Category: South Asia

NEW DELHI, September 7, 2010 (AFP) – China is seeking to expand its influence in South Asia and gain a “foothold” in the region, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in remarks published Tuesday. “China would like to have a foothold in South Asia and we have to reflect on this reality,” Singh was quoted […]

NEW DELHI, September 6, 2010 (AFP) – India said Monday it aims to sell stakes in two more state-run energy firms as part of its plans to speed reforms and raise funds to combat poverty. The Congress-led government is looking to sell 10 percent of its stake in Indian Oil Corp and a five-percent stake […]

BHUBANESWAR, September 5, 2010 (AFP) – India on Sunday successfully tested a surface-to-surface version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile which it has developed jointly with Russia, officials said. The missile was fired from a mobile launcher 200 kilometres (125 miles) northeast of Bhubaneswar, the capital of the eastern state of Orissa. “The test of […]

KATHMANDU, September 5, 2010 (AFP) – Nepal’s parliament failed for the sixth time to elect a prime minister on Sunday, as the house speaker warned of a “serious crisis” if a new government is not in place soon. The country has been without a government since June 30, when former prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal […]

NEW DELHI, September 4, 2010 (AFP) – The world’s seventh-largest steelmaker, Tata Steel, is in talks with banks for a 5. 4-billion-dollar loan for its British unit Corus, a report said Saturday. The Economic Times newspaper said BNP Paribas, HSBC Holdings and Royal Bank of Scotland may be among the banks contributing funds for the […]

NAITALE, September 3, 2010 (AFP) – Sanjay Sathe stood by his vines in a sweeping agricultural belt outside the city of Nashik in western India and punched a number into his mobile phone. “Hello, it’s Sanjay Sathe,” the 36-year-old grape and tomato farmer announced in the local language, Marathi, as if talking to a friend. […]

WASHINGTON, September 2, 2010 (AFP) – The World Bank raised its emergency funding to Pakistan to one billion dollars on Wednesday to help the nation cope with the massive economic impact of catastrophic monsoon flooding. The hike, an additional 100 million dollars on top of an existing 900 million dollar loan, was announced by World […]

KABUL, September 2, 2010 (AFP) – An owner of Afghanistan’s biggest bank, Kabul Bank, said Thursday it was not facing a run and was supplying branches with enough cash to meet demand, a day after US media allegations of corruption. “There is not a run. We’re here and we are prepared to pay out as […]

NEW DELHI, August 31, 2010 (AFP) – India on Tuesday said China was demonstrating “more than normal interest” in the Indian Ocean as two Chinese warships made a rare visit to military-ruled Myanmar. India is watchful of China’s growing presence in the region, including its major investments in ports being built in Sri Lanka and […]

NEW DELHI, August 31, 2010 (AFP) – India’s BlackBerry users heaved a sigh of relief Tuesday after the government gave the company a two-month reprieve on a threat to ban its messaging services, averting a showdown over security access. Research in Motion (RIM), the smartphone’s maker, has made “certain proposals for lawful access” to heavily […]

NEW DELHI, August 26, 2010 (AFP) – India warned the makers of the BlackBerry Thursday its messaging services could be shut down if it failed to give security agencies access “in readable format” as a compliance deadline loomed. A shutdown would affect corporate users among BlackBerry’s 1.1 million customers, whose communications have a higher level […]

KOLKATA, August 26, 2010 (AFP) – A solemn mass kicked off a day of remembrance Thursday on the birth centenary of Mother Teresa, known as the “Saint of the Gutters” for her life’s work with the sick and destitute of Kolkata. Mother Teresa began her missionary work with the poor in Kolkata in 1948 and […]