RSSREGIONS: COUNTRIES:
India's Rise, America's Interest
Evan A. Feigenbaum
Until the late 1990s, the United States often ignored India. India's weak and protected economy gave it little influence in global markets, and its nonaligned foreign policy caused periodic tension with Washington. When the United States did concentrate on India, it too often fixated on India's military rivalry with Pakistan. Today, however, India is dynamic and transforming.
The Progress of Man
Robert C. Koehler
It's time, I think, to resacralize progress. One way to start is to recognize the rights of native peoples around the world not to be displaced, to see in their determination to remain in reverent connection to a piece of the earth not something quaint and primitive and of value to them alone, but the heart and center of humanity's struggle with itself.
Who Will Be the New Global King of the Hill
William Pfaff
China and India stopped being part of what was called the third world when the Communist world disappeared in a shattering of global illusions in 1989. Since then there has been a search to find a new King of the Global Hill. The United States rejoiced for a few years in being the sole superpower, considering it an opportunity to remake the world according to its own advantage.
Interview with India's Environment Minister
Jayshree Bajoria
India and China have long maintained their economic growth will suffer if they accept binding emission targets under an international agreement on climate change. Instead, they have called for mitigation commitments by the developed world and financial support from rich countries to help developing countries adapt to climate change.
Working Together, Brazil, Russia, China and India Increase Leverage
Ian Bremmer
In 2003, a report authored by Goldman Sachs economists popularized the term BRICs -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- to describe a whole new category of emerging-market powerhouse. The report argued that with sound political leadership and relative international stability, the BRIC economies would together outpace the original G6 industrialized nations in dollar terms by 2040 -- a fundamental shift in the global balance of power. Since then, these four countries have assumed ever-greater importance in the international investment community's collective imagination.
Elections Give India's Congress Party Clout to Push Agenda
by Ian Bremmer
For nearly a year, an unmanageable coalition government in India has obstructed the ruling Congress Party's policy agenda and brought the country's economic reform process to a grinding halt. Now that an impressive electoral triumph in national parliamentary elections held in April and May has allowed the party to shed unreliable allies, can its leaders move the country in a more market-friendly direction. There are grounds for both caution and optimism
India's Fortune: Prospects of a Country on the Rise
by Edward Luce
Nandan Nilekani's book, Imagining India, charts how India arrived at the potentially transformative moment it has reached today and describes the gargantuan challenges the country will have to overcome if it is to fulfill that potential
Indian Ocean: Center Stage for 21st Century Struggles Between India & China
by Robert D. Kaplan
Competition between India and China suggests that the Indian Ocean is where global struggles will play out in the twenty-first century. The old borders of the Cold War map are crumbling fast, and Asia is becoming a more integrated unit, from the Middle East to the Pacific.
Brazil, China & India Can Mitigate Global Crisis
Global Economic Viewpoint
Brazil, India and even China will not be able, by themselves, to correct the dysfunctions that produced the global crisis. But it is true that the economic power of these three countries can mitigate its negative consequences. ...
India balks at curb on nuclear liability
Delhi's Congress party-led administration has backed away from tabling controversial legislation limiting the liability of foreign nuclear reactor suppliers in case of a nuclear accident
Vedanta revives bid battle for Asarco
The UK-listed Indian miner has revived a $2bn takeover battle for the bankrupt US copper producer, by appealing against the court decision that handed Asarco to a rival bidder
India tells Putin of Afghan fears
India is calling on Russia to reach out to Afghanistan's neighbours to start preparing a strategy for when Nato forces pull out to prevent extremist forces destabilising central Asia and southern Russia
Politics puts fast spin on Indian cricket
Observers of cricket in India say that the machinations of the country's ministers and powerbrokers are increasingly being drawn to the game. For companies participating in the IPL, this means political risk
India's ONGC and Russia in energy pact talks
India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp is in talks with Gazprom and Rosneft over taking equity stakes in oil and gas projects to help cement an energy partnership
Bosch locks out staff amid India unrest
The German car parts supplier shuts out 700 workers at its plant outside Bangalore as tensions soar in a long-running pay dispute
Russia in dogfight for India contract
For the past six decades Moscow has supplied the bulk of New Delhi's military hardware, from submarines to Sukoi jets, but Russia faces stiff competition
TPG sells Asia healthcare stake for $685m
TPG has sold its minority stake in one of Asia's biggest listed healthcare groups for $685m to an Indian corporate buyer, in another lucrative exit in the region for the global private equity fund
Putin seeks to bolster links with New Delhi
Russian's prime minister is seeking to re-energise ties with India during his fifth visit to the country in a decade and is expected to sign as many as 15 agreements worth about $10bn
Mexico's Slim heads Forbes rich list
Carlos Slim, the Mexican telecommunications billionaire with a net worth of $53.5bn, has been crowned the world's richest person by Forbes magazine – the first time in 16 years the post has been held by a non-American.
