Category: South Asia

NEW DELHI, July 17, 2011 (AFP) – The Indian company that launched the world’s cheapest car has unveiled its latest product for the fast-growing nation: a flat-pack house that costs just 0 and can be built in a week. The Nano car drew worldwide attention when it was launched in 2009, but sales figures have […]

July 13, 2011 (AFP) – Visit the Maldives and there’s a high chance the fellow holidaymakers at your island retreat will be from China, according to new figures that show the Asian giant as the biggest source of visitors. “The Chinese don’t want the beach like the Europeans. They want activities, like visiting other islands, […]

NEW DELHI, July 15, 2011 (AFP) – Indian motorbike maker Bajaj has abandoned plans to develop an ultra-low-cost car with France’s Renault and its Japanese partner Nissan, according to a senior executive. The companies announced in 2009 that they hoped to bring a ,500 minicar to market in 2012, but there have been suggestions for […]

MUMBAI, July 14, 2011 (AFP) – Indian investigators Thursday probed triple bomb blasts that killed 21 people in Mumbai, the nation’s commercial capital which is still emerging from the shadows of the deadly 2008 militant attacks. The strongest of the coordinated explosions hit busy districts in the south of the city, the same area targeted […]

NEW DELHI, July 14, 2011 (AFP) – India’s annual inflation accelerated to 9.44 percent in June, official data showed on Thursday, increasing pressure on the central bank to hike interest rates further. Meanwhile, April’s inflation figure was revised higher to 9.74 percent from a provisional 8.66 percent estimate, according to the data. The rise in […]

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 […]