New Delhi, Defence Minister AK Antony on Monday said the Indian government has not registered any protest with China over reports of the neighbouring country's army conducting exercises near the borders. "Reports regarding conduct of exercises close to the Indian borders by the People Liberation Army (PLA) have been received. These exercises involved employment and live firing of heavy and specialist equipment like armoured vehicles, artillery pieces, fighter aircraft etc," said Antony in the Lok Sabha. "The government has not registered protest with China in this regard as these exercises are an internal matter of China." Antony said the security situation is constantly reviewed by the government from time to time and necessary action is taken thereon. "This is a continuous process," said Antony. ...
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Beijing, The size of China's search engine market hit 5.53 billion yuan (USD 877 million) in the first quarter of 2012, according to new statistics. The figure represents a 70.4 percent year-on-year increase, but a 4.7 percent decline compared to the last quarter of 2011, showed the statistics from Analysys International, a Beijing-based tech and internet information provider. Dong Xu, an analyst with the firm, attributed the quarter-on-quarter decline to the traditional seasonality of Internet use. Thanks to its good overall performance, however, the keyword section has attracted steady advertising budgets, Xinhua quoted Dong as saying. Keyword advertising also meets the needs of brand marketing with advertisers, who are gradually recognizing its promotional value. Therefore, China's search engine market will keep a stable development, he ...
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Islamabad,Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar Monday called her Afghan counterpart Zalmai Rassoul over phone to strongly condemn the Taliban attacks in the country that killed nearly 50 people. Khar conveyed solidarity of her government and people of Pakistan with their Afghan brethren on the terrorist attacks, reported Xinhua quoting a foreign ministry statement. On Sunday, Taliban rebels stormed Kabul with intense gunfire and rocket attacks targeting key establishments in the heavily guarded diplomatic area. The assault ended after all the attackers were killed Monday. At least 48 people, including 36 terrorists, were killed and 65 injured in the 18-hour dramatic siege of the Afghan capital Kabul by Taliban suicide attackers. On this occasion, Khar also emphasised that Pakistan and Afghanistan faced common challenges of extremism and terrorism necessitating that the two countries work together with greater resolve to eradicate this menace. She assured the Afghan foreign minister of Pakistan's full support for any Afghan initiative that is focused on long-term peace and stability of Afghanistan. The latest attacks came as western forces prepare to leave ...
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Lahore, Pakistan and India should take a lesson from the recent avalanche that buried 138 people in the Siachen sector and review troop deployments on the Himalayan glacier, foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar said on Sunday. "Pakistan and India should take a lesson from the incident at Gyari camp. They will have to review the deployment of forces at Siachen," Khar said while addressing a ceremony held after a polo match in Lahore. An avalanche slammed into a Pakistan Army battalion headquarters at Gyari in the Siachen sector on April 7, burying 127 soldiers and 11 civilians. Pakistani troops have been engaged in a frantic search for the buried men at the site of the disaster. Pakistani media analysts and politicians have called for a review of the deployment of forces at Siachen, where soldiers from the two countries have been engaged in standoff since 1984. The guns have largely been silent since late 2003, when the two sides put in place a ceasefire along the frontiers in Jammu and Kashmir, and more troops have died due to the adverse weather than combat. Khar further said Pakistan wants peaceful relations with India and President Asif Ali Zardari's day-long visit ...
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Beijing, Spain's nuclear energy sector has gained a strong foothold in China over the past quarter century, providing components or services to nine of the country's 14 operating nuclear power plants, and now is seeking to further expand its presence in the Asian nation, said authorities. The current goal is to gain participation in future nuclear power stations, both those already being built and those whose construction is pending approval, the Spanish Nuclear Group for China (SNGC) - an alliance of four Spanish nuclear companies, Equipos Nucleares SA, Tecnatom, ENUSA and Ringo Valvulas - told EFE. "There are many possibilities for boosting this participation," SNGC director Carmelo Palacios said during this week's Nuclear Industry China exhibition - the world's largest - in Beijing. "They're companies that aren't coming to China for the first time. They've been working here for some time and believe there are some very significant business prospects in their sector in the coming years," Spain's Ambassador to China, Eugenio Bregolat, said at the event. He said China is the "place to be" for Spain's nuclear industry and plenty of reasons for such optimism abound, ...