New Delhi boost for women MPs
India has taken a big step towards the introduction of legislation to boost female representation in parliament, with the upper house passing a bill that would reserve a third of lower house seats for women
India's tribes in land fight with business
Long-neglected indigenous animist groups have upset the plans of corporate giants as battles over forcible acquisition of agricultural land for industry rage across India
UN seeks emerging states' help to aid poor
International development agencies face a 'diminishing market' unless they partner large emerging economies to bring development to the poorest countries
Tata Motors hit by Daimler stake sale
Shares in Tata Motors fell almost 6% after Daimler said that it had sold its 5.34% stake in India's largest carmaker to the group's founders and other investors
Satyam case tests foreign investors' rights
A legal case brought in New York against the outsourcing company will show how far overseas shareholders in Indian companies are able to seek damages through class-action lawsuits
FT.com - India
FT.com - India
Income ceiling for low-cost housing loans increased
‘Nuclear Bill will let foreign firms off the hook'
Arms haul indicates comeback bid by Maoists
India for next round of talks in Pakistan
Satish Mishra sidelined by Mayawati at Lucknow rally
Court may consider plea to recall order referring Zakia complaint to SIT
With a Holi pun, terror suspect lands in ATS net
Dhaka, New Delhi to strengthen military ties
Paravur synagogue to be restored
Best possible regime: Government
Pratibha, Manmohan greet nation on Ugadi, Gudi Padava
MNS activists interrupt film shooting
Centre warns of retaliatory attacks by Maoists
India to fight any attempt to unseat Pachauri: Jairam
Indian paintings evoke Kazakh interest
Clouds over Indian Ocean promise showers in Kerala
ICGS Vishwast to be commissioned tomorrow
Now, West Bengal prisoners can make phone calls to their families
A.P. welfare schemes poorly designed: Lok Satta
VIP gallery at Eden Gardens triggers a row
West Bengal BJP to induct up to 33 p.c. women in State leadership
Lok Sabha to discuss in full grants for 6 Ministries
CPI for poll ties with RJD and LJP
Cr.PC Bill curbs arrests in criminal cases
Opposition slams Mayawati on Bareilly riots
GJM proposes interim set-up prior to Gorkhaland
Cholera epidemic kills 9, affects thousands in Solapur
The Hindu - National
The Internet edition of The Hindu, India's national newspaper
I-T department to probe Mayawati's cash garland
I-T department will probe the source of the Rs 1,000 notes garland presented to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati during a BSP rally on Monday.
Baba Ramdev may launch political party
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev plans to launch his own party though he says he won't fight elections. The yoga guru said that he will field candidates in the 2014 general elections.
Google's departure will not affect foreign investment: China
Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said that if Google quits, it would not change the fact that most foreign enterprises, including American ones, were operating well and making profits in China.
IPL: RCB thrash Kings XI by 8 wickets | Scorecard
Riding on Robin Uthappa's 19-ball fifty and Jacques Kallis 84*, Royal Challengers thrashed Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets in the IPL encounter.
Varun, Sidhu, Hema Malini in Gadkari's A-team
Nitin Gadkari's team is a blend of youth and experience. Hema Malini and Najma Heptullah are among the vice-presidents that have been appointed. Sidhu and Varun Gandhi have been appointed general secys.
No threat from foreign universities entering India: IIT
After the Cabinet's nod for foreign universities to set up campuses in India, the IITs and IIMs welcomed the move saying it would help Indian institutions move to global standards and encourage competition.
No foreigners as item girls, employ locals: MNS
After targeting north Indians, ed MNS has launched a campaign against foreigners employed with Bollywood. However, the party will not target those foreigners who work in movies to fulfil scripts' requirements.
Shootout outside ISRO centre near Bangalore
A shootout broke out between two men and security forces outside the high-security ISRO centre at Byalalu near Bangalore. Security personnel were forced to return fire after the men started shooting at them.
Karisma welcomes Kiaan Raj Kapoor
When Shah Rukh met Will Smith...
Did you catch the saucy sexual positions on TV?
Now, underarm lotion to boost men's sex drive!
An underarm lotion that boosts testosterone in men may soon hit stores.
'Money really can't buy happiness'
People of a wealthy nation may be addressing more miseries amid fattening economy, say experts.
Salman is not the kind who favours his family
Trust your lipstick to show when you want sex
Fearing Maoist revenge, states put on alert
Govt has asked all naxal-affected states to remain alert hinting that Maoists were up to something big to take revenge for the arrest of four big naxal leaders in two operations and seizure of over 2,800 kg explosives.
Will you trick your man into marriage?
Women call the shots, it seems, as a new study states that single women are trying all tricks in the book to get the men to go down on their knees...
Deepika Padukone dating Siddharth Mallya?
The Times of India
Times of India brings the Latest & Top Breaking News on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Cricket, Sports, Business, Bollywood News and Entertainment, Science, Technology, Health & Fitness news & opinions from leading columnists.
Ramdev joins politics, launches party to 'cleanse' system
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev launched his political party today in New Delhi, which he said will cleanse the political system of the country.
1 killed, 3 injured in explosion at scrap dealer's shop
One person was killed and three others injured in an explosion in a scrap dealer's shop in Roorkee, police said today.
From private militia to army-like force
Come March 24 and India’s oldest paramilitary force will turn 175. For a force raised as a rag-tag, ill-dressed militia in 1835 specifically to protect the estates of British tea planters in Assam’s Surma or Barak Valley, it has been an often torrid journey for the Assam Rifles (AR).
‘Armed Forces Act like bullet-proof vest for soldiers in war’
The Assam Rifles, India’s oldest and only paramilitary force under the control of two Central ministries, has taken the rough with the smooth since it was raised as a private militia of British tea planters in 1835. In an exclusive interview with Rahul Karmakar, Assam Rifles Director General Lt Gen KS Yadava batted away at some comfortable and not-so-comfortable questions ahead of his force completing 175 years.
High court dismisses plea for de-sealing SIMI office
The Delhi High Court Tuesday dismissed a plea of the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) to de-seal a south Delhi property which housed its office when the central governmnt banned the outfit in 2001 for alleged involvement in terrorist activities.
