Category: South Asia

NEW DELHI, November 30, 2013 (AFP) – India’s struggling Tata Nano, billed as the world’s cheapest car, could still have a strong future with a more upmarket image, says Tata group tycoon Ratan Tata, as the company looks to give the hatchback a new start. Tata told US business channel CNBC late Friday he still […]

WASHINGTON, November 22, 2013 (AFP) – A US Senate report on Friday urged Walmart, Gap and other retailers to respect labor unions in Bangladesh, saying workers desperately needed greater rights after hundreds died in fires.“They should also collectively develop and implement a policy of zero-tolerance for suppliers who consistently engage in anti-union activity,” it said. […]

DHAKA, November 20, 2013 (AFP) – Bangladesh police have arrested three union leaders over deadly protests against a new minimum wage for garment workers that have forced hundreds of factories to shut, an officer said Wednesday. Police arrested the trio over their roles in the protests which have left two people dead in key industrial […]

MALÉ, November 17, 2013 (AFP) – Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen was inaugurated Sunday, a day after his shock election victory that ended nearly two years of turmoil that threatened to turn the honeymoon islands into an international pariah.Yameen, the half-brother of the islands’ long-time strongman ruler, was sworn in by the chief justice at a […]

MALÉ, November 16, 2013 (AFP) – Abdulla Yameen was to be sworn in as the Maldives new president Sunday after his shock win over former leader Mohamed Nasheed, drawing a line under a bout of turmoil on the paradise islands. Yameen secured 51.3 percent of the popular vote compared to 48.6 percent for ex-president Nasheed […]

MALÉ, November 16, 2013 (AFP) – The Maldives Saturday began voting in a run-off presidential election held under intense international pressure to elect a new leader and end months of political unrest.Polling booths across the Indian Ocean archipelago opened at 7:30am (0230 GMT) with the 239,000 electorate given eight and a half hours to choose […]

MALÉ, November 16, 2013 (AFP) – Organisers of a troubled presidential election in the Maldives said they hoped to name a winner of a run-off contest Saturday after previous attempts were scuttled.Chief Elections Commissioner Fuwad Thowfeek told reporters that he hoped they will be able to declare a final winner in an election where former […]

NEW DELHI, November 15, 2013 (AFP) – The president of the Maldives has left the country on the eve of national elections that have been delayed three times, his spokesman said Friday, leaving a leadership void amid a constitutional crisis.Mohamed Waheed, who took office after a contested transfer of power last February, left for Hong […]

MALÉ, November 12, 2013 (AFP) – The United States stepped up its criticism of the embattled Maldives on Tuesday, warning caretaker president Mohamed Waheed that a decision to remain in office after his mandate expired was endangering democracy.The US State Department said Waheed’s move to continue to govern after his time in office lapsed at […]

MALÉ, November 10, 2013 (AFP) – The United States sharply rebuked the Maldives’ top court after it suspended a presidential election runoff scheduled for Sunday, blocking a vote for the third time in two months.“Efforts by the Supreme Court to repeatedly and unduly interfere in the electoral process subverts Maldives’ democracy and takes decision-making out […]

MALÉ, November 10, 2013 (AFP) – Presidential elections in the Maldives were thrown into disarray on Sunday after the Supreme Court suspended a run-off vote, denying former president Mohamed Nasheed the chance to return to power 21 months after he was ousted. Despite growing international concerns over the Indian Ocean atoll nation’s failure to elect […]

MALÉ, November 9, 2013 (AFP) – The Maldives’ presidential run-off will be held Sunday, but with a five-hour delay, the chief elections commissioner announced as the second-placed candidate asked for more time to prepare.The court has begun hearing the case.Ibrahim says he wants more time to tell his supporters which of the two candidates they […]