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Dubai, A computer virus from China has been targeting users in India as well as in China, and as many Indian companies are based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), they need to be "extra careful", an expert has said. Virus attacks on computers have increased to such an extent that officials in Dubai have warned computer users to be alert and vigilant, the Gulf News reported. "Don't connect to wireless network and your computer doesn't have programme, it's possible to get virus or worm e-mail," Dubai Police wrote on micro-blogging website Twitter. Nick Black, technical manager of Trend Micro, a computer security company, told Gulf News that the attacks were not targeted at specific networks. He said that in the last few days, a virus from China has been "floating around and is targeting users in India and China". Since many Indian companies are based in Dubai, "they need to be extra careful", he ...
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New Delhi, China today accused the Dalai Lama and his "so-called" supporters of Tibetan independence of fuelling the extremist anti-China protest and said they were creating "trouble" for the Government of India which had committed itself to not allowing any pro-Tibetan activities on its land. The Chinese remarks came at the end of the Fourth BRICS Summit here, a run-up to which saw anti-Chinese demonstration in the capital, including a fatal self-immolation by a pro-Tibetan activist. Chinese President Hu Jintao was among the five Member countries who attended the Summit. Later, addressing a press conference here, senior Chinese Foreign Ministry official Luo Zhao Hui said, " We regret the loss of innocent lives, but I would like to emphasise that the Dalai lama and and so-called supporters of Tibetan independence are trying to instigate extreme behaviour." Their behaviour was not in consonance with Buddhist teaching but was serving their political purposes, he said replying to a specific question. Mr Luo sought to stress that the India had committed that it would never allow any of the people to engage in pro-Tibetan activities, and " we are regretful that these protests ...
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Seoul, Pakistan Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar on Tuesday said a result-orientated dialogue would help India and Pakistan resolve their bilateral issues. Speaking on the sidelines of the second Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, South Korea, Khar said that merely talking about reducing a trust deficit was not enough for the two neighbouring nations and its citizens. "We should not just talk about reducing the trust deficit. We should engage in a result-orientated process of dialogue, so that our people can be confident of the resolution of our major issues coming through dialogue," Khar said. Reflecting on a recent announcement made by her Indian counterpart S.M. Krishna, who said he would visit Pakistan in the summer, Khar added regional forums such as the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) needed to be strengthened as their focus had been hampered by strained ties. "I would like to mention SAARC, because SAARC is an exceptionally important forum, which we feel has been held back rather than propelled forward by the India-Pakistan issues," added Khar. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since gaining independence in 1947 and remain ...
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Gandhinagar, Two BJP MLAs accused of watching obscene pictures on an ipad in the Gujarat Assembly have been given a clean chit by the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) here. The FSL on Friday submitted a report of scrutiny of the ipad, in a sealed cover, to Assembly Speaker Ganpat Vasava. Vasava read out the conclusions in the House. Accordingly, there were no obscene videos or pictures on the ipad. Vasava said the allegations in media reports that MLAs Shankar Chaudhary and Jetha Bharvad were watching obscene pictures had turned out to be false. He said he will be handing over the FSL report to the privilege committee of the house, which is investigating the entire issue. According to the FSL report, the ipad contained communications by the MLA, some reports, over 4,000 pictures and 11 video clips, but none of the pictures or clips were obscene. The ipad had been submitted to the Speaker immediately after the uproar in the house on March 21. The Speaker also condemned the opposition Congress for disrupting the House proceedings for the last three days over the issue, saying Congress had dishonoured the house by stalling proceeding during the question hour and the ...
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Beijing, A magnitude-6 temblor hit China's Uygur Autonomous Region Friday, the China Earthquake Network Centre said. The temblor, which jolted the Hotan prefecture's Lop county at 6.50 a.m, had its epicentre in the heart of Taklimakan, China's largest desert,at a depth of 30 km at 39.4 degrees north latitude and 81.3 degrees east longitude, Xinhua reported. There were no immediate reports of any casualties, the regional earthquake bureau ...