1,900 Mizo refugees' camps destroyed in Tripura fire
Around 1,900 tribal refugees, who were living in north Tripura for the past 13 years after they fled from neighbouring Mizoram following ethnic trouble, became homeless after their makeshift camps were gutted in a major fire, officials said Tuesday.
India is source of 'inspiration' for Mozambique: Envoy
Mozambique is finalising two key agreements with India, one on double taxation avoidance and another on conferring most favoured nation status, to strengthen its trade and economic ties with a nation which it sees as an "inspiration".
Dissatisfied with govt reply, BJP walks out of Raj House
Dissatisfied with the state government's reply on the swine flu situation in Rajasthan, Opposition BJP today staged a walkout from the Assembly, alleging the government had failed to control the disease and provide medical care to patients.
CPI against Foreign University Bill
Expressing strong reservations over the foreign university bill, CPI today said that the UPA government was creating "another SEZ-- Special Education Zone" which would harm the interests of weaker sections and lead to commercialisation of education.
List of new BJP team
Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Gadkari has announced party's National Executive. It consists of 121 members, including 13 vice-presidents, 10 general secretaries, 15 secretaries and one treasurer.
Rajya Sabha will not sit on March 17, 18
The Rajya Sabha would not meet Wednesday and Thursday and was likely to be adjourned Tuesday itself for a recess till April 12.
Sukna scam: SC asks Army to stop COI against Prakash till Mar 29
The Supreme Court today asked the Army not to go ahead with the Court of Inquiry (COI) against retired Lt General Avadhesh Prakash in Sukna land scam case till March 29.
Goa Assembly to allow use of mobiles this session
Members of Goa Legislative Assembly would now be permitted to use cell phones on the floor of the House from the ensuing state Budget Session.
Navy refuses land for upgradation of Goa airport: Minister
Indian Navy has refused to give 51 acres of land sought by Airports Authority of India for upgradation of Dabolim Airport at Goa, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told Rajya Sabha today.
Decision on new party on March 28: Amar
Ruling out the possibility of his return to Samajwadi Party, Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh today said any decision on floating a new political party would be taken on March 28.
'Uncle' could be absconding accused in '93 serial blasts: ATS
The "Uncle" who was instructing the two arrested suspected terrorists to carry out terror acts in the city, could be Bashir Khan, an absconding accused in the 1993 serial bomb blasts case, ATS officials said on Tuesday.
'MNIK's smooth release was not a 'political stunt': Chavan
Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan said that his government's move to ensure smooth release of Shah Rukh Khan starrer 'MNIK' in the backdrop of Shiv Sena's threat to stall it was not a 'political stunt'.
SP demands Central intervention in Bareilly
Samajwadi Party today demanded Central intervention for restoration of normalcy in Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh which has been under curfew for a fortnight following communal tension.
Police doubts 'shootout' claim near ISRO facility
Police on Tuesday raised doubts over a CISF constable's claim that there had been exchange of fire between him and two persons near ISRO's Byalalu Centre and said there were no bullet marks on the boundary walls nor any empty cartridge was found at the spot.
Protest in Delhi Assembly over price rise
Delhi Assembly was today adjourned for 20 minutes following vociferous protest by BJP members who demanded bringing an adjournment motion on the issue of price rise.
'Uncle' could be absconding accused in '93 serial blasts: ATS
The "Uncle", who was instructing the two arrested suspected terrorists to carry out terror acts in Mumbai on Sunday, could be Bashir Khan, an absconding accused in the 1993 serial bomb blasts case, ATS officials said today.
J&K govt to set up fund for cancer treatment
Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to set up a Cancer Treatment and Management (CTM) fund which will run on voluntary donations qualifying for income tax rebate, a minister said here today.
IITs, IIMs, CUs, Pvt institutes hail foreign university Bill
Higher educational institutions, including IITs and IIMs, today hailed the government's go ahead for a bill to allow entry of foreign education providers in India and sought to allay any threat posed by the institutions from abroad.
Maha Budget Session: Oppn readies for face-off with Govt
The Budget session of Maharashtra Legislature is set for a stormy start from March 18 with the Opposition gearing up its ammunition to put the Congress-NCP government on the mat over a host of issues including law and order and load shedding.
No state take-over of Padmanabhaswamy temple: Kerala Govt
The Kerala Government has made it clear to a court in Thiruvananthapuram that it is not mulling the takeover of the magnificent Sri Padmanabhaswamy temple here which is under the trusteeship of the Travancore Royal house.
Raje, Varun, Siddhu, Irani, Hema Malini in BJP's new team
Three months after he took over reigns of the party, BJP President Nitin Gadkari today brought in a mix of youth, experience and women in his team of office bearers inducting heavyweights like Vasundhara Raje and Ravishankar Prasad and hardliners like Varun Gandhi and Vinay Katiyar.
List of new BJP team
BJP announces new team
BJP announces new team
Sex workers' children excel in football
Thirteen-year old Sajjak Ali, the son of a sex worker, dreams to play football for India one day after he was enthused with praises for his performance at the under-14 national football championship in Jamshedpur last month where he represented Bengal.
Shooting outside ISRO facility an amateurish attempt: HM
Home Minister P Chidambaram today termed the shooting incident outside the ISRO facility near Bangalore as an "amateurish attempt" and said a security review of the sensitive facility has been ordered.
