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India steel firms up prices by up to 10 pct

April 6, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

MUMBAI, April 5 (Reuters) – India’s two largest steelmakers have raised prices across categories by 5 to 10 percent from April 1, citing higher raw material costs, officials at the two companies said on Monday.

Basic Materials

Tata Steel (TISC.BO), the world’s No. 8 steelmaker, has raised prices in India by a range of 2,500 to 3,000 rupees a tonne, a company spokesperson told Reuters. The India operations account for a quarter of its global capacity of about 30 million tonnes.

Earlier, a spokesperson for state-run Steel Authority of India (SAIL.BO), the country’s largest domestic steelmaker, said prices had been raised by between 2,000 and 2,500 rupees a tonne, on the back of rising raw material prices. ($1=44.6 rupees) (Reporting by Prashant Mehra; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan)

Filed Under: International News Tagged With: categories, companies, domestic, steel authority, steelmakers

Turkish withholding tax draft due next week-sources

April 3, 2010 By vani Leave a Comment

ANKARA, April 2 (Reuters) – A draft proposal for a revised withholding tax on investments is ready and will be presented to Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan next week, state economy sources said on Friday.

The proposals suggest a withholding tax of either nil or 10 percent on bonds for local and foreign investors, with a tax rate of 10 percent the preferred option. The draft also envisages scrapping withholding tax on equity-based A-type funds.

Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled last year in favour of making the tax on bonds, shares and mutual funds equal for domestic and foreign investors after the government removed the tax for foreigners in 2006.

(Reporting by Orhan Coskun)

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Domestic BPO companies in Rajasthan unaffected by recession

April 18, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Jaipur, Apr 18 (ANI): In Rajasthan, the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) companies dealing in domestic market have not been affected by the economic slowdown so far.

Most of the domestic BPO companies here are dealing in telecom, power, banking, financial and government sectors. According to the market players, these sectors have not been affected by the ongoing recessionary trends, which is why there is enough buoyancy in local BPO market.

“We are yet to see a decline in domestic market. Inspite of recession there are few things that have demand. For example everybody requires power. It may be possible that someone doesn’t use AC much but he will need power still. Demand of power is going to remain there, “explained Ajay Datta, CEO, Data Infosys Ltd.

“Demand of food is going to remain there. Somebody may reduce one chapatti in meal but he will need that. So call centers of these business segments and segments like telecom have no impact of recession. Any company depending on domestic market is doing well. Companies depending on international market are facing the impact of recession,” added Datta.

The local BPO market is extensive as there is investment of approximately Rs. 600 million in this sector. There are around 30 to 35 BPO companies with a workforce of around 8000 in the state and most of these are in the capital Jaipur.

Even the employees working in domestic BPO companies have no fear of losing their jobs.

“As far as the local job scenario is concerned, especially in this Rajashthan based company, I think that you are quiet safe as compared to MNCs because recession comes from USA and directly hits the Multinational Company’s. So as far as the local companies and local organisations are concerned, we don’t have any problem,” said Pushpendra, a BPO executive of Data Infosys Ltd.

The market players, however, despite of being confident of the business, say that they have put on hold further investment plans. By Lokendra Singh (ANI)

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Taiwan bike maker Giant to open bicycle travel agency

April 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Taipei – Taiwan bicycle manufacturer Giant Inc plans to launch a travel agency to promote bike tourism , a newspaper reported Tuesday. Giant has applied to the Transport Ministry to operate a Class-A travel agency and hopes to launch the new venture in May, the Taipei Times quoted Giant general manager John Ho as saying.

Ho said the new travel agency was initially expected to bring in more than 100 million Taiwan dollars (nearly 3 million US) in annual revenue, but Giant’s goal is not making money but to promote bike riding as a way of life.

Giant plans to sign an agreement with Taiwan’s largest airline, the China Airlines, which will offer discount bicycle shipping services to capture new business opportunities.

Aside from teaming with China Airlines, Giant said it would continue to reinforce its collaboration with Lion Travel Service Co. Giant is now in charge of Lion Travel Service’s bicycle tour programmes.

Giant is eying business opportunities brought by an increasing number of tourists who travel across the Taiwan Strait via a third destination and plans to offer two-day, one-night bike tours between Kinmen and Xiamen in the second half of 2009, the Taipei Times said.

