efforts to allow war-displaced civilians to leave state-run welfare camps in the north at their own free will and said Sri Lanka […]
Indian IT industry a target for militants: official
NEW DELHI, December 9, 2009 (AFP) – India’s multi-billion-dollar IT software industry is a target for attacks by militant groups, a top home ministry official warned Wednesday. “We are world leaders in software,” Gopal Pillai, India’s home secretary told a conference on the “Challenge of Terrorism to India’s Infrastructure and Economy” in New Delhi. “The […]
India in new privatization drive
NEW DELHI, December 8, 2009 (AFP) – The Indian government will complete stake sales in three state-run companies by the end of the current financial year in March, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Tuesday.Divestment of five percent each in the National Thermal Power Corporation and the Rural Electrification Corporation and 10 percent in Satluj Jal […]
Dubai faces gradual exodus of migrant workers
DUBAI, December 6, 2009 (AFP) – Construction worker Bilal is in a happy mood as he takes his lunch break sitting next to an artificial lake near Dubai’s showpiece Mall of the Emirates.But he admits anxiety about the end of his contract in one year’s time, when the 24-year-old may have to return to Bangladesh. […]
Policy Perspective
Dec 05, 2009 (LBO) – A good policy should carry with it six qualifications. The policy should be simple, consistent, efficient, cost-effective, free from unintended consequences and sustainable.Hence, any policy thrust that is to be pursued should satisfy these qualifications. This applies to the policy on microfinance as well. Policies are implemented by numerous branches […]
Maldives stops money printing; budgets still need fixing: IMF
Dec 05, 2009 (LBO) – The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA), the archipelago’s central bank has stopped printing money which was causing reserve losses, but the country still had to fix its budgets, the International Monetary Fund has said.The IMF has given 92.5 million US dollars to shore up foreign reserves of the tourist paradise under […]