In Tuesday's South Asia papers

THE TIMES OF INDIA

Pakistanis too scared to leave home, many want to flee
For a country badly bloodied by a wave of suicide attacks, the next tragedy appears to be collapse of governance.

Maoists blow up two schools in Jharkhand
The Maoists packed explosives inside Upgraded Haridih School and Upgraded Dharpahari School, damaging the structures, police said.

Marginal hike in petrol, diesel prices
Petrol will be costlier by seven paise per litre and diesel by four paise as the oil ministry has raised dealer margins on these motor fuels.

Interest rates unlikely to go up
Industry and individual borrowers can rest assured that any tweak in the RBI’s policy rate on Tuesday may not have immediate bearing on their pockets, economists and policymakers said.

Wipro Q2 result beats street estimates
Wipro posted a consolidated net profit of Rs1161.7 cr for the quarter ended 30 September, 2009.

Infosys sees more biz from bank system integrations
For Infy, consolidation among top US and EU banks is bringing new business, with contracts worth around $500m.

Qatar Emir assures Hasina of development assistance
Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani said all the Gulf states, including his country, are keen to provide necessary assistance to Bangladesh for attaining its cherished development and prosperity.

Tarique, Mamun face money laundering case
The Anticorruption Commission has filed a money-laundering case against Tarique Rahman and businessman Giasuddin Al Mamun, police said on Monday.

SEC halts margin loan facility to mutual funds, Aftab Auto
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday directed all concerned not to entertain their clients with margin loan facility to buy shares of mutual funds and Aftab Automobiles.

USAID launches $162.5m credit guarantee
The US Agency for International development (USAID) and Grammen Foundation announced a new private-public partnership to support local currency financing to microfinance institutions (MFIs) throughout the developing world.

Three killed in Pillayan’s security vehicle accident
A backup security vehicle belonging to the Eastern Province Chief Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillayan crashed into a tree in Kurunegala early this morning killing three of the occupants.

US welcomes Sri Lankan probe on US human rights report
The United States (US) has welcomed reports that Sri Lanka plans to set up an investigative commission to probe a US report on allegations of human rights abuses in Sri Lanka.

Russia seek more investments in SL
The visiting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russian Federation Sergey V Lavrov said yesterday that the bilateral relations between Sri Lanka and Russia was always on top and trade relations between the two nations is also increasing in terms of Russian investments in Sri Lanka.

Hayleys MGT posts healthy first half profit growth
Hayleys MGT Knitting Mills, the Hayleys Group’s cotton and synthetic fabric manufacturing business has posted a net profit of US$ 1.77m for the six months ending 30 September 2009.

No breakthrough in Zardari-Nawaz talks
President Asif Ali Zardari and chief of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, Nawaz Sharif, failed to make any breakthrough that could have paved the way for political reconciliation during their 90-minute meeting at the Presidency on Monday.

Reports of firing in I-9 Islamabad: Rescue 15
Two unidentified motorcyclists opened fire on the vehicle of an army officer as the official was leaving his house on Tuesday in the I/9-1 sector of Islamabad.

Share market stages spectacular comeback
The share market on Monday staged a broad recovery triggered by strong foreign buying in the oil and banking sectors at the lower levels but the underlying sentiment remained terribly shaky owing to security concerns.

ECC probable to endorse gas supply plan today
Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet is set to accord approval to a natural gas load-management plan for the winter season 2009-10 in its meeting scheduled for Tuesday, official sources said.

‘Zardari agreed with PML-N proposals’
Pakistan Muslim League (N) has demanded of President Asif Ali Zardari to take "practical measures" aimed at repealing 17th amendment and Article 58-2 (b) "as soon as possible".

A stable Pakistan vital to region: Tayyip
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday assured Pakistan of his country’s full support to combat terrorism and extremism for maintaining peace and stability in the world.

Traders to be exempted from visa requirement: Turkey-Pakistan sign MoU
Pakistan and Turkey here on Monday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to exempt businessmen of the two countries from visa requirement.

Pak-business team to attend Indonesia Trade Exposition
Pakistan business delegation will visit Indonesia to participate Trade Expo 2009 which would be held in Jakarta from 28 October to 1 November, 2009.