Dhaka, Aug. 11: Bangladesh’s state minister for local government and rural development Syed Abul Hossain has resigned after he used a second passport on a recent private visit to Singapore, officials at the Prime Minister’s office said on Monday. They said the minister tended his resignation letter on Sunday requesting Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed…
BY SCOTT McCORMACK Southall (London), Aug. 11: The sign outside the local primary school sternly warns against parking in front of the gates — in English, Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu. Within shouting distance of the modest building are a mosque, a church, Sikh and Hindu temples, plus the Sum Mari Bureau, proudly claiming to…
Hong Kong: A growing number of Americans are paying $3,000 to adopt Chinese orphan baby girls, a Hong Kong newspaper said on Sunday. The Sunday Morning Post said demand was so high that the United States consulate in the south China city of Guangzhou had set up an adoption unit staffed by a state department…
By Raja Asghar Islamabad, Aug.10: Pakistan marks its golden jubilee this week with its frayed democratic institutions under pressure from ethnic and religious violence, economic strains and a profound disenchantment with the ruling elite. “Clearly there is panic on all sides,” political commentator Nasim Zehra wrote in a recent article. “The government knows it is…
WASHINGTON, July 21.— The House of Representatives’ Merchant Marine Committee today approved a Bill to block petroleum shipments to any foreign country unless the Secretary of Commerce certified that such exports would not interfere with national defence or security. The Bill arose out a committee of inquiry into shipments of petroleum products to Russia,…
SHANGHAI, July 22. Rumours of impending changes in the Executive Yuan (Chinese Cabinet) were current in political and commercial circles here as Nationalist China prepared for the visit of Gen Wedmeyer, President Truman’s “fact-finder,” and his mission. It was unofficially reported that to enable the Government to carry out its general mobilization order for…
NANKING, July 22. Lieut-Gen Ressuke Isagai, 65-year-old Governor of Hong Kong during the Japanese occupation, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Chinese war crimes court today. One of the charges against him was that he “poisoned the people of Hong Kong by the sale of opium” during his term. Another charge was that…
LITTLE LIKELIHOOD OF INSURRECTION LONDON, July 22—U Tin Tut, Burma’s Minister without portfolio and High Commissioner-Designate to Britain, and U Ko Gyi, Vice-President of the Burma Socialist Party, on the eve of their departure from London today for Rangoon, gave an exclusive message for the Burmese people. Speaking for both, U Tin Tut said, On…
WASHINGTON, July 21.—The U.S. State Department tonight released the text of a message from the Consul in Rangoon, Mr Packard, to the Counsellor of Foreign Affairs, Thakin Nu. The message said: “I have the honour to convey to you in the name of my Government the horror with which it has learned of the…
SHANGHAI July 21.—Gen Fu Tso Yi, Governor of Suiyuan, the Chinese province bordering Outer Mongolia, who is visiting Nanking, today denied reports that Outer Mongolia troops had penetrated 65 miles into Chinese territory. He also denied that they had set up their own Outer Mongolian border Government. (The Nanking Government sent a protest Note…
LONDON, July 21.— The distribution of rice in Malaya and other Far Eastern countries would be affected by the withdrawal of Brazil from the International Emergency Food Council, Mr. W. Fletcher (Cons) said in the House of Commons today. Brazilian rice was being dealt with in large quantities in other countries within the IEFC…
BY BRIAN WILLIAMS Mazar-e-Sharif, Aug. 11: The leader of Afghan Opposition forces besieging Kabul said on Monday he was ready for peace talks any time and anywhere, except in Pakistan. Northern alliance leader Ahmed Shah Masood also made an impassioned plea in an interview for the United States and other major western nations to get…
‘Parties agree to resume trilateral meetings’ Jerusalem, Aug. 11: US envoy Dennis Ross has brought about the first meeting between Israeli officials and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat since an Islamic militant bombing deepened the crisis in West Asia peace efforts last month. But Israel has reiterated that it will only be satisfied if it sees…
Gaza, Aug. 11: Thousands of Palestinian protesters marched on Gaza’s main street on Monday demanding Israel free their prisoners and end a closure it posed after a suicide attack last month in Jerusalem. “As long as my son is in prison, I don’t feel any peace,” said a woman, whose 24-year-old son Ahmad is serving…
THE HAGUE, July 22.— The Dutch Government, in a statement handed to Dr Pelt, acting General Secretary of the United Nations, explaining why “police measures” had been taken in Indonesia, said that the Indonesians had violated the truce, it was disclosed today. The Note said: “The Republic’s unwillingness or inability to implement the Linggadjati agreement,…
Reuters correspondent Doon Campbell, who arrived in India in March 1947 fresh from covering World War II, spent the next 15 months in Delhi — a period which witnessed the independence of India and birth of Pakistan as well as the tragic assassination of Mahatma Gandhi a few months later. Campbell, 77, who is now…
Reuters correspondent Doon Campbell, who arrived in India in March 1947 and spent the next 15 months covering the independence of India and birth of Pakistan as well as the tragic assassination of Mahatma Gandhi a few months later, is now 77 and lives in retirement in England. In this seventh article in a series…
CROWDS BREAK POLICE CORDONS AT AIRPORT _______________ TRIUMPHANT DRIVE THROUGH CITY _______________ LEAGUE FLAG UNFURLED AT GOVERNMENT HOUSE FROM OUR STAFF CORRESPONDENT Karachi, Aug 7. —More than 50,000 people, who in their enthusiasm broke several rings of police cordons, thronged Mauripur airport this evening to welcome the Governor-General designate of Pakistan, Mr. Jinnah. They came…
CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY DECISION _____________ SUPPORT FROM ALL COMMUNITIES FROM OUR SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE New Delhi, Tuesday. —There were scenes of enthusiasm in the Constituent Assembly today when Pandit Nehru in a stirring speech commended to the House for adoption the National Flag of India—a horizontal tricolour of saffron, white and green with the Wheel of Asoka…
Calcutta, India, June 15 (Reuters) – The leader of the world’s oldest democratically elected communist government looked back on his 20 years in power, and said he was proud of his achievements in a “capitalist feudalist” society. Jyoti Basu, the 82-year-old chief minister of India’s West Bengal state, told Reuters in an interview late on Saturday…
New Delhi, Dec 8 (Reuters) – India’s Gujarat state aims to be a primary focus for foreign investors, particularly in infrastructure like ports, power and roads, the leader of the west coast province said on Monday. “The word industrialization is humming in Gujarat’s air. Above all the government is investor-friendly,” Chief Minister Dilip Parikh told…
9 March 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, March 9 (Reuter) – Tibet’s spiritual leader the Dalai Lama on Sunday accused China of pursuing a Policy of “cultural genocide” and warned that isolated violence in his Himalayan homeland could spread. In a strongly-worded statement issued to mark the 38th anniversary of…
22 May 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited KATHMANDU, May 22 (Reuter) – Nepal’s coalition government plans to grant the Himalayan kingdom’s central bank full independence, the finance minister said on Wednesday. The Nepal Rastra Bank is currently under the supervision of the finance ministry. “We are considering that the central bank should…
23 May 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited KATHMANDU, May 23 (Reuter) – Nepal’s fragile coalition government is not in any danger despite the Communist partner’s strong showing in local polls, Prime Minister Lokendra Bahadur Chand said on Friday. “I don’t see any threat now but it is very difficult to predict when…
24 July 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, July 24 (Reuters) – Japan is keen on expanding investment in India but finds its bureaucracy extremely inflexible, a senior Japanese official said on Thursday. Nobuaki Tanaka, deputy director-general in Japan’s Foreign Ministry, said India accounts for a minuscule 0.25 percent of Japan’s…
28 July 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, July 28 (Reuters) – India’s Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral has caused anger and confusion in both his country and neighboring Pakistan with an apparent about-face on talks with Muslim militants in Kashmir. Gujral stunned friends and foes alike on Saturday by announcing during…
6 February 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Feb 6 (Reuters) – The leader of India’s Kashmir region said on Thursday he did not think a nuclear war would erupt on the subcontinent over the disputed territory. “I think India has never thought of using a nuclear option, and Pakistan would…
20 March 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, March 20 (Reuter) – Democracy has taken root in most African countries but needs nurturing, Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku said on Thursday. He told Reuters in an interview that, with serious strife persisting in such countries as Rwanda, Zaire and Sudan, the…
26 March 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, March 26 (Reuters) – Salman Haidar will be an immovable object facing a resistible force when he sits down this Friday for India’s first talks with Pakistan in three years. Haidar, India’s Foreign Secretary or seniormost diplomat, inspires strong feelings, not all warm,…
27 May 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, May 27 (Reuters) – India is determined to grant autonomy to state-controlled television and radio, Information and Broadcasting Minister Jaipal Reddy said. Reddy, a leader of the Janata Dal, the largest group in India’s ruling centre-left coalition, told Reuters in an interview late…
15 June 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited CALCUTTA, India, June 15 (Reuters) – India is not likely to see a return to one-party rule, a leader of the current ruling coalition said. Jyoti Basu said his Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M), which has made a success of multi-party politics, had valuable…
28 July 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, July 28 (Reuter) – India’s Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral performed one more of his apparent policy flip-flops over the weekend, this time over the sensitive issue of Kashmir. Gujral stunned friends and foes alike on Saturday by holding out an olive branch…
14 August 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Aug 15 (Reuters) – India’s leaders gathered in their parliament’s majestic Central Hall on Thursday night to relive their nation’s “tryst with destiny” a half-century ago. The vast domed chamber, its thick warm air stirred ineffectually by ancient fans, was packed with lawmakers…
15 August 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Aug 15 (Reuters) – India put on a dazzling show of fireworks, laser beams and parades capped early on Friday by a solemn ceremony in parliament that relived the moment 50 years ago when the subcontinent won independence. Thousands of people led by…
Reuters News 5 September 1997 English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Sept 6 (Reuters) – An Indian bureaucrat who wrote two biographies of Mother Teresa remembers her as a woman with a mischievous sense of humour who wielded formidable administrative skill to control her worldwide organisation. “It was a very special morning,” Navin Chawla…
