Category: South Asia

NEW DELHI, March 9, 2014 (AFP) – One Indian worker was killed in an accident during construction of a nuclear submarine, a defence statement said Sunday, the latest in a string of deadly mishaps to hit the navy.Two other workers were injured in the accident on Saturday at a ship building centre in the southeastern […]

AGRA, February 27, 2014 (AFP) – A pet parrot in India has been credited with helping catch the man who murdered its owner, a relative said Thursday. The owner, a 55-year-old woman, was stabbed to death and her jewellery stolen at her home in the northern city of Agra on February 20. The woman’s relatives […]

WASHINGTON, February 21, 2014 (AFP) – US regulators are not targeting India, despite a series of import restrictions on drugs from the major US trading partner, the Food and Drug Administration chief said Friday.India’s generics industry is a major supplier of lifesaving drugs, including antiretrovirals for HIV, to the United States and over 200 other […]

NEW DELHI, February 8, 2014 (AFP) – India’s Maruti Suzuki said Saturday it had halted production of its iconic first small car, the Maruti 800, which revolutionised road transport for millions of Indians.The boxy, four-seater hatchback — the first car ever owned by many Indian middle class families — first rolled off the production line […]

NEW DELHI, February 6, 2014 (AFP) – Tourists travelling to India from 180 countries will no longer have to queue at their local consulates to obtain visas after New Delhi announced an “historic” overhaul of its strict visa regime.Most foreigners currently have to wait several weeks before learning whether they will be allowed to enter […]

NEW DELHI, January 31, 2014 (AFP) – The Tata Nano, billed as the world’s cheapest car, and a host of other top-selling small models from India have failed their first independent crash tests, a global safety group said Friday. The five entry-level vehicles — including the country’s best-selling small car the Suzuki-Maruti Alto 800, as […]

KABUL, January 18, 2014 (AFP) – Taliban suicide attackers killed at least 14 people, including the IMF representative in Afghanistan and three UN staff, in a terrifying gun and bomb attack on a Kabul restaurant popular with foreigners.One attacker blew himself up outside the Taverna du Liban in the upmarket Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood Friday […]

NEW DELHI, January 17, 2014 (AFP) – India’s ruling party was putting on a united front Friday at a mass rally after its leader Sonia Gandhi stalled a push to name her son Rahul as prime ministerial candidate at looming elections.Thousands of Congress party members have gathered in the capital New Delhi for a conclave […]

MALÉ, December 30, 2013 (AFP) – A dead body has washed up at an exclusive island resort in the Maldives where English football star David Beckham is taking a hideaway Christmas holiday with his family, police said Monday.Investigations were underway to establish the cause of death of the man, whose body was found floating near […]

JEDDAH, December 28, 2013 (AFP) – Saudi coastguards have found the bodies of three Asian workers at sea after they went missing when an oil company’s offshore platform sank, officials said Saturday. “They were all found. We found two of them late yesterday and another one this morning,” Eastern Province Coastguard spokesman Colonel Khaled al-Arqubi […]

KARACHI, December 13, 2013 (AFP) – Pakistan’s textile sector Friday welcomed a European Union’s move to cut duties on the country’s exports, saying it would add billions to the economy, but it warned an energy crisis could prevent firms from benefiting from the windfall.The EU on Thursday signed a law granting Pakistan generalised system of […]

MUMBAI, December 9, 2013 (AFP) – Indian shares hit a record high while the rupee and bonds rallied on Monday after the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, widely seen as business friendly, recorded a string of victories in state elections. The party’s success has raised hopes among investors that it could come to power with […]