Category: South Asia

TOKYO, July 30, 2008 (AFP) – Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura has put off a visit to South Asia starting this weekend due to political uncertainties at home, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. Japan was arranging for Komura to visit India, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan from Friday until August 8, said a foreign ministry official, […]

July 30, 2008 (LBO) – A summit meeting of South Asian leaders this weekend is placing ‘food security’ high on its agenda with promises of more state intervention, officials said, despite recent state meddling that backfired on the region’s poor and farmers.Sri Lanka’s international trade minister G L Peiris told reporters that the time has […]

July 25, 2008 (LBO) – Pakistan should stop printing money to bridge budget gaps to avoid further currency depreciation and loss of foreign reserves, the International Monetary Fund has said.The new money increases demand for goods, and usually cause imports to go up, which in turn increases demand for foreign exchange. If the monetary authority […]

July 22, 2008 (LBO) – South Asian leaders holding a summit in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo next months will consider setting up common standards for goods made in the region as well as a food crisis fund and buffer stocks, a senior official said. Foreign Affairs Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said south Asian leaders are […]

NEW DELHI, July 21, 2008 (AFP) – The Indian government was scouring for support Monday, trying to shore up its position a day before a no-confidence vote in parliament triggered by a controversial nuclear deal with Washington. The government will collapse and early elections will be called if the coalition of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh […]

GHAZNI, July 18, 2008 (AFP) – Police arrested a woman and a 13-year-old child they alleged were suicide bombers planning to kill a provincial governor in central Afghanistan, officials said Friday. President Hamid Karzai pardoned the boy and handed him over to his parents. The pair were arrested late Thursday as they were fixing explosives […]

July 15, 2008 (LBO) – Maldivian government Tuesday appointed the central bank chief Abdullah Jihad as the new minister of finance, the atoll’s information minister said. Until his appointment, Mausoom was the head of the country’s tourism promotion board. Shougee has now been appointed as the Vice Chancellor of the state-run university to be set […]

July 11, 2008 (LBO) – The finance minister of Maldives has resigned amid speculation that he may launch his own presidential bid through a different party, media reports from the archipelago said.The Minivannews.com, a web based news service, said finance minister Gasim Ibrahim had given his resignation to president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, but the president […]

July 9, 2008 (LBO) – Dubai’s Noor Islamic Bank has inked a deal to open up an Islamic banking unit in the Indian Ocean Island of Maldives, officials said.Operating under the name Noor Islamic Maldives Private Limited, the Dubai-based bank will hold 33 percent in the new company, Maldives Monetary Authority Governor, Abdulla Jihad said […]