Category: South Asia

MUMBAI, November 28, 2008 (AFP) – At least 17 commandos on Friday abseiled from a helicopter into the Jewish centre in Mumbai taken by Islamic militants, and explosions were heard, an AFP witness said.The centre was one of several targets in the city attacked by Islamist gunmen.Officials said hostages, including Israelis, were believed to be […]

WASHINGTON, November 27, 2008 (AFP) – The White House on Wednesday held a meeting of top intelligence and counter-terrorism officials after the deadly attacks in Mumbai and said it stood ready to help the Indian government. “This afternoon, the White House National Security Council convened officials from counterterrorism and intelligence agencies as well as the […]

MUMBAI, November 27, 2008 (AFP) – India’s stocks and commodity exchanges will be closed on Thursday due to the coordinated attacks by gunmen across India’s commercial capital Mumbai, a spokesman said. “Considering the prevailing abnormal situation and the government’s advice” for people to remain indoors, “it has been decided to keep the markets closed for […]

MUMBAI, November 27, 2008 (AFP) – Army commandos laid siege Thursday to two luxury hotels in Mumbai where gunmen held foreign guests hostage as part of coordinated attacks across India’s financial capital that left up to 100 dead. A group calling itself the “Deccan Mujahedeen” claimed responsibility for the attacks late Wednesday night on the […]

MUMBAI, November 27, 2008 (AFP) – Indian army commandos were Thursday battling Islamist gunmen who launched coordinated attacks against luxury hotels and other targets in Mumbai, taking foreign hostages and killing over 100 people.One of the gunmen holed up in the Oberoi/Trident told the India TV channel by phone that they wanted an end to […]

WASHINGTON, November 24, 2008 (AFP) – The International Monetary Fund said Monday its executive board approved a credit of 7.6 billion dollars for Pakistan, the Fund’s first rescue in Asia since the global financial crisis began. The credit will “support the country’s economic stabilization program,” the IMF said in a brief statement. The Fund and […]

NEW DELHI, November 13, 2008 (AFP) – A regional grouping of seven South and Southeast Asian countries on Thursday agreed to improve relations and called for the conclusion of negotiations on a free trade agreement.The group’s last summit was held in Thailand in 2004. The top leaders of the seven nations that form the Bay […]

TOKYO, November 12, 2008 (AFP) – South Asian economies, still reeling from food and energy crises, have little scope to boost their economies in the face of the global financial turmoil, a World Bank official said Wednesday. But growth will rebound by 2010 to 7.2 percent, supported by economic giants such as India, whose “fundamentals […]

MALE, November 11, 2008 (AFP) – A former political prisoner who unseated Asia’s longest-serving leader as president of the Maldives will be sworn into office Tuesday, taking charge of a nation he fears could soon disappear. Mohamed “Anni” Nasheed, 41, the winner of the the Indian Ocean atoll nation’s first multi-party presidential elections, has come […]

LONDON, November 10, 2008 (AFP) – The Maldives’ newly-elected president said in an interview Monday that his government will begin saving to buy a new homeland in case global warming causes the country to disappear into the sea.Beloved by tourists for their white sandy beaches, palm trees and clear waters, the 1,192 coral islands that […]

DHAKA, November 2, 2008 (AFP) – The global economic crisis is putting a dent in funds sent to poor South Asian countries by nationals working abroad amid fears their armies of cheap workers will become redundant, say recruitment agents.Millions of families in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka rely on remittances from relatives working in construction […]

MUMBAI, November 1, 2008 (AFP) – India’s central bank unexpectedly cut its key lending rate for the second time in two weeks Saturday and took other steps to spur economic growth and counter fallout from the global financial crisis. The Reserve Bank of India, citing “unsettled” financial conditions, reduced its key short-term lending rate, the […]