Kinmen is a Taiwan-held islet a few kilometres off China’s south- east coast.

Fueled by the growing popularity of cycling, Giant sold 390,000 bicycles last year in Taiwan, with about 4 billion Taiwan dollars (118 million US dollars) in sales.

The company’s 2008 sales surged 140 per cent from 2007, when Giant sold 230,000 bicycles and reported sales of 1.65 billion Taiwan dollars (48 million US dollars).

According to the Taipei Times, Giant expects domestic sales to drop to about 350,000 units in 2009 due to the economic downturn. (dpa)

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The top 20 jargon-filled titles to make jobs sound worthier

April 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

London, Apr 8 (ANI): Are ‘front line customer support facilitators’ ruining your life by calling you again and again? Did you skip today’s newspaper-tea combo because the ‘media distribution officer’ failed to make a delivery? Well, don’t get perplexed. These are just two of the bureaucratic new job titles now spreading like flu.

In a bizarre attempt to make employees’ roles appear more important, new titles have replaced “dinner ladies” and “call centre workers”, a study has found.

Among many, paperboys have been changed to Media Distribution Officer, call centre workers to Front Line Customer Support Facilitator, the research found.

Also, tollbooth collectors have been elevated to “Coin Facilitation Engineers”, The Telegraph reported.
As per a survey of British workers, even dishwashers have been promoted to “Gastronomical Hygiene Technicians” by their employers.

The list of titles was compiled by market research company OnePoll.com after researchers carried out a four-month online survey of thousands of staff and employers who provided their unusual titles.

A spokesman said: “These job titles are absolutely barmy. Some have been bubbling around for a few years but now the practice of dreaming up such title seems to have gone into overdrive.

“I wonder whether deep down the people who occupy these positions are happy with them.”

Top 20 jargon-filled job titles:

1. Beverage Dissemination Officer – Barman

2. Colour Distribution Technician – Painter and Decorator

3. Customer Experience Enhancement Consultant – Shop Assistant

4. Domestic Technician – Housewife

5. Education Centre Nourishment Consultant – Dinner Lady

6. Highway Environmental Hygienist – Road Sweeper

7. Field Nourishment Consultant – Waitress

8. Five a Day Collection Operative – Fruit Picker

9. Front Line Customer Support Facilitator – Call Centre Worker

10. Gastronomical Hygiene Technician – Dish Washer

11. Mass Production Engineer – Factory Worker

12. Media Distribution Officer – Paper Boy

13. Mobile Sustenance Facilitator – Burger Van Worker

14. Mortar Logistics Engineer – Labourer

15. Petroleum Transfer Engineer – Petrol Station Assistant

16. Recycling Operative – Bin Man

17. Sanitation Consultant – Toilet Cleaner

18. Coin Facilitation Engineer – Toll Booth Collector

19. Transparency Enhancement Facilitator – Window Cleaner

20. Vehicle Restoration Engineer – Panel Beater (ANI)

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International Women’s Day celebration today

March 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Mar 8 (ANI): The Ministry of Women and Child Development will organise a day-long celebrations on the occasion of International Women’s Day today.

The Ministry will release Gender Development Index and a report on Gender Empowerment Measures in India in a function to be organized here at Siri Fort Auditorium.

Discussion on various legislative measures including case studies on domestic violence will also be held.

The Ministry has also launched awareness campaign for empowerment of women. Several public private partnership initiatives have been made under the campaign.

A report on Bell Bajao campaign and on appointment of Protection Officers for the implementation of Child Marriage Act and Prohibition of Domestic Violence Act will also be released on this occasion. (ANI)

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Assam tea industry battles slowdown

March 8, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Guwahati, Mar 7 (ANI): Unfavorable weather conditions for tea plantations coupled with global slowdown have badly affected tea exports of Assam.

Statistics say that India, the second-largest tea producer in the world experienced a slump by 25 per cent in January 2009.

Indranil Sharma, a tea garden owner in Guwahati said that apart from the slowdown in exports, even the weather is playing havoc this season.

Owing to scanty rainfall the soil has literally dried up. Though dry spells are common in Assam but this year the spell is there for a longer period.

