India’s Cabinet has approved a plan to open up the country’s $450 billion retail sector to foreign supermarkets, a reform that could unclog supply bottlenecks that have kept inflation high. Ministers on Thursday approved a proposal to allow international firms to hold a 51 percent stake in multi-brand retailers. The Cabinet also decided to raise […]
India Opens Retail Sector to Foreign Supermarkets
Posted November 24th, 2011 at 12:50 pm (UTC-5)
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German, French, Italian Meeting on Financial Crisis
Posted November 24th, 2011 at 12:15 pm (UTC-5)
French and German leaders met with Italy’s new prime minister Thursday, promising to change EU treaties to allow for closer financial integration. They hope such changes will prevent future economic problems like the current eurozone debt crisis. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti all said they would […]
Arab League to Syria: Let Observers in or Face Sanctions
Posted November 24th, 2011 at 12:10 pm (UTC-5)
Arab League foreign ministers have given Syria until Friday to sign an agreement allowing observers into the country. League officials said Thursday representatives will meet again on Saturday to discuss sanctions if Damascus refuses to comply with their demand. The regional group is considering further measures if Syria’s government continues its bloody crackdown against anti-government […]
Karzai Names Head of Afghan Central Bank
Posted November 24th, 2011 at 12:10 pm (UTC-5)
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has named the new head of his country’s central bank, which is struggling to recover millions of dollars following a massive scandal. The president’s spokesman said Thursday that Noorullah Delawari has been nominated as central bank governor. The nomination ends a five-month vacancy that hampered the government’s efforts to deal with […]
Two French Nationals Kidnapped in Mali
Posted November 24th, 2011 at 11:50 am (UTC-5)
Two French nationals have been kidnapped in Mali. Local sources say gunmen abducted the two early Thursday from their hotel in the town of Hombori, in eastern Mali near the border with Niger. They say the two French citizens work for a cement company. The French Foreign Ministry confirmed the kidnapping and said it is […]
Pollution Costs Europe Billions
Posted November 24th, 2011 at 11:35 am (UTC-5)
The European Environmental Agency has announced that industrial air pollution caused between $137-227 billion in damage to the environment and people’s health in Europe during 2009. The EEA report released Thursday was based on the 10,000 largest energy facilities and factories in the European Union’s 27 member nations as well as Norway and Switzerland. However, […]
Burma’s Former Military Ruler Reportedly Retires
Posted November 24th, 2011 at 11:30 am (UTC-5)
( Title: BURMA LEADER HEAD: Burmese Former Military Ruler Reportedly Retires DATE: 11/24/11 NUMBER:1667221 TYPE: CN )) The former military leader of Burma, General Than Shwe, is being referred to as “retired” by newspapers in Yangoon. The reports of his retirement comes on the same day that a member of the country’s parliament announced passage […]
Former Madgascar President Returns Home From Exile
Posted November 24th, 2011 at 11:10 am (UTC-5)
Madagascar’s former president Didier Ratsiraka has returned to his homeland, ending more than nine years in exile. Mr. Ratsiraka, who had been living in France, kissed the ground when he arrived in the capital, Antananarivo on Thursday. The former president returned home after a unity government was formed earlier this month, as part of efforts […]
Fund Halts New Grants to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria
Posted November 24th, 2011 at 11:00 am (UTC-5)
The world’s largest financier of programs to combat three deadly diseases says it will make no new grants for the next two years because of the global economic downturn. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria says it will focus only on essential services for programs that end before 2014. In a new […]
Karzai Condemns Latest Deadly NATO Airstrike
Posted November 24th, 2011 at 11:00 am (UTC-5)
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has condemned a NATO airstrike that reportedly killed seven civilians, mostly children, in southern Afghanistan. Mr. Karzai’s office said Thursday that reports by local officials indicate that an airstrike conducted by international forces in the Zheri district of Kandahar province killed seven people, including six children. Two young girls were wounded. […]