Pune terror attack a blot; Bakery did not heed to advice: Chidambaram
Home Minister P Chidambaram said the terror attack on German Bakery in Pune last month was a "blot on our record" as it could not be averted despite intelligence being shared well in advance about the specific target.
LS adjourned over Maya's lavish celebrations
Attacking UP Chief Minister Mayawati for her lavish celebrations during the Bahujan Samaj Party's silver jubilee rally in Lucknow, Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress on Tuesday created uproar in the Lok Sabha and amid the chaos the House was adjourned till 1 pm.
Explosives seized in Maoist hit area
A cache of explosives has been seized from Maoist affected Ayodhya hills area of Purulia district by the joint forces personnel, police said today.
Curfew relaxed in violence-hit Bareilly
With situation limping towards normalcy in trouble-hit areas, curfew was today again relaxed as no untoward incident was reported from any part of the city, officials said here.
ISRO firing: Govt seeks report from Karnataka
Government today sought a report from the Karnataka government in the wake of the firing at a key ISRO facility on the outskirts of Bangalore.
4 injured in militants attack in Srinagar
At least four persons, including two CRPF personnel, were injured when militants struck the Lal Chowk commercial hub of the city this morning, the fourth attack in Srinagar within a week.
Sadhvi Pragya Singh shifted to Nashik jail
Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur has been shifted to the Nashik road central jail from a city-based hospital where she was undergoing treatment, sources said on Tuesday.
Muslim women reject cleric's advice to stay away from politics
Muslim women have reacted angrily to a leading Muslim cleric's advice to keep away from politics and concentrate on home and family, saying this could be his personal view and there is no such stipulation in Islam.
Over half a million students start Bihar board exams
Over half a million students across Bihar started their Class 12 exams on Tuesday, an official said.
Kendriya Vidyalas to scrap quota system in admissions
Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangthan (KVS) is understood to have decided to scrap the discretionary quota system in admission of students.
Telangana Panel to meet on Thursday
Ahead of the launch of its consultation process, the Justice B N Srikrishna Committee on Telangana will meet in New Delhi on Thursday to review the progress made so far and discuss responses received from various quarters on the separate statehood demand.
Mumbai celebrates Gudi Padwa
'Gudi Padwa', the first day of the Chaitra month, and New Year's Day in Maharashtra was celebrated with traditional fervour and pomp in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Now, sexual minority groups seek reservation
With the women's reservation bill getting through the Rajya Sabha hurdle, sexual minority groups in Kolkata are now seeking a similar quota for themselves as well as reservation in other fields such as health, education and employment. Sexual minority groups comprise gays, lesbians, transgenders and bisexuals.
Shootout near ISRO's Byalalu Centre
A gunbattle broke out between two armed men and security forces outside a high security space centre in southern India early on Tuesday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said. Govt seeks report from Karnataka
Separate Vidarbha state stir gains momentum
Agitation for a separate Vidarbha state is gaining momentum, with Vidarbha Rajya Sangram Samiti, an umbrella body of pro-Vidarbha organisations, giving a call for jail bharo protest on March 23.
Bihar plans statewide celebrations to mark its economic revival
Bihar government has declared March 22 a public holiday to enable everyone celebrate Bihar Diwas.
Saffronart’s auction nets Rs 21 cr, signals art market revival
Mumbai-based auction house, Saffronart, logged sales of Rs 21 crore ($ 4.6 million) during its Spring Online Auction of Modern and Contemporary Art that concluded on March 11, reports Purva Mehra.
Advance tax: Growth moderate in Q4 but strong for 2009-10
In yet another signal of economic recovery, India’s 90 leading companies have posted a healthy 20 per cent increase in their advance tax payment for 2009-10 over the previous year.
Rare surgery cures Nashik nurse of severe back pain
Nashik resident Shobha Rathi (52) was suffering from excruciating lower back pain for the last three months. She was unable to sit on the floor for her daily prayers and found it difficult to walk or take the bus to get to the rural primary health centre where she works as a nurse, reports Neha Bhayana.
Rare surgery cures Nashik nurse of severe back pain
Nashik resident Shobha Rathi (52) was suffering from excruciating lower back pain for the last three months. She was unable to sit on the floor for her daily prayers and found it difficult to walk or take the bus to get to the rural primary health centre where she works as a nurse.
In a week, 7-seater black-and-yellows
The city’s cramped five-seater black-and-yellow taxis have come a long way since their introduction before our Independence, to complement horse-wagons.
HindustanTimes.com - Top India News Headlines
Latest news updates from HindustanTimes.com for India. For more updates hop on to HindustanTimes.com.
I-T department to probe Mayawati's cash garland
I-T department will probe the source of the Rs 1,000 notes garland presented to Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati during a BSP rally on Monday.
65,000 foreigners found overstaying in India
More than 65,000 foreigners, including 31,200 Bangladeshis, 14,500 Afghans and 7,500 Pakistanis, were found overstaying in India in 2008 and only 13,995 were deported, according to home ministry figures.
Baba Ramdev may launch political party
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev plans to launch his own party though he says he won't fight elections. The yoga guru said that he will field candidates in the 2014 general elections.
One killed in terrorist attack in Srinagar's Lal Chowk area
One person was killed and four others were injured, including two CRPF personnel, when ultras struck the heavily-guarded Lal Chowk commercial hub of Srinagar.
'Ministers, MPs should wear only khadi'
Making a strong pitch for khadi, Union minister Dinsha Patel on Tuesday asked Lok Sabha members to at least wear clothes made from the handspun fabric.