“The biggest problem we are facing is that all the water sources have dried up, we are having problem getting water for spraying and we have to collect water from outside source and do the spraying. Spraying process itself is a very costly process and we this year we had a n attack of loopers then we had an attack of holopets now we are expecting with this kind of dry weather rats to come in,” said Sharma.

Experts say that the tea industry depends on exports for its profits since the domestic per capita consumption of tea is not enough to survive on.

“A minimum of 200 million kilograms export of tea is required for the industry to survive. Anything over and above that is good for the survival. And our estimates say that this meltdown would last till 2010. We will feel the pinch till then,” said Dipanjal Deka, Secretary, Tea Board of India, Assam Branch.

Officials say that India’s tea production in financial year 09, is expected to rise by only two percent to 1,000 million kg on the back of increase in yield from replantation and higher acreage. By Apem (ANI)

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One-fifth of the sexual assaults are drug-facilitated

March 4, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Mar 2 (ANI): A new study has found that more than 20 pct of the sexual assaults are drug-facilitated.

Researchers from Women’s College Research Institute in Toronto and the Ontario Network of Sexual Assault/Domestic Violence Treatment Centres studied at least 882 victims of sexual assaults.

They found that 30pct of victims had taken prescription drugs, 26 pct over-the-counter medications, and 27 pct had taken street drugs in the last 72 hours before the assault.

Almost 90pct had consumed alcohol immediately before.

“These types of substances have pharmacologic properties that can alter states of consciousness and lower inhibitions, especially when used simultaneously with alcohol and in their own right may be used to spike drinks,” wrote the authors.

“As such, victims could have unwittingly ingested a “date rape drug,”" although the combination of alcohol and drugs could also result in incapacitation, they added.

The authors suggest that education and public awareness campaigns regarding the effects of alcohol, especially combined with drugs, is essentially required to combat the problem.

Dr. Jan Welch and Dr. Bernadette Butler from King’s College Hospital in London, UK said: “For clinicians caring for victims of sexual assault, a non-judgemental approach is essential. It is important to recognize the possibility of drug-facilitated sexual assault and provide the necessary therapeutic care while addressing forensic issues when possible, including evidence collection and documentation.”

The study has been published in CMAJ. (ANI)

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Centre asks States to implement Women’s Empowerment schemes effectively

March 2, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

New Delhi, Feb.28 (ANI): The Centre on Saturday asked the State governments to effectively implement the Women’s Empowerment Policy to ensure gender equality, enhance participation, protection from domestic violence and their economic and social empowerment.

Union Minister for Child and Women welfare Renuka Chowdhary here asked the States to take advantage of the schemes to promote welfare and protection of women in the society.

Addressing a meeting of the State Ministers in charge of women and Child Development, Renuka said that the government recently introduced amendment in various legislations for the empowerment of women including Child Marriage Act and Protection from Domestic Violence besides launching of schemes like gender budgeting, micro financing and Swadhar Homes for Women in distress.

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Renuka Chowdhary said that the Centre has decided to universalize the scheme to cover each and every block of the country with an enhanced budget, increase honoraria for Anganwadi Workers and improve norms and also urged the States to take an expansion of Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) in a mission mode.

Renuka also asked the States to forward new proposals for setting up of hostels for working women, Swadhar Homes for women in stress and crhches.

Emphasizing on strict monitoring to check the incidence of female foeticide, child marriage and trafficking of women, Renuka said the Centre has recently announced two important schemes Dhanlaxmi and Priyadarshani. Both the schemes will help in the economic empowerment of girl child.

Ujjawala, a scheme has been launched to rehabilitate traffic victims. But the success of the schemes will depend on the efforts of being made by the State Government towards the implementation of the schemes.

States were asked to appoint protection Officers without delay for the effective implementation of Protection from Domestic Violence Act and child marriage act and to take up construction of pucca building for Anganwadi

Organized by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, the conference was attended by the Ministers from the States in charge of the Women and Child Affairs, the representatives of the National Commission for Women, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, National Institute for Public Cooperation and Child Development, Central Social Welfare Board and Central Adoption Resource Agency and Rashtriya Mahila Kosh.

Also, on the occasion National Awards were presented to 74 Anganwadi workers for their exemplary contribution under Integrated Child Development Services. Each of the recipients was given Rs.15,000 and a citation.