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Beijing, A total of 328 women pilots have been trained by China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) Air Force over the past six decades, according to government figures. The data was disclosed Thursday at a ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the debut flight of Chinese women pilots, Xinhua reported. The PLA Air Force has recruited nine groups of women pilot trainees over the past 60 years, and eight groups have already graduated. Women pilots joined the flight mission of the PLA Air Force for the first time in March 1952. The first group flew planes over the Tiananmen Square in Beijing in a flight show. Since then, women pilots have successfully completed numerous missions, including disaster relief, research trial flights, and afforestation through sowing of seeds by ...
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Beijing, China's export and import growth is anticipated to slow to around 7 percent year-on-year in the first two months of 2012 due to festival factors, Commerce Minister Chen Deming said Wednesday. Addressing a press conference, Chen said he believes China will continue to see modest increases in foreign trade this year, with the situation likely to get better in the second half of the year. "With our efforts, the annual target of 10 percent growth is attainable," he said. The General Administration of Customs will release the official trade data later this week, said Xinhua. For the first two months of last year, China's foreign trade totaled $495.83 billion, representing a 28.3 percent growth year-on-year. Chen attributed the slowdown in foreign trade to tighter environment at home and abroad amid the deepening of the global financial crisis, particularly the impact of the European debt crisis on consumption. Domestically, rising costs also pushed up prices of goods and service, he said. He noted China is able to achieve a 10-percent growth in foreign trade this year targeted by Premier Wen Jiabao's report to the parliamentary's annual session. ...
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Washington, The United States says it is developing a new model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) and had intensified its engagement with potential partners like India and China to conclude such a treaty with them. The US is in talks with a range of countries for bilateral investment treaties and US officials would soon travel to India to conclude one, US Trade Representative (USTR) told a Congressional hearing. "We have, in fact, intensified our engagement, at the same time though, with important potential partners like India and China," Kirk said. The US, he said, had "built on the successful visits" of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the US and President Barack Obama to India. "And (we have) got India to agree to a more robust engagement. We had one session in India, in December. We are travelling to India within the next several weeks for the next meeting of BIT." "We've had over five sessions with China. We concluded a BIT with Rwanda, and we hope to again conclude the model BIT within the very near future that will allow us to go forward more aggressively," Kirk said. Earlier Congressman Wally Herger said that US should be pursuing BITs to help ensure ...
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New Delhi, Defence Minister A K Antony has hit back at China for its shocking objections to his visit to the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh. "I was surprised at this reaction. This is unfortunate and really objectionable," Antony said referring to China, which has pricked India time and again by various means over the territorial claims along the border with India. Antony said he has the right to visit any part of his country and has been visiting Arunachal Pradesh since 1984. "I have the privilege of visiting Arunachal Pradesh since 1984 and I am happy to see the progress of the state and Arunachal Pradesh is progressing well," he said. The Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei was quoted saying on Saturday "India should refrain from taking any action that could complicate the border issue." India's External Affairs Minister SM Krishna had also reacted sharply to the China remarks and said it took the matter seriously. China earlier had objected to Tibetan exiled spiritual leader Dalai Lama's visit to Arunachal Pradesh earlier. The northern border of Arunachal Pradesh follows the McMahon Line, a border delineated in the Simla Accord that ...
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Beijing, China launched a navigation satellite early Saturday. The orbiter was successfully launched into space at 12.12 a.m. It is China's 11th homemade navigation satellite, also called Beidou or Compass system. A Long March-3C rocket carried the satellite into space from Xichang launch centre in southwestern Sichuan province, Xinhua reported. Beidou satellites are used in transportation, weather forecasting, marine fisheries, hydrological monitoring and mapping. China built Beidou in 2000 to break its dependence on the US Global Positioning System (GPS) and create its own global positioning system by ...