29 August 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Aug 29 (Reuters) – Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram said the rupee’s volatility had subsided and the policy of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was to intervene to prevent volatility and speculative activity in the market. “The value of the rupee will be…
15 October 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Oct 15 (Reuters) – Queen Elizabeth’s visit to India was hit by fresh controversy on Wednesday after an apparent misunderstanding over the protocol of her giving a speech in a provincial capital. British officials told reporters the Indian government had cancelled the speech…
16 September 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Sept 16 (Reuter) – India’s government, clearly alarmed by a fiscal deficit that was threatening to soar out of control, moved on Tuesday to boost revenues with a host of steps including a jump in import tariffs and a cut in federal spending. …
20 November 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Nov 20 (Reuters) – India faced the prospect of fresh elections on Thursday as the country was convulsed by a frenzy of political gamesmanship. The only real question appeared to be when, not whether, the new polls would be held. “It may happen…
30 September 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Sept 30 (Reuters) – A militant group in Kashmir on Tuesday said an exhumed body was that of the group’s leader and not one of four missing Western hostages as suspected. The chief of police in India’s Jammu and Kashmir state said forensic…
19 October 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Oct 19 (Reuters) – India looked back in frustration on Sunday at a visit by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth that read like a “how not to” catalogue of perceived insults and diplomatic missteps. The state visit, to mark India’s 50th year of freedom from…
16 October 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Oct 16 (Reuters) – Queen Elizabeth’s tour of India slid deeper into controversy on Thursday with sources close to the Indian government charging that Britain’s ruling Labour Party had a “hidden agenda” to create an independent Kashmir region. Even as British officials scrambled…
24 November 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Nov 24 (Reuters) – The collapse of Yamaichi Securities could signal the end of the worst of Japan’s “post-bubble” economic adjustment, Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Mitsuo Sato said on Monday. “I think we need to go through that kind of challenge in…
27 November 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Nov 27 (Reuters) – “May you be the mother of a hundred sons.” That benediction has been called down upon generations of Hindu brides in India, but the country’s junior health minister Renuka Chowdhury has a new mantra: “One is fun.” Some demographers…
29 November 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Nov 29 (Reuters) – India woke up on Saturday to a lame-duck government and a political crisis that only deepened after Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral’s resignation. Newspapers were cynical about what lay ahead and ran banner headlines like “Experiment Coalition: Abort, Fail,…
19 November 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Nov 19 (Reuters) – India’s lack of “grit” in pursuing its costly military foray into northern Sri Lanka may have led to Rajiv Gandhi’s 1991 murder by a suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber, New Delhi’s former envoy to Colombo said on Wednesday. “If…
28 November 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Nov 29 (Reuters) – India’s Congress party switched off the life support system of the minority government on Friday, but in the process may have hastened its own death throes. Twice in the past 13 years Congress has ridden to power on a…
3 December 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Software firm Infosys Technologies Ltd is poised to become the first Indian firm to raise new capital through American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), chairman and managing director N.R. Narayana Murthy said on Wednesday. The blue-chip Infosys announced on Tuesday that…
7 December 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Dec 7 (Reuters) – The word “pundit” is Sanskrit for “learned man,” and in India they were busy at the weekend trying to divine what lay ahead for the world’s most populous democracy. This much was clear — no single party was likely…
7 December 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Dec 7 (Reuters) – The speaker of India’s parliament said on Sunday democracy had taken deep root in his country a half-century after independence, and all parties would speak the language of economic reform will go ahead,” Purno Sangma, speaker of the Lok…
8 December 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Dec 8 (Reuters) – India’s main opposition group will block the full convertibility of the rupee, favour foreign investment only if it goes into infrastructure and shake out state firms if it wins power, its chief planner said on Monday. Jay Dubashi, chief…
8 December 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Dec 8 (Reuters) – Global investors cannot afford to ignore India, but Indian companies need to prove that they can compete in developed markets, Fred Steingraber, chief executive officer of A.T. Kearney Inc., said on Monday. “I don’t think anybody is prepared to…
9 December 1997 Reuters News English (c) 1997 Reuters Limited NEW DELHI, Dec 9 (Reuters) – India will accelerate its drive to increase electricity generation and is looking for huge funds to meet the nation’s power deficit, Power Minister Yoginder Alagh said on Tuesday. “Between now and March it will be faster and not slower,”…