Besides, the Stree Shakti Puraskars were also presented to five selected individuals who contributed for the cause of development, welfare and empowerment of women. Each was given Rs. 300,000 and a citation. (ANI)

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Beheading of wife by US Muslim TV head appears to be honour killing

February 18, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Washington, Feb 18 (ANI): The beheading of 37-year-old Aasiya Hassan by her husband and Pakistani origin American entrepreneur, who is the founder of a US Muslim TV network, has all the markings of an honor killing, psychologists and Islamic experts have said.

Muzzammil Hassan, 44, remains jailed after being charged with the second-degree murder of his wife, whose body was found on Thursday at the office of Bridges TV, their television station in Orchard Park, near Buffalo.

Orchard Park Police Chief Andrew Benz said Hassan has not confessed to the crime, despite media reports to the contrary, FOX News reported.

Asked if the murder is being probed as an honor killing, Benz replied, “We’ve been told that there’s no place for that kind of action in their faith, but I wouldn’t say that there’s anything that’s being completely ruled out at this point.”

But psychologists and some American Muslims said the slaying has all the markings of an honor killing.

“The fierce and gruesome nature of this murder signals it’s an honor killing. What she did was worthy of capital punishment in his eyes,” said Dr. Phyllis Chesler, an author and professor of psychology at the Richmond College of the City University of New York.

Following multiple episodes of domestic violence, Aasiya Hassan filed for divorce on February 6 and obtained an order of protection that barred her husband from their home.

Chesler, who wrote “Are Honor Killings Simply Domestic Violence?” for Middle East Quarterly, said some Muslim men consider divorce a dishonor on their family.

Chesler said honor killings typically are Muslim-on-Muslim crimes and largely involve teenage daughters, young women and, to a lesser extent, wives.

.Zuhdi Jasser, founder and chairman of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, agreed with Chesler.

“It certainly has all the markings of an honor killing. She expressed through the legal system that she was being abused, and at the moment she asked for divorce, she’s not only murdered – she’s decapitated,” FOX News quoted Jasser, as saying.

Muzzammil and Aasiya Hassan founded Bridges TV in November 2004 to counter anti-Islam stereotypes, touting the network as the “first-ever full-time home for American Muslims,” according to a 2004 press release. (ANI)

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Mawlynnong in Meghalaya- Asia’s cleanest village

February 11, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Mawlynnog (Shillong) Feb.10, (ANI): Resident across the country can take inspiration from the picture perfect village of Mawlynnong, which has recently earned a unique distinction of being the cleanest village in Asia.

Nestled in the pristine hills of Meghalaya, the hamlet has over 80 houses and the villagers, despite their daily schedule of farming and cultivating broomsticks, have worked hard to earn this distinction.

Residents of this village keep their surroundings clean by voluntarily performing all the civic duties such as sweeping the roads and lanes, watering the plants in public area and cleaning the drains.

A team of experts from the famous travel and tourism journal, “Discovery India” has conferred the recognition of being the cleanest village in Asia to Mawlynnong, which is 75 kilometres from the State capital Shillong.

“This village has been there for a long. It’s over hundred years old. People residing in this village have been maintaining cleanliness right from the time of our ancestors. Because of that this village is clean and at the same time, tourists come to visit to see the surroundings it exhibits as one of Asia’s cleanest village,” said Leaderfiels Khongwir, one villager, Mawlynnong

“It is the cleanest village that I’ve seen so far. The beautiful flowers, in fact it feels like a park. It doesn’t feel like you’ve come to a village. It’s like walking in a park, with beautiful flowers on both sides of the path,” said Inrani Swer, a visitor from Shillong.

Dustbins crafted from bamboo canes are placed at central points in the village and the waste from the dustbin is collected and kept in a pit, which the villagers use as manure.

Local residents here grow different flowers around their houses to complement the beauty of their tiny cottages.

Mawlynnong’s fame is now drawing an endless stream of both domestic as well as international tourists. By D. Henpilen (ANI)

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South Korean economy to shrink 2 per cent in 2009, minister says

February 10, 2009 By Dinesh Leave a Comment

Seoul – South Korea’s economy, Asia’s fourth-largest, will shrink 2 per cent this year on falling exports and dwindling domestic demand, the government forecast Tuesday, reversing its earlier predictions of growth.