Varun, Sidhu, Najma, Hema Malini in Gadkari's A-team
Nitin Gadkari's team is a blend of youth and experience. Hema Malini and Najma Heptullah are among the vice-presidents that have been appointed. Sidhu and Varun Gandhi have been appointed general secys.
Curfew relaxed for 8 hours in violence-hit Bareilly
With situation limping towards normalcy in trouble-hit areas, curfew was on Tuesday again relaxed as no untoward incident was reported from any part of the city, officials said here.
Malegaon blast accused sadhvi Pragya Thakur shifted to Nashik central jail
Malegaon blast accused Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur has been shifted to the Nashik road central jail from a city-based hospital where she was undergoing treatment, sources said today.
No threat from foreign universities entering India: IITs, IIMs
After the Cabinet's nod for foreign universities to set up campuses in India, the IITs and IIMs welcomed the move saying it would help Indian institutions move to global standards and encourage competition.
Telangana panel to meet in Delhi on Thursday
Ahead of the launch of its consultation process, the Justice B N Srikrishna Committee on Telangana will meet here on Thursday to review the progress made so far and discuss responses received from various quarters on the separate statehood demand.
India-US nuclear deal on track: Nirupama Rao
Describing the India-US civil nuclear deal as "a major definitive milestone in Indo-US relationship", Indian foreign secretary Nirupama Rao has said the implementation of the landmark accord is "proceeding smoothly and satisfactorily".
Naxalites kidnap engineer, release him after few hours in Bihar
An engineer of a private construction firm was briefly abducted by a breakaway faction of Naxalites in Gaya district of Bihar, police said today.
India has no plan to scale down operations in Afghanistan: Rao
Noting that recent attacks on Indians in Afghanistan were aimed at forcing India out of that country, foreign secretary Nirupama Rao today ruled out scaling down New Delhi's operations in the war-torn nation.
Goa Shipyard sails into elite league with ICGS Vishwast
Defence minister A K Antony will commission βICGS Vishwastβ, the first of a new class of offshore patrol vessel (OPV) indigenously designed and built by Goa Shipyard Ltd, on Wednesday.
Mayaβs garland worth Rs 5 crore?
Politicians have been weighed in coins and garlanded with notes but UP chief minister Mayawati's supporters took the cake on Monday by presenting her with a mammoth garland strung together with 1,000-rupee notes.
India News, Latest News in India, Live News India, India Breaking News - Times of India
Get the latest breaking news from India on politics and current affairs.
Drone Strike Kills 9 in Pakistan
Officials say strike hit compound used by militants in Datta Khel, 30 kilometers west of North Waziristan's main town of Miranshan
Britain Puts Pressure on China to Back UN Sanctions on Iran
British Foreign Minister David Miliband is trying to convince Beijing into backing the West's sanctions against Iran
Former Sri Lanka Army Chief Appears Before Court Martial
Sarath Fonseka is charged with engaging in politics while still in army, violating regulations for purchasing military supplies
Expectations High on China Interest Rate, Yuan Increases
Economists, financial analysts say pressure mounting on China to raise interest rates, appreciate yuan, after data show higher inflation
Thai Protesters to 'Shed' Blood Against Current Government
Red-shirted personnel lined up so medical personnel could draw small amounts of blood to be spilled around government buildings
UN Investigator Accuses Burma of Systematic Rights Violations
UN special investigator on human rights says some violations might entail crimes against humanity
Britain FM: China Agrees to Press Iran About Nuclear Programs
British foreign secretary says Britain, China agree on need to press Iran about its nuclear programs, seeking engagement with Tehran
UN: North Koreans Live in Pervasive 'State of Fear'
UN Investigator, Vitit Muntarbhorn, presents a bleak assessment of human-rights situation in North Korea
Obama's Seeking Deeper Asia-Pacific Ties in Overseas Journey
Mr. Obama's delays his departure by three days so he can focus on renewed efforts to get his health care overhaul through Congress
NYT: US Had 'Private Spy Network' in Pakistan, Afghanistan
New York Times report claims Pentagon official Michael Furlong hired private contractors to find, kill suspected militants
Swedish Peace Group: Dangerous Global Arms Race Brewing
International Peace Research Institute says US continues to be world's largest exporter of arms
Thai PM Rejects Protesters Calls to Dissolve Government
Thousands joined in makeshift convoys to take the protest to the military barracks in Bangkok where government leaders have been meeting
Afghan Forces Kill 5 Suicide Bomber-Suspects in Eastern Afghanistan
Officials say Afghan forces attacked the five suspects Monday before they could reach their targets
India Defers Introduction of Civil Nuclear Liability Bill
Bill considered crucial for American companies to tap into India's nuclear power market
UK Foreign Minister Pays Fence-Mending Trip to China
Miliband is in China on a three-day visit seeking to smooth the rift between London and Beijing
VOA News: Asia
Asia
Voice of America
Banyan : Not whaling but drowning
In a sea of international opprobrium. But a compromise may be at hand IF YOU’RE tempted by a slab of meat gristle which surrenders little but an ooze of grease when chewed, then you’ll love whale. Add to the sensory experience the accumulated mercury to be found in whale meat. Consider the suffering caused by the hunt to these intelligent mammals; and a military-industrial approach to their extermination. Japan going a-whaling is, to borrow from Oscar Wilde, the unspeakable in pursuit of the almost uneatable. As with foxhunting in Britain, views seem irreconcilable. Since 1986 the International Whaling Commission (IWC) has imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling. Yet every Antarctic summer, Japan sends a whaling fleet south to catch hundreds of whales for “research”. And every year at the IWC’s meeting, pro- and anti-whaling camps gather in sullen deadlock. On the whaling grounds the Japanese fleet encounters the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. The ocean warriors hurl rancid butter on Japanese decks, use warps to foul propellers and attempt citizen’s arrests of the whaling captains. Early this year a Sea Shepherd boat sank after a collision. Now an American film has turned a spotlight on Japan’s coastal hunt for cetaceans. “The Cove”, shot largely in secret, shows the annual dolphin slaughter in Taiji, a village on Japan’s main island. This week it won an Oscar. ...
