Islamabad, Pakistan | AFP | Jubilant photographs of Pakistan cricket fans dancing in the streets were plastered all over national newspapers Monday after their eighth-ranked team produced a thrilling win against arch-rivals India in the Champions Trophy final. Pakistan inflicted a massive 180-run defeat upon title-holders and favourites India at …
Read More »Baby on board: Indian gives birth at 35,000 feet
Mumbai, India | AFP | An Indian woman gave birth to a baby boy on an international commercial flight as it flew at 35,000 feet, the airline said on Monday. The unnamed woman, in her 20s, went into premature labour on Sunday’s Jet Airways flight between Damman in Saudi …
Read More »India’s mobile internet use increases ninefold
New Delhi, India | AFP | Mobile internet usage in India has increased ninefold in a single year, after the launch of a new operator sparked a telecoms price war, according to a new report. Indians used nearly 1.3 billion gigabytes of data in March 2017 compared with around 150 …
Read More »Indian state to challenge Modi’s cow slaughter ban
New Delhi, India | AFP | A southern Indian state announced Sunday it would go to the supreme court to challenge a federal ban on the sale of cows for slaughter, stepping up a showdown with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Cows are considered sacred by Hindus and the Hindu nationalist …
Read More »Indian student made to remove bra over exam cheat fears
99 New Delhi, India | AFP | An Indian student said Monday she was made to remove her bra in public by school authorities over exam cheating fears, minutes before sitting a crucial test. Authorities issue strict dress codes to tackle widespread cheating on the entrance test for India’s prestigious …
Read More »ANALYSIS: How bad corporate debts are holding back India’s growth
New Delhi, India | AFP | The recent arrest of Vijay Mallya highlighted the problem of bad loans in India, but analysts say the tycoon’s unpaid debts are just the tip of an iceberg that is already holding back the country’s economic growth. The multimillionaire owner of a Formula One …
Read More »South Africa bus crash kills 20 children
URGENT: 20 children killed in S.Africa bus crash: emergency services Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | At least 20 children were killed in a bus crash outside the South African capital Pretoria on Friday, emergency services said, as paramedics treated the injured at the scene. The minibus collided with a …
Read More »TRAFFIC: India bans red car beacons to end elitist culture
New Delhi, India | AFP | India said Wednesday it will ban ministers and senior officials from using red beacons on their cars to cut through traffic, a longstanding privilege that has caused resentment and accusations of elitism. From May 1 only emergency services will be allowed to use …
Read More »BUSINESS: Low prices ahead for coffee
Rising global exports and inventory levels weaken prices: ICO The International Coffee Organisation’s (ICO) has predicted low prices into the near future for both the global Robusta and Arabica crop. In its latest April report, the ICO notes that growers such as Uganda, Indonesia, Honduras, India and Peru, who contribute …
Read More »Oil workers seized by South Sudan rebels freed
Khartoum, Sudan | AFP | Three foreign petroleum engineers abducted by South Sudanese rebels have been released after negotiations brokered by Sudan and Ethiopia, a Sudanese security agency said on Thursday. Indians Midhun Ganesh and Edward Ambrose and Pakistani Ayaz Hussein Jamali, who worked for DAR Petroleum, had been seized …
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