Category: South Asia

NEW DELHI, February 24, 2011 (AFP) – US-based Dunkin’ Donuts, one of the world’s largest coffee and baked goods chains, is set to enter India after striking a franchise deal, the company’s Indian partner said Thursday. The announcement came barely a month after US rival Starbucks unveiled a similar partnership with the giant Indian conglomerate […]

NEW DELHI, February 22, 2011 (AFP) – India’s premier on Tuesday bowed to opposition pressure to set up a cross-party probe into the government’s tainted 2008 sales of telecom licences which cost the country up to billion. Observers say the ruling Congress party’s woes have led to policy drift with important economic reform legislation put […]

WASHINGTON, February 17, 2011 (AFP) – The United States on Thursday urged its citizens to be extra vigilant about terror risks if they are in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka during the cricket World Cup. “While the US government has no specific threat information regarding the Cricket World Cup, large, high-profile events of this nature […]

TOKYO, February 16, 2011 (AFP) – Japan and India signed a free trade pact Wednesday under which the high-tech nation and the South Asian giant pledged to scrap tariffs on 94 percent of goods within a decade. But Japan — the only country to have suffered atomic bombings, and a key voice in global denuclearisation […]

NEW DELHI, February 13, 2011 (AFP) – India is set for scorching growth this year but concern is mounting about its longer-term outlook, with the central bank seen hiking interest rates further and corruption scandals worrying investors. The stock market has already dropped some 17 percent this year, hit by fears that economic growth will […]

BANGALORE, February 12, 2011 (AFP) – It would be the ultimate answer to the daily horror of gridlock on the traffic-choked, exhaust-filled roads of Indian cities. Unassumingly parked next to some of the world’s most lethal warplanes, a converted 800cc Maruti hatchback has stolen some of the thunder from the supersonic exhibits at the Aero […]

BANGALORE, February 9, 2011 (AFP) – Global aeronautical companies laid out their stalls Wednesday in one of the world’s hottest aviation markets, looking for a share of billions of dollars in Indian military and civilian contracts. “Owing to the ongoing modernisation plans of its armed forces, India has become the focal point of global defence […]

DHAKA, February 3, 2011 (AFP) – Bangladesh ordered owners of old cars to spruce up their vehicles ahead of the cricket World Cup Thursday, warning that they will be targeted by mobile courts, an official said. Old and worn-out cars and buses in Dhaka and the southeastern city of Chittagong must “get fit, smarter and […]

NEW DELHI, February 2, 2011 (AFP) – India’s top mobile phone firm Bharti said on Wednesday quarterly net profit slid 41 percent, hit by costs from its new Africa business and foreign exchange losses, but was upbeat on its future. But Bharti began last month rolling out its ultra-fast third-generation (3G) telecom services which analysts […]

NEW DELHI, January 31, 2011 (AFP) – Eight South Asian countries have launched a regional scheme to share information on poaching and wildlife trafficking in a bid to protect dwindling populations of tigers and other rare animals. After talks in Bhutan at the weekend, the countries launched the South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SAWEN), according […]

DHAKA, January 30, 2011 (AFP) – The mayor of Chittagong city in southern Bangladesh said Sunday that he would pay hundreds of beggars a daily wage to keep them off the streets during the cricket World Cup. Manzur Alam said that about 300 disabled beggars would be given 150 taka (two dollars) a day after […]