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India

Indian Kashmir to relax emergency law

Tough emergency laws imposed in Indian Kashmir in 1990 that allow security forces to act with near-impunity are to be partially withdrawn, the region’s chief minister announced Friday.
It marks a significant step in the process of normalising the Indian part of Kashmir, a Muslim-majority Himalayan region divided with Pakistan that has sparked two [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 22, 2011

India’s Maruti looks to rebuild as strike ends

The latest in a series of strikes at India’s top car maker Maruti Suzuki came to an end on Friday, at a cost of $400 million in lost production and major damage to the group’s reputation.
Maruti, which is majority-owned by Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp, said the 13-day strike at its Manesar plant was called off [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 22, 2011

Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan in copyright row

Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan was on Friday ordered to deposit $200,000 with an Indian court after a scriptwriter claimed that the star’s new superhero film had breached copyright.
Two judges at the Bombay High Court said there appeared to be a prima facie infringement of intellectual property and told Khan to [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 22, 2011

Cairn India profit tumbles on royalty payment

Britain’s Cairn Energy India unit reported a 52 percent plunge in quarterly net profit on Thursday, hit by a one-time provision for crude output royalty payments.
Announcement of the figures come as the long-delayed $6-billion sale of a controlling stake in Cairn India is expected to be completed “shortly” to British mining giant Vedanta, [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 21, 2011

Rahul Gandhi warns India about globalisation

Rahul Gandhi, widely seen as India’s prime minister-in-waiting, has sounded a stark warning about globalisation, saying it “excludes as much as includes”.
The scion of India’s Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty, Gandhi has been pursuing a pro-poor agenda as he campaigns for the ruling Congress party ahead of key state polls next year and gears up for general [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 21, 2011

Vatican asks Hindus to fight anti-Christian propaganda

The Vatican on Thursday asked Hindus to fight “hateful propaganda” and allow Christians to practise their religion freely, in a message delivered to mark the upcoming festival of light, Diwali.
The message, signed by the head and deputy head of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious dialogue, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran and Pier Luigi Celata, comes as the [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 21, 2011

Dalai Lama prays for Tibetans who self-immolated

DHARMSALA, India (AP) — The Dalai Lama on Wednesday fasted and led prayers in honor of nine Tibetans who set themselves on fire in apparent protest against China’s tight grip over Buddhist practices in Tibet.
A 90-minute-long prayer service at the Dalai Lama’s Tsuglakhang Temple, in the northern Indian town of Dharmsala, was in [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 19, 2011

‘Limited’ production starts at Maruti strike plant

India’s largest carmaker, Maruti Suzuki, resumed “limited” production Monday at a plant hit by a bitter labour dispute that has cost the Japanese-controlled firm hundreds of millions of dollars.
Striking workers, protesting Maruti’s refusal to recognise their union and the growing use of contract workers, ended an eight-day occupation of the plant in north India on Friday night, in [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 17, 2011

Encephalitis kills at least 430 in India

At least 430 people, mainly children, have died from an outbreak of encephalitis in a deeply neglected region of the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, officials said on Saturday.
K.P. Kushwaha, chief paediatrician at the BRD Medical College in the state’s hardest-hit Gorakhpur district, said it was one of the worst outbreaks of encephalitis in [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 17, 2011

Iraq talks investment with India delegation

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Hussein al-Shahristani on Sunday called on a visiting Indian delegation to make much-needed investments in Iraq’s energy, industry and housing sectors.
“Shahristani discussed the means for Indian investment and developing the industrial and oil sectors in Iraq with an Indian delegation,” according to a statement from his office.
Shahristani’s position includes particular responsibility [...]

Read More » No commentOctober 17, 2011