• Zardari gets clean man stamp following Swiss refusal to re-open $60 mln money laundering case

  Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has become a 'clean' man in a 60 million dollars money-laundering case after the Swiss Government refused to re-open the case. The Swiss Government had sent a letter to the PML-N Government informing about the development after the case was closed by a Swiss court after lapse of a specific period. In February this year, the Swiss Government told the PPP-led ...

• India clears Pakistani panels Mumbai visit to probe 2611 attacks

  India has given consent to Pakistani authorities probing the Mumbai 26/11 terror attacks to visit the country and cross-examine witnesses. A dossier of related documents has also been sent by the Indian Government to the National Crisis Management Cell (NCMC) of the Ministry of Interior. An eight-member panel from Pakistan had visited Mumbai in April 2012 to cross-examine four key witnesses of ...

• Whatmore to review flop Pak players with World Cup 2015 in mind

  Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore has said that national team will be reviewed keeping in mind the 2015 World Cup after their dismal performance in the ICC Champions Trophy in England. Poor batting led to Pakistan's defeat in all three matches as they failed to post a single total above 170 runs, with the flop performance prompting calls from former players, media and fans to overhaul the system and ...

• PM conveys dismay over Sri Lanka move on 13th Amendment

  Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Tuesday told a delegation of Sri Lanka Tamil MPs that he was "dismayed" by reports suggesting that Colombo planned to dilute certain key provisions of the 13th Amendment on devolution of powers to provinces ahead of polls to the Northern Provincial Council. The prime minister noted that the proposed changes "raised doubts about the commitments made by the Sri ...

• Pakistani leader among 29 killed in suicide bombing

  A member of the provincial assembly of Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was among 29 people killed in a suicide bombing Tuesday, media reports said. Over 50 people were injured. Independent member Imran Mohmand was killed in the blast at a funeral procession in Mardan, Geo News reported. Police said the blast took place during the funeral procession of Haji Abdullah, a well-known figure ...

• Daimler India starts truck exports to Sri Lanka

  Daimler India Commerical Vehicles Pvt Ltd, the Indian subsidiary of German automobile major Daimler AG, Tuesday announced shipment of 64 FUSO trucks to Sri Lanka. In a statement issued here, the company said the FUSO trucks make at its plant near here are headed towards Sri Lanka as a part of its commitment to export to various Asian and African countries. Last month, Daimler India along with ...

• India to convey views on 13th Amendment issue after considering implications PM

  The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, today said India would convey its views on alleged attempts by political parties in Sri Lanka to repeal the 13th Amendment to its Constitution, after considering its implications. Dr. Singh in his letter to DMK supremo M. Karunanidhi said, "While this is a matter on which a decision will be taken by various political parties within Sri Lanka, we will ...

• Antony for peaceful stable and democratic Pakistan

  Asserting that a peaceful, stable and democratic Pakistan will help India, Defence Minister A.K. Antony on Tuesday urged Islamabad to take strong action against militant groups operating from its soil with an aim to improve cross-border relations between the two Asian neighbours. India was concerned about the militant groups, which were operating from Pakistani soil, Antony said. "Our ...

• Thick haze sparks respiratory infections in Riau

  Thick haze blanketing Bengkalis regency and Dumai City in Riau over the last few days has increased the number of respiratory infections.In Bengkalis, the number of people suffering from respiratory infections reached 531 as of June 17, jumping from only 387 a month earlier."The sharp increase in the number of respiratory infection cases has been caused by the thick haze blanketing the ...

• Rural poor to get second priority for cash assistance

  The poor living outside the major metropolis might have to wait a little longer to receive the government's direct cash assistance (BLSM).Coordinating Minister For People's Welfare Agung Laksono said in Jakarta on Wednesday that the disbursement of the BLSM in rural areas would have to wait due to access problems."The disbursement will begin in 12 major cities, then the rest will ...

• MNC to buy ANTV from Bakrie

  Media conglomerate MNC Group is set to purchase ANTV television from Bakrie Group's PT Visi Media Asia (VIVA).MNC Group director David Fernando Audy said as quoted ...

• IHSG closed in the red

  The Indonesian Composite Index (IHSG) dropped into the red zone on Thursday.Kontan.co.id reported that the index plunged by 0.70 percent to 4,806.65 during the final trading session.Transaction volume stood at 11.45 billion shares and only the trade sector sector ended in the green zone with 0.42 percent gain.The top losers were PT Lippo Karawaci dwn by 4.85 percent, PT Adaro Energy 4.71 ...

• Huawei chosen for Myanmar rollout

  Chinese vendor Huawei has been selected to work with state-backed telco Myanmar Post and Telecommunications (MPT) to expand wireless networks in the country, local news portal Eleven Myanmar writes, citing sources ...