Rigging Myanmar's election: Belt, braces and army boots
The generals leave nothing to chance THE junta ruling Myanmar has had 20 years to digest the lessons from the country’s most recent election. It was trounced by the National League for Democracy, even though the opposition’s charismatic leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was already under house arrest. This year on an unnamed date (perhaps its astrologers cannot agree) the junta will hold another election. It will not lose this one. Election laws published this week do not quite spell out the result. But a “political-parties registration law” bars Miss Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, of whom there are more than 2,000, from belonging to a party because of their criminal convictions. Cut off from politics by her house arrest, Miss Suu Kyi is anyway barred from office as the widow of a foreigner. Her party now has to expel her and other detainees. The law also bans civil servants from joining parties, along with monks, who led anti-government protests in 2007. ...
China mulls a property tax: An odd sort of tax
That some liberals want and local governments fear A GRANDMOTHER killed trying to stop developers flattening her home; university graduates forced to live in crowded slums: China’s ebullient property market has generated many tales of woe, and a promise from the prime minister, Wen Jiabao, to “rein in” the speculators. But calls for this to be achieved with a new property tax have put the government in a bind. In the past year property prices have surged to new highs in some places, helped by a torrent of carefree lending from state-run banks. Mr Wen made his pledge on March 5th, in a speech to China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC), launching its annual ten-day session. The NPC is filled with party loyalists. But some have fretted openly about property bubbles. The government says house prices in 70 cities rose 10.7% in February compared with a year earlier, the fastest rise in 20 months. There are early signs that this is denting sales. In both January and February the volume of housing sales fell sharply from the previous month. ...
Elections in the Philippines: Vote before the system crashes
Technology complicates life for vote-riggers and counters alike RIGGED elections and the instability they create have been the bane of the Philippines for much of its democratic history. Filipinos are fervently hoping that the computerisation of the vote-counting in May’s presidential, congressional and local elections will solve the problem. But faith in the technology is less fervent. Many fear it is no solution. In past elections voters had to write down the names of their preferences for up to 32 national or local positions on blank ballot forms. Their votes were tallied by hand at the precinct, municipal, provincial and finally national levels. Definitive results could take weeks to emerge, giving ample opportunity for vote-padding and shaving. Vote-rigging by President Ferdinand Marcos led to his downfall in 1986. The incumbent president, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, has had a shaky grip on power since she was accused of rigging her election in 2004. ...
Economic reform in Malaysia: Out with the new
Najib wavers over undoing affirmative-action policies WHEN Najib Razak took office last April as Malaysia’s prime minister, the timing could hardly have been worse. The export-led economy was in recession. The ruling coalition was in the dumps after an unprecedented near-defeat in elections in March 2008. Opponents warned that Mr Najib’s government would crack down on political dissent to save its skin. Against the odds, though, Mr Najib, a British-educated economist, has emerged as a more sure-footed, and less scandal-prone, leader than many expected. He has stimulated the economy back to life and liberalised some financial services. Growth is likely to exceed 4% this year—reaching 6%, in his own optimistic forecast. There are ambitious new targets for cutting crime and building roads, among other populist policies. Foreign businesses have been encouraged by Mr Najib’s promises to liberalise the broader economy, spur innovation and raise productivity. Everyone agrees that Malaysia needs to move beyond run-of-the-mill electronics and focus on knowledge-based industries. ...
Koreans in Japan: Taxation without representation
The DPJ stumbles in its efforts to grant foreigners the vote BY RIGHTS, giving long-term South Korean residents in Japan the right to vote in local elections should be uncontroversial. They pay taxes, speak Japanese, and come from families that have lived in Japan for decades. Most were dragged here to work under the colonial cosh before and during the second world war. A limited move to enfranchise them came from the very top of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ). It swept to power last September promising to end prejudices built up under the ousted Liberal Democrats. Yukio Hatoyama, the prime minister, backs it. The DPJ’s secretary-general and puppeteer-at-large, Ichiro Ozawa, even assured Lee Myung-bak, South Korea’s president, that he would soon push it through the Diet, or parliament. ...
Indian politics and women: Indian women on the march
An historic change in the offing; but India’s ruling party may be overreaching itself YELLING dementedly, seven lawmakers mobbed the chairman of the Indian parliament’s upper house on March 8th and tore at the document, containing the women’s reservation bill, he was reading from. Yet the bill passed the next day, with the two-thirds majority needed to change India’s constitution. With broad political support, including from the Congress party that leads India’s coalition government and the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the bill could soon clear the lower house and win the support it needs in at least 15 out of 28 state assemblies. The president would then sign it into law: imposing a 33% quota for women in India’s federal and state assemblies. This would be momentous, especially for India’s half a billion, badly served women. Today’s Lok Sabha, or House of the People, as India’s lower chamber is known, contains 58 women, a record number, but fewer than 11% of the seats. By greatly boosting women’s membership of India’s legislatures, the proposed amendment, its supporters say, will also begin to make a dent in their more grievous suffering—in a country where female fetuses are often aborted, where wives are battered and women earn on average $1,200 a year, less than a third of the male average. A woman can take credit for this: Sonia Gandhi, Congress’s leader, who has pushed the long-mothballed bill against a furious band of dissenters—of a kind that persuaded previous BJP- and Congress-led governments not to touch it. ...
