Category: South Asia

DHAKA, August 6, 2013 (AFP) – Bangladesh denied on Tuesday that it plans to take control of pioneering microlender Grameen Bank which has lifted millions of people out of poverty. The statement by a government spokesman came ahead of the release of a report by a commission expected to recommend that the government increase its […]

MUMBAI, August 6, 2013 (AFP) – India’s rupee plunged to a fresh record low against the dollar Tuesday over concerns that foreign capital could flow back to the United States as the American economy picks up.The rupee, Asia’s worst-performing major currency this year, hit 61.35 against the greenback in morning trade, below its previous low […]

MUMBAI, July 31, 2013 (AFP) – India’s central bank governor has decided to “move on” and a hunt for his successor is underway, the country’s finance minister was quoted saying Wednesday.The government’s chief economic advisor, Raghuram Rajan, India’s economic affairs secretary Arvind Mayaram and Planning Commission member Saumitra Chaudhary are contenders to succeed Subbarao, the […]

NEW DELHI, July 29, 2013 (AFP) – India’s foreign investment panel Monday approved a plan for Abu Dhabi-based Etihad to buy a stake in Indian airline Jet, but the pact still faces other hurdles. “It (the agreement) has been cleared” by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), a senior finance ministry official told AFP. “But […]

NEW DELHI, July 22, 2013 (AFP) – US Vice President Joe Biden arrived in India Monday at the start of a four-day visit designed to revive momentum in flagging diplomatic ties and fire up bilateral trade.Biden, the first US vice president to visit India in three decades, landed in New Delhi shortly after 5pm (1130 […]

MUMBAI, July 21, 2013 (AFP) – India may be trying to lure foreign investors to revive its ailing economy, but the axing of two mega steel projects underlines obstacles even industry giants face, analysts say. Although industrialisation is championed as a way to pull tens of millions of Indians out of poverty, many farmers complain […]

PATNA, July 16, 2013 (AFP) – Indian police investigating bomb blasts at one of Buddhism’s holiest sites released sketches of a suspect on Tuesday and offered a reward for information about the attacks.Buddhists are rarely targeted in India but there have been tensions in the wider region recently following clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in […]

NEW DELHI, July 16, 2013 (AFP) – A group of Indian cabinet ministers late on Tuesday cleared plans to remove the foreign investment cap in telecoms and relax overseas ownership rules in a host of sectors in a new economic reforms push.Economists say India needs foreign investment to spur growth and also to close its […]

KABUL, July 15, 2013 (AFP) – In Kabul, many streets have no name and houses often have no number, meaning that postmen already braving the constant threat of suicide bombings must play detective to deliver mail. Such hard work is not well-rewarded in Afghanistan, which has 900 postmen nationwide with 100 in Kabul. Agha earns […]

NEW DELHI, July 13, 2013 (AFP) – India is ready for talks with the United States on a bilateral investment treaty to reinvigorate commercial ties between the world’s two biggest democracies, a report said Saturday.The announcement comes days after neighbouring China and the United States agreed to relaunch talks on a similar bilateral investment treaty. […]

THIMPHU, July 13, 2013 (AFP) – The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan concludes its second-ever election on Saturday, with the race to form a government too close to call as voters give their verdict on five years of democracy.The incumbent Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) party is up against the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to lead the […]

NEW DELHI, July 11, 2013 (AFP) – Sixty-six years ago, Santosh Sharma saw her mother sell gold bangles to feed and clothe her family of six and then dispatch telegrams to her brothers urging them to leave newly-created Pakistan and gather in New Delhi. “Eventually the telegraph system had to face defeat.” “Come, we will […]