Category: South Asia

MUMBAI, July 8, 2013 (AFP) – India’s rupee slid to a new record low against the dollar Monday as the greenback was boosted by stronger than expected US jobs numbers. The rupee has fallen nearly 12 percent against the dollar this year, making it the worst performing currency among major Asian economies. The Reserve Bank […]

NEW DELHI, July 9, 2013 (AFP) – India’s financial markets regulator on Tuesday sought to halt the slide of the rupee by restricting speculative trading in the currency — a day after the unit hit a new lifetime low against the dollar.The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) said it was taking the action […]

COLOMBO, July 7, 2013 (AFP) – Maldivian President Mohamed Waheed pledged Sunday to work with the main Islamic party ahead of upcoming elections, and rejected opposition fears it would lead to increased radicalisation in the luxury tourist destination.Waheed described most Adhaalath members as moderate, while some had “extreme views”. “I don’t worry too much about […]

PATNA, July 8, 2013 (AFP) – Indian police arrested a man on Monday over the weekend attacks at the historic Bodh Gaya Buddhist temple complex and were studying CCTV footage that appeared to show two men planting explosives at the site.The Bodh Gaya complex also houses multiple shrines marking the places where the Buddha is […]

PATNA, July 7, 2013 (AFP) – Indian police reported multiple low-intensity blasts at the Bodh Gaya Buddhist temple complex on Sunday, saying two people had been wounded but the temple was safe.It houses the holy bodhi tree as well as the giant Mahabodhi statue of Buddha, and multiple shrines marking the places where he is […]

NEW DELHI, 2013 (AFP) – India’s state-run banks will open 10,000 branches this year as part of a drive to extend formal financial services to the estimated 40 percent of the country without them, a minister said Wednesday.Spreading banking services is a key part of the government’s new cash transfer programme, that sees welfare beneficiaries […]

KABUL, June 29, 2013 (AFP) – British Prime Minister David Cameron made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan on Saturday, backing talks with the Taliban after his top general said the West missed a chance to strike a peace deal 10 years ago. “The attack that was organised near the presidential palace will not deter us […]

DEHRADUN, June 22, 2013 (AFP) – Relief teams were racing against time Saturday to rescue tens of thousands of stranded people in rain-ravaged northern India as the death toll from flash floods and landslides neared 600.Rescue workers who managed to reach those stranded were racing to cut down trees and clear vegetation to allow military […]

NEW DELHI, June 14, 2013 (AFP) – India’s inflation cooled to a more than three-year low in May, data showed Friday, but the rupee’s plunge will likely stall any interest rate cut to kickstart the ailing economy.The Wholesale Price Index, India’s most most closely watched inflation gauge, dropped to 4.7 percent in May on an […]

MUMBAI, June 10, 2013 (AFP) – India’s rupee hit a record low of 57.54 against the dollar on Monday on growing demand for dollars among oil importers, while the greenback was also boosted by upbeat US jobs data.The partially convertible rupee hit its previous low of 57.32 against the dollar on June 28 last year.On […]

NEW DELHI, May 31, 2013 (AFP) – India’s economy grew by 5.0 percent in 2012/2013, its slowest annual rate in a decade, in another blow to the corruption-hit government ahead of national elections due by next year, data showed Friday.India’s wholesale inflation, its most widely watched measure, cooled last month to a surprise 41-month low […]

NEW DELHI, May 20, 2013 (AFP) – Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pledged Monday to build trust with India and declared that ties between the Asian giants were key to world peace as he visited New Delhi only weeks after a border spat.Speaking alongside his counterpart Manmohan Singh, Li said China wanted to increase cooperation with […]