India's Muslims and job quotas: The call to poll
Politicians vie for poor-Muslim votes FIFTEEN years after he migrated with his family to the bright lights of Delhi, Muhammad Naushad has little to show for it. An illiterate 20-year-old weaver, he earns 2,000 rupees ($43) a month, half of which he sends to his mother in the poor state of Bihar. Amid the evening babble of Nizamuddin, a fly-blown Muslim quarter in the heart of India’s capital, Mr Naushad says his only ambition is to get a better job. It is hard to guess what that might be. He is all too typical of India’s 160m Muslims. Found mostly in its northern and eastern states, poor giants such as Uttar Pradesh (UP), Bihar and West Bengal, they are among the country’s poorest and least educated people. According to a 2006 government-commissioned report, Muslims are almost as badly off as dalits, Hinduism’s former “untouchables”—a finding made tragic by the dashed hopes it represents: many Indian Muslims once converted from Hinduism to escape that reviled low-caste status. ...
Vietnam's economy: The Tet effect
Worries about renewed overheating DURING Tet, the lunar new year holiday, money is everywhere in Vietnam. It is dished out to children, gambled in roadside card-games, and splurged on gifts, feasts, and trips to home villages. This leads to an annual bump in inflation. And this year’s spike in the consumer-price index, which rose by 2% in February, seemed bearable at a time of rapid growth. GDP grew by 5.3% last year. It came, however, among some more worrying signs. On February 10th, just before Tet, the central bank devalued the currency, the dong, by 3.4%, following a devaluation of 5.4% in November. The aim was to entice holders of dollars to buy dong. A dollar shortage has been starving Vietnam’s exporters of the currency they need to purchase imported parts and materials. ...
Thaksin Shinawatra: Divided loyalties
Some scent compromise; more fear a looming showdown IN THAILAND politics has long been about compromise rather than conviction. Political parties run on expediency, not ideology, which makes it possible to cobble together all manner of oddball coalitions. But in recent years pragmatism has given way to more rigid loyalties. Rival camps rally their base with fiery talk of an all-out struggle for the nation’s soul, all the while tugging relentlessly at its seams. Might compromise yet make a comeback? Some scented a whiff of detente on February 26th, when the Supreme Court ruled on the family fortune of the former prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra. But that still seems wishful thinking. The nine judges found Mr Thaksin guilty of abusing his powers while in office to favour Shin Corp, his family-owned telecoms group, which was sold in January 2006 to Temasek, a Singaporean sovereign-wealth fund. The court decided to seize $1.4 billion of the $2.3 billion in proceeds from that sale, which had been frozen after the army deposed Mr Thaksin in September 2006. ...
The feud in South Korea's ruling party: Feud for thought
The defining battle of Lee Myung-bak’s presidency nears its climax ODDLY for a politician, South Korea’s president, Lee Myung-bak, has never hidden his loathing of politics. During his successful presidential-election campaign he vowed to “take politics out of Youido”, a reference to the island on the Han river that houses the National Assembly in Seoul. Mr Lee’s hero is the dictator Park Chung-hee, architect of South Korea’s rise from basket-case to industrial powerhouse. Much like him, Mr Lee believes politicians are impediments to his country’s progress. Unlike Park, however, Mr Lee has to operate in a robust democracy. He is making rather a hash of it. In a bitter twist of fate, his nemesis is Park’s daughter, Park Geun-hye. She was the rival Mr Lee defeated in 2007 to become the presidential candidate of the Grand National Party (GNP). The two have never been reconciled. Mr Lee believes his election entitled him to rule without opposition within the GNP. But Miss Park has never accepted her defeat and still commands a group of as many as 40 loyalists in parliament. ...
Indonesia's parliamentary showdown: Unchaining the reformers
After a hard-won battle, President Yudhoyono has a chance to start again FEZ-WEARING members of Indonesia’s parliament called each other transvestites, yelled and scuffled. Outside, the police turned water cannon on protesting students. The climax this week of a parliamentary investigation into a government bail-out of a private bank in 2008 superficially recalled 1998, and the chaos surrounding the fall of the dictator Suharto. But this time the stakes were smaller; the government of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was never going to fall. At issue was how well it could govern. The Bank Century scandal had riveted the press for months. But most of Indonesia’s 240m people have preferred chat shows and Hollywood movies, content that the economy has been doing well, growing by 4.5% last year. Inflation last year was just 2.8%, unemployment is down, and consumer confidence booming. That, however, did not deter Mr Yudhoyono’s enemies from plotting to embarrass him and paralyse his government. They managed to do both. Yet he still enjoys an approval rating of about 75%. ...
Banyan: The Chinese are coming
To a sitting room, mobile telephone or supermarket screen near you soon ON MARCH 1st China Daily got its biggest makeover since the newspaper was launched in 1981 as China’s first English-language daily. As well as a new look, the paper is boosting the number of its foreign correspondents. With a new investigative-reporting feature, China Daily said that it was aiming to “set the news agenda instead of just follow it”. So far, this agenda seems unlikely to set foreign pulses racing. Next to this bold new feature China Daily splashed an “exclusive” interview with the foreign minister, Yang Jiechi, under the headline “FM: China is doing all it can in foreign affairs”. Still, the makeover marks a departure for the vapid broadsheet. And China Daily is only the latest Chinese media organ to revamp itself in what President Hu Jintao calls an “increasingly fierce struggle in the domain of news and opinion”. ...
