Category: South Asia

LONDON, March 14, 2009 (AFP) – The Maldives will become the world’s first carbon neutral country by fully switching to the use of renewable energy within a decade, President Mohamed Nasheed said in an article to be published Sunday.“People often tell me caring for the environment is too difficult, too expensive or too much bother.I […]

NEW DELHI, March 11, 2009 (AFP) – India is to conduct a massive security review of key missions in South Asia following threats against its nationals in Afghanistan, a report said Wednesday. The Indian Express newspaper reported that officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs, spy agency the Intelligence Bureau and the elite counter-terrorism National […]

Mar 10, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s biggest state bank has proposed a bold project to make the island a Dubai-style duty free shopping mecca for the billion-plus consumers on the Indian sub-continent. Gamini Wickramasinghe, chairman of Bank of Ceylon (BOC), said much revenue can be generated by enticing visitors from the region, exploiting the […]

SLAMABAD, March 7, 2009 (AFP) – Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan believes a “foreign element” could be involved in this week’s attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team, according to an interview published Saturday. “It could be India, Afghanistan, the Tamil Tigers,” Khan was quoted as saying in an interview published online by The Times […]

Mar 05, 2009 (LBO) – The Indian Ocean atoll nation of Maldives said it had banned shark hunting close to shore and a complete ban on shark products exports was on the cards to shore up depleting numbers. The Maldives attracts 600,000 tourists per year and the sector accounts for 28 percent of gross domestic […]

CHICAGO, March 1, 2009 (AFP) – Global warming could delay the start of the summer monsoon by five to 15 days within the next century and significantly reduce rainfall in much of South Asia, a recent study has found.“These circulation changes decrease moisture flow over the land, and we see longer periods without rain, along […]

GENEVA, February 27, 2009 (AFP) – The UN refugee agency said Friday it was preparing for the arrival of tens of thousands of displaced people fleeing the conflict zone in northern Sri Lanka over the coming weeks.The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said it had received 300 acres of land […]

KARACHI, February 17, 2009 (AFP) – Pakistan is to ask for an additional loan of 4.5 billion dollars from the International Monetary Fund to patch up an economy wilting under a widening trade deficit, an official said Tuesday.Among other tight demands, the IMF wants a reduction in Pakistan’s deficit and huge borrowing from the central […]

UNITED NATIONS, January 30, 2009 (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Friday appealed to the Sri Lankan government and its Tamil foes to ensure safe passage for an estimated 250,000 civilians caught in the fighting in the northeast of the island country.“The Secretary General calls upon the (rebel) Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), […]

January 29, 2009 (AFP) – The United Nations evacuated hundreds of severely wounded civilians from behind rebel lines in Sri Lanka Thursday as government troops fought to secure final victory over the Tamil Tigers.Human rights bodies have called for immediate steps by both the Colombo government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to […]

NEW DELHI, January 24, 2009 (AFP) – India’s 76-year-old Prime Minister Manmohan Singh underwent heart bypass surgery Saturday, raising questions about his political future with general elections looming.Doctors decided to perform the surgery, which was due to take up to eight hours, after Singh complained of chest pains earlier in the week. The procedure began […]