In Wednesday's South Asia/Middle East papers

16 May 2007 06:00  [Source: ICIS news]

MUMBAI (ICIS news)--These were the top stories at  06:00 GMT in the following South Asia/ Middle East newspapers’ online versions on Wednesday. To go to the individual websites, click the links below:

 

THE TIMES OF INDIA

Front Page

 

Parel to get breathing space

An Oval maidan-sized stretch of open space in Parel with a textile museum for the public. An unbroken stretch of land for millowners to redevelop as malls, offices and residential complexes in central Mumbai. Low-cost housing in the suburbs. That’s the plan the state government has for the city’s 600 acres of mill lands.

 

Govt bowls a googly to Sach, Sunny

The government has decided to raise a demand for Rs 3.62bn ($0.08bn/€0.06bn) as income tax from Sachin Tendulkar and Rs 80.34 lakh from Sunil Gavaskar. The decision comes after the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India objected to the way the tax department had granted the cricket stars concessions while calculating the tax.

 

Business

 

HDFC buys out Chubb’s stake in JV

After almost a year of negotiations HDFC and Chubb have finally parted ways, with HDFC agreeing to buy out Chubb’s 26% stake in the general insurance partnership

 

Infosys, Wipro under US senators’ H-1B scanner

Infosys, Wipro and TCS are among nine Indian firms that have been asked to disclose details of their workforce by two US lawmakers, who feel the H-1B visa programme is being abused by foreign companies to displace qualified American workers.

 

THE ECONOMIC TIMES

Front Page

 

SBI arms get a ticket to market

Banks which were once founded by Indian maharajas and princely states will now offer their shares to retail investors. The government has paved the way for subsidiary banks of State Bank of India (SBI) to list on stock exchanges, make private placements of equity and appoint separate chairmen.

 

Russia, Malaysia flights in a spin

In a move that could result in disruption of direct flights from India to Russia and Malaysia, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has written to Russian and Malaysian airlines informing them they would not be allowed to use Indian airspace as Indian airlines were being denied access to these countries.

 

KHALEEJ TIMES

Front Page

 

Now RTA buses will link Dubai, Sharjah

The trademark red buses of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) have started plying between Dubai and Sharjah, marking the start of the much-awaited bus service between the two emirates.

 

Dubai-bound AI passengers delayed by over 10 hours

Dubai-bound passengers of Air India, who were delayed by about 14 hours at the Mumbai International Airport yesterday (15 May), have been flown on board the airline's two scheduled commercial flights last night, an airline source said.

 

Business

 

Political will a must: IMF

With financial globalisation gathering pace — resulting in more than $6,000bn (€4.4bn) cross-border capital flow over the past decade — regional financial integration has become vital, said Rodrigo de Rato, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

 

Co-operation, consistent rulings to spur growth of Islamic finance

To give impetus to the growth of Islamic financing, more work is required to eliminate obstacles to that growth, the UAE Central Bank Governor, Sultan bin Naser al-Suwaidi said yesterday. He was speaking at the opening session of the Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) Summit held in Dubai. The IFSB is a standard-setting body for Islamic financial products.

 

TIMES OF OMAN

Front page

 

Iranian president leaves

Dr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, left here yesterday along with the delegation accompanying him, winding up a two-day official visit to the Sultanate.

 

Ahmadinejad: nuclear plant no security risk

Dr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, has given an interview to the editors-in-chief of local newspapers at Al-Alam Palace Guest House.

 

Business

 

New broadcast communication solutions launched

Mustafa Sultan Security & Communications System Co (MSSCS) has joined hands with Harris Corporation, an international communications and information technology company to bring the latest broadcast communication solutions to Oman.

 

Share prices advance on higher volumes

The Muscat Securities Market (MSM) continued to trade on higher volumes with the MSM 30 index closing the day on gains of 0.11%. Sector indices remained in the green with the banking/investment sector index to close at 0.4 per cent, the industry sector index to close at 0.13% and a marginal increase of 0.07% witnessed by the services sector index.

 

ARAB TIMES

Front Page

 

Kuwait expected to let dinar rise 3% – Deutsche

Kuwait’s central bank is expected to allow its dinar currency to appreciate by 3% in the next six months to check inflation and soak up cash pouring into the oil exporter’s economy, Deutsche Bank said in a report.

 

Situation calm, reassuring; Amir optimistic on prosperity

His Highness the Amir Shaikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah said in remarks published on Saturday the situation in Kuwait was calm and reassuring, adding that he was optimistic of a prosperous future for the country.

 

Business

 

Solutions needed to tackle energy woes; Power outages loom

Private companies are buying electricity generators in expectations of power cuts this summer. The question that is being asked daily in Kuwait is: Of what use is the surplus money which we are generating because of the steep rise in oil prices.

 

OPEC will face pressure to boost output: Kuwait

OPEC will come under pressure to increase oil output due to high prices, a newspaper on Saturday quoted the Kuwaiti oil minister as saying. “For sure, there will be strong pressure on OPEC to raise production,” Shaikh Ali al-Jarrah al-Sabah told Kuwaiti daily Al-Qabas, without elaborating from whom the pressure might come.

 

DAWN

Front Page

SC maintains stay on SJC proceedings

The Supreme Court on Tuesday maintained the order of one of its benches under which the proceedings of the Supreme Judicial Council against Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

 

Musharraf shrugs off criticism over Karachi killings

President Gen Pervez Musharraf at a meeting with parliamentarians of the ruling PML and its coalition partners on Tuesday showed defiance in the face of criticism over the.

 

Business

 

Govt refuses to cut duty, taxes on palm olien: costly ghee, oil

The government has again rejected the demand of the ghee and cooking oil manufacturers for reduction in import duty on palm olien and slashing of other taxes to provide relief to consumers....

 

Pakistan-EU commission to discuss FTA: Meeting begins on 24th

The Pakistan-European Union Joint Commission will meet here on 24 May after a gap of 10 years amid hopes of making some progress on the proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA), officials told Dawn.

 

BUSINESS RECORDER

Front Page

 

Upcoming budget to have enough for poor: prime minister

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz Tuesday said that the 2007-08 budget would have enough for the betterment of poor segments of the society. “The allocation of more funds for development projects will also generate more jobs.”

 

Pakistan pleads for initiating FTA with EU states

Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan has pleaded for better European market access to Pakistani products and initiation of Free Trade Agreement (FTA), with EU member states.

 

Business

 

Budget to have enough for poor: Shaukat

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Tuesday said that the 2007-08 budget would have enough for the betterment of poor segments of the society. "The allocation of more funds for development projects will also generate more jobs and elevate socio-economic condition of the poor strata of the society," he said while speaking at the LCCI Achievement Awards-2007 ceremony held at Governor's House here this evening.

 

Pakistan pleads for initiating FTA with EU states

Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar Khan has pleaded for better European market access to Pakistani products and initiation of Free Trade Agreement (FTA), with EU member states.

 

By: Staff Reporter
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