Category: South Asia

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 […]

MALE, October 29, 2008 (AFP) – Ex-political prisoner Mohamed “Anni” Nasheed beat Asia’s longest serving leader, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, in the Maldives’ first democratic presidential election, official results showed Wednesday. The elections are the climax of an effort to bring political freedoms to the Indian Ocean archipelago in the wake of pro-democracy protests and international […]

MALE, October 28, 2008 (AFP) – Voting got under way in the Maldives on Tuesday to choose the country’s first-ever democratically elected president in a run-off between Asia’s longest serving leader and a former political prisoner. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the 71-year-old incumbent, faces his toughest critic Mohamed “Anni” Nasheed, 41, after failing to win an […]

MALE, October 27, 2008 (AFP) – The first-ever democratic presidential battle in the Maldives goes to a second round Tuesday, with Asia’s longest serving leader facing his most outspoken critic, a former political prisoner. Elections three weeks ago produced no clear winner after Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who has run the Indian Ocean archipelago unchallenged for […]

KARACHI, October 21, 2008 (AFP) – Pakistani officials are to meet International Monetary Fund representatives in Dubai on Tuesday as the violence-hit country looks for billions of dollars to stave off an economic meltdown. The government has insisted that seeking IMF help to avoid a balance of payments crisis is only a “back-up plan”, but […]

MUMBAI, October 15, 2008 (AFP) – India’s central bank said Wednesday it was injecting a further 400 billion rupees (8.25 billion dollars) into the financial system by cutting the cash reserve commercial banks must hold to 6.5 percent. The move by the Reserve Bank of India is the third such cut in the past two […]

MALE, October 9, 2008 (AFP) – The first-ever democratic presidential election in the Maldives looked set to go into a second round after Asia’s longest-serving leader apparently failed to deliver a knock-out blow to his rivals. Official results based on roughly two-thirds of ballots cast showed incumbent President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom — who has run […]

MALE, October 7, 2008 (AFP) – The president of the Maldives went into a multi-party election challenge to his 30 years in office Wednesday insisting he was no dictator and pledging to bow out gracefully should he lose. Veteran strongman Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, currently Asia’s longest-serving leader, faces five challengers in the polls that mark […]

MUMBAI, October 6, 2008 (AFP) – India’s central bank injected liquidity into the financial system by cutting the amount of cash commercial banks must hold in reserve, citing “a sharp deterioration” in the world financial situation. After a day of market turmoil in which Indian stocks plunged nearly six percent, the bank lowered the cash […]