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New Delhi. India, China, the US, Russia, Brazil and another 21 nations have decided to retaliate against the EU decision to collect billions of dollars every year by unilaterally imposing a carbon tax on flights landing in Eurozone. The retaliatory measures decided include reviewing or abrogating the bilateral service agreements and open skies' agreements with each European country, suspending all negotiations on operating rights for the EU airlines and aircraft operators and imposing additional levies and charges on flights coming in from European nations. The fallout could hit the domestic consumers hard since the number of European flights landing and flying from India could be reduced and the cost of tickets could increase exponentially. The decision to launch an all-out trade war against EU airlines was taken at a meeting of the 26 countries in Moscow on Wednesday after the EU refused to withdraw the unilateral carbon tax on fliers from other nations. The measure would help EU pocket around $1.5 billion starting 2013 that will go up every year, thanks to the annual carbon tax at the cost of fliers from India and other countries ostensibly to combat climate change, some ...
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Washington, The Obama administration has exuded confidence that it would comfortably sail through the challenging phase in its relationship with India on the issue of purchase of oil from Iran. "We've worked through hard issues before with India, and we're looking forward to working through this one," the State Department spokesperson, Victoria Nuland, told reporters at her daily news conference. Nuland said the US is talking to India along with other countries like China on reducing their dependence on Iranian oil. "Our goal is to continue to work with India to encourage it to do what it can to reduce its dependence on Iranian crude. We will continue those discussions," she said. "We have been saying for a number of weeks now, we're also working with oil producers who might be able to provide alternative sources of supply. This includes a number of countries around the world," Nuland said. The State Department spokesperson said the US has been talking with countries around the world about the implications of the legislation with regard to its expectation that countries will increasingly wean themselves of dependence on Iranian oil. "We're talking to India, ...
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Islamabad, A US resolution on Balochistan could worsen ties between Washington and Islamabad, said Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar. Khar Monday said in London that Balochistan was Pakistan's internal matter and the province's elected representatives would resolve its issues and not US Congressmen, Geo News reported. Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Oversight and Investigations of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee, Dana Rohrabacher, Friday introduced a House Concurrent Resolution, in support of the "right of self-determination of the Balochi people, for being victims of human rights violations and oppression despite being the largest province", reported Xinhua. Speaking at the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS), Khar condemned the US resolution on Balochistan, and said such acts of "foolhardy-global-vigilanteism" could aggravate Pakistan's already estranged ties with US. "It would distance the two allies even further," Khar was qouted as saying. On ties with India, the foreign minister stressed on keeping the dialogue alive. Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani Saturday have condemned the bill submitted to the US House of Representatives ...
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Brasilia, Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Wang Qishan met Monday with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and expressed his country's interest in expanding bilateral relations, especially trade, in light of the "complex economic situation" in the world. Wang headed a Chinese delegation that took part in a bilateral meeting to analyze political and trade relations, as well as cooperation in the financial, agriculture, energy, science, health, space, industrial and technology areas. China wants to move "forward with a strategic partner like Brazil" and expand bilateral trade, which totaled $77.1 billion last year, with a surplus of $11.5 billion for the South American country, the deputy prime minister said. China has been Brazil's No. 1 trade partner since 2009, but the goal is to increase exports of value-added products, Brazilian Vice President Michel Temer, who took part in the meeting, said. "We are also interested in increasing exports of Brazilian meats," Temer said. Bilateral trade grew 36.7 percent between 2010 and 2011, but the rise was largely due to an increase in the price of raw materials, which account for the bulk of Brazil's exports, the vice president ...
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Raichur, A call to Pakistan's foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar allegedly from the cellphone of a youth hailing from the remote Buddini village in Sindhanur taluk of Karnataka's Raichur district has landed him in trouble. The incident came to light when CCB sleuths from Bangalore grilled him on Sunday. The investigation followed a message from the Pakistan foreign minister's office asking the government to inquire into this call. It is alleged that the youth who called the cellphone of the minister and used filthy language, said local police. Police said the foreign ministry officials claimed that the call originated from the youth's phone and lasted 15 minutes. The incident took place two months ago. Police said CBI officials who arrived from Delhi had visited the town last month. On Sunday, officials from CCB Bangalore visited the town and inquired, the local police disclosed, adding that youth had denied the allegation. However, there was no confirmation from the CCB police in Bangalore. The victim, Amaresh, an attender at a private coaching centre, told media: "Neither have I heard of Rabbani Khar nor do I know Urdu or English to abuse her. I do not know what all ...
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