Tajikistan's flawed election: Change you can't believe in
A rigged vote keeps the ruling party in power in a failing state TO THE surprise of no one, the governing People’s Democratic Party of Tajikistan (PDPT) won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections on February 28th, with almost 72% of the vote. Nor was anybody taken aback by the myriad irregularities on election day. The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which monitored the polling, said it “failed to meet many key OSCE commitments”. It noted a high prevalence of family- and proxy-voting and cases of ballot-box stuffing. Preliminary results give the PDPT, led by Emomali Rakhmon, the president, 53 seats out of 63 in the lower house of parliament. The Islamic Revival Party, Central Asia’s only religiously based party, came second, with 7.7% of the vote and two seats. The party’s leadership, which expected to win around 30% of the vote, has cried foul, and plans to sue the election board. ...
Migrant workers in Thailand: Inhospitality
Life gets harder for Thailand’s guest-workers THEY sew bras, peel shrimps, build blocks of flats and haul fishing-nets. In return, migrant workers in Thailand are paid poorly, if at all, and face exploitation and abuse at the hands of employers and the security forces. Up to 3m migrants, many undocumented and mostly from Myanmar, fall into this category. So a scheme to start registering this workforce and bring it into the legal fold sounds like a step forward. Migrants have been ordered to apply to their home countries for special passports so that they can work legally in Thailand and, in theory, enjoy access to public services, such as health care. But the plan has run into practical and political difficulties, mostly among workers from Myanmar, who rightly fear their awful government and do not want to return home, even temporarily. Many are unaware of the registration drive. So the first applicants have come mostly from migrants from Laos and Cambodia, where the authorities are more willing to help. ...
Western aims in Afghanistan: Played for fools
Hamid Karzai’s shenanigans make the going even harder for NATO EVER since the aftermath of last year’s disastrous presidential election in Afghanistan, Western diplomats have been talking tough about the need for thorough reform of the country’s rotten electoral system. Never again, the envoys said, would foreign governments pour cash into a machine that was controlled by the president, Hamid Karzai (right), oversaw fraud on an epic scale and handed a propaganda coup to the Taliban. They promised that foreign support for the next parliamentary election, due in September, would depend on a cull of dodgy officials from the Independent Election Commission (IEC), the body that organised the voting. Most felt that Mr Karzai should lose the right to appoint its chairman and leadership board. ...
India's Naxalite insurgency: Not a dinner party
India’s Maoist guerrillas carry out two slaughters, then offer a truce SHORTLY before midnight on February 17th residents of Phulwari, a village in India’s northern state of Bihar, were roused by gunfire, explosions and a shrieking mob. It was led by a few of the Maoist guerrillas encamped on a wooded ridge outside the village. Wearing camouflage-green uniforms, they carried assault rifles and explosives. Around 100 rival villagers, of the locals’ own Kora tribe, came with them, with bows and arrows and a few small children. Peeping from his mud hut, Kashi, a middle-aged tribal, considered loosing off a few retaliatory arrows, dipped in poison. “But there were too many,” he recalled this week, standing beside the heap of fine, grey ashes that was his home. His aunt and nephew were incinerated inside it. Kashi’s brother—their husband and father—was shot dead while trying to flee with him. In all, 12 villagers were killed that night and around 30 houses destroyed. ...
Tackling Japan's bureaucracy: Floundering in the foggy fortress
The DPJ is finding that it needs to befriend its bureaucrats, as well as bash them YOSUKE KONDO, 44, is one of those Young Turks in Japan’s five-month-old government who took office eager to rein in Tokyo’s illustriously educated cadre of senior civil servants. What distinguishes Mr Kondo, however, is that he seems poised to succeed in this goal. So far the rest of the government has seemed more inclined to work with the bureaucracy than against it. For Mr Kondo’s first target, he aimed high. He took on a man he refers to as “the Last Samurai”, Kazuhiko Takeshima. Mr Takeshima is the epitome of the well-rounded establishment figure. An economics graduate from the prestigious University of Tokyo, he has headed the tax agency and since 2002 has run Japan’s Fair Trade Commission. Mr Takeshima has made a good name for himself as a trustbuster. But for years he has resisted efforts to allow firms to appeal in court against punishments for antitrust violations. In effect, the commission acts as prosecutor and judge. As Mr Kondo notes wryly: “It’s an antitrust authority, but it keeps all the authority to itself.” ...
Animal welfare in China: Off the menu
The right to eat cats and dogs is under threat AT THE National People’s Congress (see main story), the Communist Party decides what laws to draft and when they get passed. But public pressure is beginning to count, too. An attempt to persuade the Congress to ban the eating of dog- and cat-meat has captivated the Chinese press and caused an uproar. A proposed animal-rights law, circulated in draft last September by Chinese activists and legal experts, would be the first of its kind in a country where animal welfare rarely seems a priority. Pigs destined for slaughter are often seen crammed excruciatingly tightly in cages on the backs of lorries. In safari parks visitors happily pay to dangle live chickens into lions’ dens, or even to have a live calf dragged by its legs behind a jeep past ravenous tigers. But a fast-growing middle class, despite enjoying gory outings, is also fond of pet dogs and cats. ...
The Economist: Asia
Asia