Pakistani army officials in awe of “everything Chinese” : US student at Pak Defence Academy

Many senior Pakistani military officers seemed out of touch with Western reality and are steeped in myths — particularly anti-American ones — while being in awe of the Chinese, according to the experiences of a US Army Colonel who was studying there. Colonel Michael Schleicher, who was attending a senior level course at Pakistan’s prestigious […]

Pakistani politician jokes about charming the religious with “long beards” : Wikileaks

The wikileaks cable has given a rare glimpse of the hard-nosed practicality of Pakistani administrators. Speaking to the Bryan Hunt, Principal Officer at the US Consulate in Lahore, Shahbaz Sharif, chief minister of the Punjab province, even joked about using ‘long beards’ — a sign of devotion — to charm the people. Sharif was talking […]

FICCI rejoices in Mamata’s and secretary general’s win at the polls

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), India’s second biggest industry association, said that Mamata Bannerjee’s victory in Bengal may bring back West Bengal’s lost status as one of India’s industrial hubs. FICCI, which normally restrains itself from commenting on changing political fortunes, said it “strongly welcomes” the transition of power in […]

Sibal hints government likely to auction five more broadband licenses by next year

The government will auction five more wireless broadband spectrum slots increasing the total wireless broadband players from 3 to 8 by the next year, going by what telecom minister Kapil Sibal told an international conference in Geneva today. Sibal, speaking at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva, said the total wireless […]

BSNL will construct the colossal fibre-network under National Broadband Plan: Sibal

Despite strong reservations from the Telecom Regulator, telecom minister Kapil Sibal has said that the state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) will be tasked with creating a massive optic-fibre network across the country. Speaking at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Geneva today, Sibal said that “initially,” BSNL will be in charge of […]

Revision in inflation numbers ‘a cause for concern,’ interest rates may rise: expert

Even as wholesale price inflation, as measured by the Wholesale Price Index or WPI declined in April, experts have raised questions about the upward revision of earlier data. According to numbers released today, inflation in the country came down marginally to 8.66% in April from 8.98% announced for March last month. However, the government also […]