Category: South Asia

NEW DELHI, October 21, 2009 (AFP) – India’s economy has withstood the global financial crisis well and should grow by 6.5 percent this fiscal year, a top government panel forecast Wednesday. The panel, which advises India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on economic policy, put the estimated growth range for the country between 6.25 percent and […]

NAIROBI, October 19, 2009 (AFP) – Somali pirates hijacked a Chinese bulk carrier Monday northeast of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, as the marauding sea bandits hunted their prey ever further from base to wrong-foot naval patrols.According to the European Union’s anti-piracy naval mission (EU NAVFOR), the unnamed ship was seized 550 nautical miles […]

MALE, October 18, 2009 (AFP) – Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed, who staged the world’s first underwater cabinet meeting at the weekend, is emerging as the global stuntman in the battle against climate change.Nasheed, 42, dived with his cabinet to the sea bottom Saturday in an effort to press December’s UN summit in Copenhagen to cap […]

NEW DELHI, October 17, 2009 (AFP) – India’s government has praised a decision by India’s richest businessman Mukesh Ambani to take a 66 percent pay cut after it called for firms to avoid “vulgar” executive salaries, a report said Saturday.The minister’s call to rein in executive pay came amid pressure from governments around the world […]

MALE, October 17, 2009 (AFP) – The government in the Maldives is set to hold its first underwater cabinet meeting Saturday to attract international attention to the dangers of global warming, a spokeswoman said. The Maldives, located southwest of Sri Lanka, has become a vocal campaigner in the battle to halt rising sea levels. In […]

WASHINGTON, October 16, 2009 (AFP) – President Barack Obama signed a 7.5 billion dollar aid package for Pakistan into law Thursday, as the key US anti-terror ally reeled from a new wave of militant attacks which killed 40 people. The requirements sparked uproar in the Pakistani parliament, and were used by opponents of the government’s […]

WASHINGTON, October 15, 2009 (AFP) – US President Barack Obama huddled with his war council Wednesday for the fifth time, debating whether to send thousands more troops to Afghanistan to quell a growing conflict.Obama is to unveil a new strategy within weeks to contain an insurgency violence fueled by Al-Qaeda militants and the Taliban, which […]

NEW DELHI, Oct 14 Asia Pulse – Indian car exports in the first half of this fiscal year jumped by 35.73 per cent as major makers like Hyundai Motor and Maruti Suzuki cashed in on Europe giving incentives on buying new cars in exchange for old ones. This is despite other segments of the auto […]

ULEE LHEUE, October 14, 2009 (AFP) – Sirens wailed and crowds fled across Indian Ocean nations Wednesday in a mass drill simulating a giant tsunami similar to the 2004 disaster that killed about 220,000 people. The Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center and the Japan Meteorological Agency sent out bulletins for a 9.2-magnitude quake and tsunami […]

NEW DELHI, October 12, 2009 (AFP) – India’s industrial output surged by a better-than-expected 10.4 percent in August, official data showed Monday, which analysts say could raise pressure on the central bank to hike interest rates.The strong year-on-year figures came on the back of double-digit growth in the manufacturing, mining and electricity sectors. Analysts were […]

by Masroor Gilani RAWALPINDI, October 11, 2009 (AFP) – Three hostages and four militants were killed early Sunday as Pakistani troops stormed a building to end an almost 20-hour siege outside army headquarters near Islamabad, officials said. At least 25 people had been snatched by suspected Taliban gunmen, who tried to storm the nuclear-armed nation’s […]

MUMBAI, October 8, 2009 (AFP) – Indian firms are expected to report a fall in profits in the quarterly results season that kicks off Friday, but better times lie ahead as the country’s economic recovery takes hold, analysts forecast. “The economic fundamentals are improving,” Hitesh Agrawal, head of research at Mumbai’s Angel Broking, said Wednesday. […]