About 200,000 people were expected to lose their jobs because of the effects of the global economic downturn on South Korea’s economy, Finance Minister Yoon Jeung Hyun added.

Only in December, the government had predicted growth of 3 per cent.

“As the new finance minister, it is unpleasant for me to offer such a grim view of the economy but I believe that honesty is the first step toward regaining trust in the government from the people and the market,” Yoon said at a press conference on the same day he took up his new job.

The government had been criticized for an overly optimistic growth forecast after economists, think tanks and investment banks forecast the first recession for South Korea since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis.

Early this month, the International Monetary Fund forecast that South Korea’s economy would shrink 4 per cent in 2009.

His first priority would be creating jobs by strengthening demand for consumer and investment goods, Yoon said, adding that he also intended to carry out liquidity injections in finance markets, win approval of stimulus measures and carry out deregulation of the service sector.

The former head of South Korea’s financial regulator also pledged to submit a supplementary budget plan to the National Assembly by the end of this month. He did not comment on the size of the plan.

The economy of the export-oriented country shrank a larger-than-expected 5.6 per cent in the final quarter of 2008 from the quarter before, according to the central bank. Its gross domestic product fell 3.4 per cent from the same quarter a year earlier. (dpa)

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Male domestic abuse victims get their own shelters in Netherlands

February 9, 2009 By Dinesh Leave a Comment

Amsterdam – Male victims of domestic abuse in the Netherlands can seek refuge in special shelters such as that due to open Tuesday in The Hague by Deputy Health Minister Jet Bussemaker.

The four biggest cities – Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht – each received 200,000 euros (255,920 dollars) to provide safe havens for abused men, the ministry said Monday.

Each city should provide 10 shelters. Half the total of 40 abused men’s homes will be secret shelters.

The initiative is a response to increased demand for such homes by abused men who approached various health and social welfare institutions.

Domestic abuse among men may vary from physical or mental abuse by a male or female partner to trafficking by women.

Homosexual men who receive threats from relatives or men who refuse to give in to family pressure to commit murder in the name of family honour can also make use of the shelters.

The homes are expected in particular to serve the needs of men from Oriental migrant cultures.

It is unknown how many men in the Netherlands fall victim to domestic abuse. The current programme is a one-year-pilot during which demand and specific needs will be determined.

The opening of the men’s shelters are part of a larger government campaign to fight domestic abuse.

The Dutch health ministry recently raised its domestic abuse budget from 55 million euros to 73 million euros. In 2012, the annual budget will be 87 million euros. (dpa)

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Egyptian security service search detained German activist’s home

February 9, 2009 By Dinesh 1 Comment

Cairo – Officers from Egypt’s domestic intelligence agency searched the home of detained German-Egyptian student activist Philip Rizk in the early hours of Monday, his sister and human rights lawyers lawyers said.

Rizk has been held at an unknown location since late Friday night after he and 14 activists finished a symbolic, 10-kilometre march in Cairo to protest against the blockade of Gaza.

Around a dozen officers from the domestic intelligence State Security Investigation service came to Rizk’s family house at around 1.30 am, Rizk’s sister Jeannette told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, dpa. Two officers searched the house while the rest surrounded it.

“Around 15 minutes ago, they came to the door and started ringing the doorbell like crazy. We were all sleeping,” Rizk’s sister told dpa as the officers searched her house. “I am hiding in the bedroom with my mother in the back of the house. My father is out front talking to security.”

She said that when asked for a search warrant, the officers replied, “We are State Security. We don’t need a warrant.”

Human-rights lawyer Gamal Eid, director of the Cairo-based Arabic Network for Human Rights Information, who came to the Rizk’s house after the State Security officers arrived, told dpa that the officers wanted Rizk’s father to come with them to sign a paper that would allow them to release his son. Eid counseled him not to go.

Both Eid and Jeannette Rizk said that an official from the German Embassy in Cairo was present, but a spokesman for the embassy on Monday said he could not comment on the case.

A friend of Rizk’s, speaking to dpa early Monday morning on condition of anonymity, said that family and friends “don’t wish to antagonise the government. We’re not trying to make any grand statement. We just want Philip released. He’s one of the most peaceful people I’ve met. I’m very worried for him.”

