Category: South Asia

NEW DELHI, July 14, 2011 (AFP) – India will remain a soft target for militant attacks until it enforces a radical shift in counter-terror policy that prioritises effective intelligence-gathering, analysts said Thursday. “But India needs to realise that the acquisition of gadgets is not going to compensate for an ill-trained, semi-educated police force. ” Despite […]

MUMBAI, July 13, 2011 (AFP) – Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan’s new film has been a hit at the box office but has also led to protests and even a court case against its dialogue and content, which critics say is vulgar and offensive. The screwball comedy “Delhi Belly”, starring the actor-producer-director’s nephew Imran Khan, revolves […]

WASHINGTON, July 10, 2011 (AFP) – The United States is withholding some 0 million in aid to Pakistan, almost a third of the . 7 billion in security assistance it provides each year to Islamabad, President Barack Obama’s chief of staff confirmed Sunday. Relations between the key allies, always tricky, have drastically deteriorated since US […]

NEW DELHI, July 10, 2011 (AFP) – South Asian nations must make greater efforts to fight terrorism without relying on outside help, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told a regional conference in New Delhi. Stressing that South Asia could prosper as a whole, Singh said there was a need to develop a “culture” in which […]

NEW DELHI, July 10, 2011 (AFP) – India’s wealthiest man Mukesh Ambani on Sunday criticised Western philanthropy as counter-productive and said his own country’s approach to charity gave more self-respect to the needy. Ambani, who heads petrochemical giant Reliance Industries, said that rapidly-growing India could create a more sustainable model in which businesses were an […]

NEW DELHI, July 10, 2011 (AFP) – Not long ago it was the toast of investors, but India’s appeal has taken a hit, with bearish sentiment building thanks to worries over stubbornly high inflation and widespread political corruption. “If we had the right supportive economic ecosystem and big-ticket reforms, 10 percent growth would not have […]

NEW DELHI, July 8, 2011 (AFP) – The head of a former Indian royal family renounced Friday any personal claim to billions of dollars’ worth of ancient treasure discovered in a Hindu temple in the kingdom his ancestors once ruled. On Friday, the Supreme Court directed that the opening of the final vault be deferred […]

JOHANNESBURG, July 7, 2011 (AFP) – Indian giant Tata will start building an auto assembly plant in South Africa in July for production which is likely to target the local and African market, Business Day reported on Thursday. In May Tata reported a nearly fourfold increase in annual profit, boosted by booming sales and strong […]

NEW DELHI, July 4, 2011 (AFP) – Feuds over property and deadly clashes over land are as much a part of India’s economic rise as call centres and the foreign acquisitions made by its leading companies. “I wonder if this amoral energy (which Shah possesses) is what it takes to start a new nation,” Adiga […]

NEW DELHI, July 2, 2011 (AFP) – British mobile phone giant Vodafone is taking full control of its Indian joint venture by buying out its local partner Essar Group, a statement said Saturday, ending a troubled relationship. Vodafone, which has sought to make India a crown jewel in its expanding emerging markets portfolio, said it […]

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, July 2, 2011 (AFP) – A treasure trove of gold and silver jewelry, coins and precious stones said to be worth billions of dollars has been found in a Hindu temple in southern India, officials said on Saturday. A necklace found on Thursday was 18 feet (six metres) long. Thousands of gold coins have […]

WASHINGTON, June 29, 2011 (AFP) – A stink bug from Asia is chomping up US vegetable fields, orchards and vineyards, causing experts to scramble through an arsenal of weapons to try and halt this stealthy, smelly predator. Pesticides, parasites and traps have all been tried but none have succeeded in killing off the brown marmorated […]