• Vimpelcom attracts ‘concrete’ buyer for unwanted African assets Laos deal imminent

  USD400 million. Although the deal has yet to be finalised, the agreement is said to be 'concrete'. Interestingly, the buyer is said to be a private equity investor, rather than one of the major telecom groups in the region that had previously been linked with a potential deal. Standard Chartered is advising Vimpelcom on the transaction, having been hired in 2012 to find a buyer for its ...

• Cambodia PM says garment firms may quit over wage rows

  PHNOM PENH (AFP) - Cambodia's strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday warned garment workers that protests demanding higher wages could push manufacturers to quit the country. His appeal came after unions last week said hundreds of workers had been fired from a factory making sportswear for US giant Nike after a series of pay protests. Cambodian workers have repeatedly demonstrated ...

• Haze update Indonesia to use rain-making technology to stop fires

  An Indonesian firefighter extinguishes a fire near a forest area of Pekanbaru in Riau province located in Sumatra island on Wednesday, June 19, 2013. Indonesia plans to use weather changing technology to try to unleash torrents of rain and extinguish raging fires on Sumatra island that have cloaked neighbouring Singapore in thick haze, an official said on Wednesday. -- PHOTO: ...

• Points to ponder on gold Asian demand and QE tapering

  Asian gold demand, and that from China in particular, is of far more importance than markets credit - and QE tapering may not be negative for gold, at least in the medium to long ...

• Intrepid faces tough fight over Indonesia copper-gold mine

  - Australia's Intrepid Mines Ltd is learning that business in Indonesia is personal as it wages a difficult fight to win back rights to a $5 billion copper and gold prospect in East ...

• Singapore shrouded in Sumatran fire haze

  Singapore enveloped in a thick pall of wood smoke caused by forest fires in Sumatra Pollution index reaches 173 on Wednesday, the worst level since 1997 when it reached 226 National Environment Agency says air quality becomes 'very unhealthy' when the index passes 200 Singapore is anxious to avoid a repeat of the 1997 haze crisis which cost an estimated $9 ...

• Sri Lanka carrier boosts fleet with A350s

  (44 mins ago) Airbus said today that SriLankan Airlines, the country's national carrier, whcih has a relatively young fleet, had agreed to buy six long-haul A330 aircraft and four next-generation A350 planes in a deal worth US$2.6 billion at list prices. ';We are grateful of this renewed confidence SriLankan Airlines is placing with us,'' John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating ...

• Pakistani community gives envoy fond send-off

  The event, at Grand Midwest hotel in Dubai Media City on Friday, was attended by Pakistan Association Dubai members and dignitaries from the wider Pakistani community in the ...

• Twenty-two dead in Nepal monsoon floods

  AT least 22 people have been killed in landslides and floods triggered by heavy monsoon rain in remote parts of Nepal, a government spokesman ...

• Canberra adds to Cambodia tribunal funding

  AUSTRALIA is to give $A3.25 million extra support to the UN-backed Khmer Rouge war crimes tribunal, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) ...

• Croc kills pregnant woman in Indonesia

  A PREGNANT woman has been killed and her three-year-old son is missing after they were attacked by a crocodile in eastern Indonesia, a local official ...

• Philippines Golan peacekeepers to stay for now

  Philippines troops at the Quneitra crossing between Syria and the Israeli annexed Golan Heights last week. The Philippines Wednesday said it would keep its peacekeepers in the Golan Heights until at least August, and may stay longer if the United Nations increased security ...

• Pakistan closes university and hospital after fatal attacks

  Pakistani have authorities closed Sardar Bahadur Khan Women's University and Bolan Medical Complex in Quetta after terrorist attacks killed nearly 90 ...

• Etihad Airways to launch double daily flights from Abu Dhabi to Malaysia

  WAM ABU DHABI, June 19th, 2013 (WAM)Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, will add a new daily flight between Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur to offer a double daily service from July 15th. The new schedule will add 1400 new seats per week to the route - an increase in capacity of approximately 23 per cent. It will enable Etihad Airways to offer better flight ...

• Worsening haze from Indonesia angers Singapore tourists

  SINGAPORE (AFP) - Singapore's smog crisis from Indonesian forest fires worsened Wednesday as air pollution levels reached a 16-year high, triggering a run on medical masks and angry complaints from foreign tourists and locals.The city-state's Pollutant Standards Index soared to 172 at mid-afternoon, well past the officially designated "unhealthy" threshold of 100, according ...

• Conquering Everest begins at a tiny Nepal airstrip

  LUKLA, Nepal // As soon as the decades-old Twin Otter landed at Lukla airport, passengers burst out in applause. They do that for nearly every safe landing at the often terrifying airport at the gateway to Mount Everest. At an altitude of 2,843 metres, the small airstrip here has earned a reputation as one of the most extreme and dangerous airports in the world. The single runway is narrow, ...

• Bengkalis calls for firefighting assistance

  An uncontrollable fire in Riau has left its capital, Pekanbaru, and several other regencies and municipalities in the province, blanketed in smoke clouds, on Wednesday. The thick smoke has forced education authorities in Bengkalis and Dumai to give students vacation to prevent the spread of acute respiratory ...