Since he was detained last Friday, lawyers, family and friends say they have not had reliable information about where Rizk is being held or on what charges. (dpa)

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Vietnamese industrial output down 8.6 per cent

February 5, 2009 By Dinesh Leave a Comment

Hanoi – Vietnam’s industrial production fell 8.6 per cent in January from the month before, media reports said Thursday, as the global economic downturn hit the country’s export-dependent economy.

The drop left industrial output 4.4 per cent lower than in January 2008, according to data from the Planning and Investment Ministry.

Exports, which account for 70 per cent of Vietnam’s gross domestic product (GDP), were down 24.2 per cent from the same month last year.

The sharp drop in production and exports threatened to derail the government’s prediction of 5 per cent GDP growth in 2009. Vietnam’s economic growth already fell from 8.5 per cent in 2007 to 6.2 per cent last year.

“The sectors that fell the furthest [in January] were exports, like textiles, garments, and shoes,” said Phan Chi Dung, head of the Trade Ministry’s Industrial Consumer Product Department. “They all decreased between 25 and 30 per cent. In the domestic market, purchasing power also decreased.”

New foreign direct investment commitments were 185 million dollars in January, down about 90 per cent from a year earlier, according to the Planning and Industry Ministry. In 2008, Vietnam attracted more than 60 billion dollars in such commitments.

The tourism industry contracted as well with foreign visitors in January down 12 per cent year-on-year.

In a meeting with government leaders Wednesday, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung pressed ministries and agencies to speed up projects that could boost industrial exports and domestic demand.

Vietnam’s government announced a 1-billion-dollar stimulus package late last year to raise domestic demand. Some of that money is to be used by the central bank to provide a 4-per cent-interest-rate subsidy on loans used for projects in high-priority sectors, the State Bank of Vietnam announced Wednesday. (dpa)

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HSBC sees possibility of second quarter Asian economic recovery

January 14, 2009 By admin Leave a Comment

Singapore – Asian’s economy might recover from the recession as early as the second quarter of this year, supported by the governments’ policy responses to the downturn and the sharp drop in commodity prices, a news report said on Wednesday.

“The cavalry is on its way in the form of one of the most significant policy responses ever,” the Straits Times quoted HSBC senior Asian economist Robert Prior-Wandesforde as saying.

“The policy easing and sharp falls in commodity prices should lead to strong domestic demand, thus generating recovery in Asia,” he said.

Rounds of aggressive interest rate cuts and substantial stimulus packages in the region should spur domestic demand, said the daily, citing a HSBC media conference presentation.

But the bank cautioned that Asian economic recoveries might not be as fast as they have been in the past.

“Deep and sharp V-shaped recoveries have been the hallmark of Asia in the past, but we suspect that this time around, the second upward leg will not be quite as steep,” said HSBC, which made the forecast a week after another bank, BNP Paribas, projected a V-shaped recovery for Asia, which is a quicker rebound than the U-shaped slower recoveries.

HSBC also expected continued volatility in Asian stocks this year as “ultra-low interest rates and huge fiscal packages” meet global deleveraging.

It expected the regional markets to end either 10 per cent higher or lower from their current levels, but added that it would not be as bad as last year when Asian equities dropped by 53 per cent in value. (dpa)

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Obama likely to revise Bush’s counter-terrorism efforts

January 8, 2009 By Rajiv Gupta Leave a Comment

Washington, Jan.8 (ANI): US President-elect Barack Obama is preparing to scrap the way President Bush oversaw domestic security in the White House and name a former Central Intelligence Agency official to coordinate future counter-terrorism efforts.

Quoting people close to the Obama transition team, the New York Times said that a plan is being discussed to eliminate the independent homeland security adviser’s office and assign those duties to the National Security Council to streamline overlapping functions.

The paper also reveals that a deputy national security adviser would be charged with overseeing the effort to guard against terrorism and to respond to natural disasters.

Democrats close to the transition said Obama’s choice for that job was John O. Brennan, a longtime C.I.A. veteran who was the front-runner to head the spy agency until withdrawing in November amid criticism of his views on interrogation and detention policies.

His appointment would not require Senate confirmation.

Though Obama has made no final decision about how to structure domestic security in his White House, his advisers plan to wait until his inauguration to conduct a formal review.

