Category: South Asia

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. […]

October 5, 2009 (AFP) – Ministers in the Maldives have taken diving lessons ahead of an underwater cabinet meeting that will highlight the threat global warming and rising sea levels pose to the low-lying atoll nation.President Mohamed Nasheed will chair the meeting on October 17 ahead of the world climate change summit in Copenhagen in […]

NEW DELHI, October 6, 2009 (AFP) – So what’s next for Indian telecoms tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal after the collapse of his proposed mega-merger deal with South African flagship cellular operator MTN?Plenty, say analysts. The 51-year-old chairman of India’s top mobile phone Bharti Airtel — who calls himself a business “junkie,” always hungering for new […]

NEW DELHI, October 5, 2009 (AFP) – More than 400,000 Indian babies die every year from preventable causes within 24 hours of their birth, despite the country’s recent rapid economic development, a report said Monday. India accounts for a fifth of all newborn deaths worldwide, according to the major report published by charity Save the […]

NEW DELHI, October 4, 2009 (AFP) – Air India said on Sunday it was investigating allegations of a mid-air brawl in which pilots and cabin crew were reported to have exchanged blows in front of startled passengers.The Times of India reported that crew members threw punches and hurled abuse at each other on the flight […]

NEW DELHI, October 4, 2009 (AFP) – Ambika Biswas looks at her grocery bag and winces.She is buying food for her family in one of New Delhi’s cheapest markets — yet her grocery costs are far higher than last year. Her maid’s income of 5,000 rupees (104 dollars) a month supports her two teenage children […]

NEW DELHI, September 29, 2009 (AFP) – Air India said on Tuesday that about half of its international flights had been cancelled due to a strike by pilots and announced a suspension of new bookings.Nine out of 21 international flights and 37 out of 177 domestic flights were scrapped, spokesman Jitender Bhargava said, after pilots […]