• Extreme weather water shortage impede fire extinguishing efforts in Riau

  Manggala Agni fire-fighting team from the Riau Natural Resource Conservation Center (BBKSDA) has been overwhelmed in attempts to prevent raging peatland fires across some areas in Riau province, due to extreme weather and lack of water."The most we can do is to prevent the fires from spreading. But to fully extinguish the fires, it is very difficult as there are many challenges in the ...

• MAC finds support for cross-strait rep offices

  A recent MAC survey shows that 71.1 percent of the public approve the ROC government's policy of setting up reciprocal cross-strait representative offices. (Courtesy of ...

• ROC legislates to protect important wetlands

  Liberty Times Taiwan's wetlands will be better protected after the ROC Legislative Yuan passed the Wetlands Conservation Act June 18, establishing a classification system and management mechanisms for their conservation. Under the act, anyone wishing to profit from the use of wetlands for industrial production, business operation or tourism purposes will have to gain permission from the ...

• Oil rises near $99 a barrel before Bernanke speaks

  Benchmark oil for July delivery rose 48 cents to $98.92 per barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 67 cents to close at $98.44 a barrel on the Nymex on ...

• Huawei unveils thinnest smartphone in Singapore

  International telecommunications giant Huawei unveiled its latest flagship device Ascend P6 in Singapore on Wednesday, marketing it as the thinnest smartphone in the world. And it features a distinctively sleek design, too.The Asia launch came just a few hours after the global debut of the smartphone at a standalone event in London, showing the aspirations of the China-headquartered ...

• SE Asia Stocks-Flat to weaker ahead of Fed Indonesia off high

  BANGKOK, June 19 (Reuters) - Southeast Asian stock markets ended mostly weaker to flat on Wednesday as investors trimmed positions in the emerging region ahead of the results of the U.S. Federal Reserve's policy meeting. Share markets rose in early trade as the recently oversold region extended a rebound this week. But trading volume of all six Southeast Asian bourses dropped below a monthly ...

• Asia Brewery eyes dairy manufacturing hub in Laguna for exports to Southeast Asia

  BUSINESS MANILA – Asia Brewery Inc will build a factory in Laguna that will manufacture the dairy products of its foreign partners, making the Philippines their export base for expansion in Southeast Asia. On the sidelines of LT Group Inc's stockholders meeting, Asia Brewery chief operating officer Michael Tan said a facility to produce Vitamilk of Thailand's Green Spot Co Ltd ...

• 25000 Chinese working in Sri Lanka

  (9 mins ago) More than 25,000 Chinese are working at various projects in Sri Lanka, a lawmaker has told parliament. A government minister made the revelation in response to a question from an opposition MP who sought to know the state of labor imports amid high unemployment in the ...

• Pakistan cricket board ordered to name new chief

  Zaka Ashraf speaks at a press conference in Dubai last year. A Pakistani court Wednesday ordered the government to appoint an interim head of the cricket board, after the current chairman was suspended over a legal challenge to his ...

• Singapore to Host IADC Seminar on Dredging and Reclamation

  For (future) decision makers and their advisors in governments, port and harbour authorities, off-shore companies and other organisations that have to execute dredging projects, the International Association of Dredging Companies organises the International Seminar on Dredging and ...

• Rights groups criticize proposed media code in Sri Lanka saying it threatens free speech

  COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Rights groups are criticizing a code of media ethics proposed by Sri Lanka's government, saying Wednesday that the code could have a chilling effect on free speech in the Indian Ocean island nation. New York-based Human Rights Watch said the code is "unnecessary" and infringes on the right to free expression, while Sri Lanka's Free Media Movement said it ...

• Police to send Poso suicide bomber remains to Jakarta

  The Central Sulawesi Police will send the remains of 34-year-old suicide bomber Zainul Arifin to Jakarta this evening to be later buried in his hometown of Lamongan, East Java. "We are about to hand over the remains to his family, who are waiting in Jakarta," Central Sulawesi Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Soemarno said on Wednesday. Previously, National Police spokesman Sr. ...

• Taiwan passes labor safety law amendments

  Taiwan workers are looking forward to better occupational health and safety standards following the passage of amendments to the country's labor safety law June 18 in Taipei City. ...

• Taiwan stages Free Willy-style pygmy whale rescue

  Taiwan Today In a scene reminiscent of Hollywood film "Free Willy," a pygmy killer whale was returned to the wild off the coast of southern Taiwan after over two months of rehabilitation, the ROC Forestry Bureau said June 18. A-gan was found beached in a pod of six pygmy whales in Pingtung County's Checheng Township on April 14, prompting authorities to contact professor Wang ...

• ROC-Guatemala ink declaration of bilateral ties

  ROC President Ma Ying-jeou (right) and Guatemala President Otto Perez Molina toast the joint declaration of bilateral ties June 18 at the Presidential Office in Taipei City. ...

More Southeast Asia News