Several key advisers have publicly advocated folding it into the National Security Council, and those involved in discussions said the only real questions appeared to be how to do that and how to explain it without looking like domestic security was being downgraded as a priority.

Bush’s aides, including the national security adviser, Stephen J. Hadley, have privately urged Obama’s advisers not to get rid of the separate homeland security office, warning that it would load too many responsibilities on the National Security Council and risk important matters’ falling through the cracks.

In his new capacity, Brennan would report to Marine General (retired) James L. Jones, who is slated to serve as Obama’s national security adviser.

The idea of merging the two councils has been recommended by a number of reports, most notably in November by the Center for American Progress Action Fund and by Third Way. Among those preparing their report were John D. Podesta, Obama’s transition co-chairman, and members of his team. (ANI)

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Cricket in Pak will benefit more from batting-friendly pitches: Miandad

January 7, 2009 By Rajiv Gupta Leave a Comment

Karachi, Jan (ANI): Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) Director General Javed Miandad feels that cricket in the country will benefit more from batting-friendly strips.

The former Pakistan captain told reporters here that he has instructed the country’s chief curator to prepare wickets that can enable high-scoring matches instead of green tops in domestic tournaments like the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

Miandad said that sub-standard wickets were prepared for the initial rounds of the tournament, which is why most of the first-class matches ended within two or three days.

He said Pakistan should have wickets on which a team can score 500 or 600 runs, The News reported.

“We need to produce world class batsmen. We need seven good batsmen for the national team and you cannot groom them on sub-standard wickets,” he said.

Senior Pakistani cricketers like pacer Shoaib Akhtar and batsman Younis Khan have in the recent times urged for sporting wickets.

They wanted the PCB to order wickets that can support fast bowlers.

However, Miandad made it clear that the Board will not vote in the favour of bouncy and green-top wickets. “Fast wickets will not serve the purpose.”

“If you see all over the world, wickets are becoming more batting friendly because spectators come to see runs being scored. We also need our domestic matches to be high-scoring encounters,” he said. (ANI)

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Karachi 480 women killed, 195 raped in Karachi in 2008

January 7, 2009 By Rajiv Gupta Leave a Comment

Karachi, Jan 7 (ANI): More than 1,885 incidents of violence against women took place in Karachi in which more than 480 women had been killed.

The report prepared by the Aurat Foundation said that over 279 women were murdered and more than 284 people — including 80 men – killed on the pretext of karo-kari, or honour killing, and attempts were made on the lives of 45 others.

The report says that 62 women were gang-raped, 86 raped; sexual assault was committed against 47 females and 157 suffered custodial violence and 414 others were abducted.

It says that 146 women committed suicide while 32 others tried to commit suicide, the Dawn reported.

Domestic violence was committed against 112 women, 135 others were hurt or received injuries, 12 women were burnt and acid was thrown at three others and 16 women were trafficked.

It says that of the 1,885 incidents, 354 occurred during the fourth quarter of the year in which 58 women were murdered and 51 others were eliminated on the pretext of honour killing, while attempt was also made on the life of 21 others. Some 38 women committed suicide and 34 others tried to kill themselves.

The report says that eight women were gang-raped, 15 were raped and 43 others were abducted.

It says that 23 women were hurt, custodial violence was committed against 20 women while nine faced domestic violence and five were trafficked, besides many others who faced various kinds of violence.

The report points out that most of the honour killings occurred in rural areas while a majority of murders were reported in urban areas. Weapons used included guns, batons, ropes, knives, bricks, iron rods, and poison. (ANI)

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Dense fog disrupts air traffic in Kolkata

January 7, 2009 By Rajiv Gupta Leave a Comment

Kolkata, Jan 7 (ANI): A thick fog disrupted operations at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Airport here this morning.

According to airport sources, 27 domestic and international flights were not allowed to depart from the airport. Fifteen flights failed to land at the airport due to fog.

Flights carrying Haj pilgrims were diverted to Nagpur, as it was difficult to land at the airport at 4:30 a.m.

The general visibility dropped to 0 metres at 5:00 a.m. and it was 100 metres at 8:00 a.m., they said. (ANI)

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Karachi 480 women killed, 195 raped in Karachi in 2008

Dense fog disrupts air traffic in Kolkata

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