http://www.indodaily.com/index.html Fri, 18 MAY 2012 10:50:34 AEST Fri, 18 MAY 2012 10:50:34 AEST en-us India's Defense Acquisition Council gave the go-ahead to buy 145 howitzers nearly 25 years after a procurement scandal derailed the purchase. The deal will "exorcise" the "Bofors ghost" by inducting the army's first modern 155mm howitzers since the scandal in the mid-1980s, a report by The Times of India said. The council, led by Defense Minister A. K. Antony, cleared the purchas]]> Fri, 18 MAY 2012 10:50:34 AEST The Dalai Lama arrived in Austria Thursday for a visit that will include a meeting with Chancellor Werner Faymann and is likely to irritate China, already angered by his previous stop in Britain. Beijing accuses the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader, 76, of trying to split Tibet from the rest of China, and of encouraging a spate of self-immolations in the vast Himalayan region, accusations he ]]> Fri, 18 MAY 2012 10:50:34 AEST Global demand for gold fell 5.0 percent in the first quarter of 2012 but demand in China hit record highs and outstripped that of megabuyer India, the World Gold Council said on Thursday. Demand worldwide fell to 1,097.6 tonnes in the quarter ended March, worth an estimated $59.7 billion, with gold prices on average 16 percent higher than those seen in the same period last year, the council ]]> Fri, 18 MAY 2012 10:50:34 AEST India said it will reduce crude oil imports from Iran this year by 11.1 percent. Indian Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas RPN Singh told Parliament Tuesday the new target for imports of crude oil from Iran for 2012-13 is approximately 15.5 million tons, Press Trust of India reports. The minister said the amount in 2011-12 was 17.44 million tons and 18.50 million to]]> Fri, 18 MAY 2012 10:50:34 AEST Mozambique's drive to become a major natural gas producer got a major boost last week with the discovery of a large offshore field in the Indian Ocean containing an estimated 20 trillion cubic feet. The find was made by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. of Texas, which has spearheaded the swelling oil and gas boom in East Africa that looks like rivaling the longer-established hot zone on the con]]> Fri, 18 MAY 2012 10:50:34 AEST China said Tuesday British Prime Minister David Cameron's meeting with the Dalai Lama was an "affront to the Chinese people", and launched "solemn representations" with London. The statement from the Chinese foreign ministry came after Tibet's exiled spiritual leader held a private meeting with Cameron during a visit to London to receive one of the world's most lucrative prizes. "This is]]> Fri, 18 MAY 2012 10:50:34 AEST Tibet's exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama met British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday during a visit to London to receive one of the world's richest prizes, a government spokesman said. The meeting at 10 Downing Street with Cameron and with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg was described as "private". China has in the past strongly objected when the Dalai Lama has met Western ]]> Fri, 18 MAY 2012 10:50:34 AEST The European Union on Tuesday gave China and India a month to comply with a new airline carbon emissions fee coming into effect across the bloc, or face penalties for flights in and out of Europe. EU Commissioner for Climate Change Connie Hedegaard said all EU airlines and "nearly all" world airlines had agreed to hand over emissions data required under a controversial carbon levy on air tra]]> Fri, 18 MAY 2012 10:50:34 AEST India said Tuesday it would cut purchases of Iranian oil by 11 percent - far less than many other countries - following US pressure to isolate the Islamic republic over its disputed nuclear programme. Indian refiners will import 15.5 million tonnes of crude from its Persian neighbour this fiscal year, a minister told parliament, down from 17.44 million tonnes last year. The announcemen]]> Fri, 18 MAY 2012 10:50:34 AEST The Indian space agency will Saturday conduct a crucial test on an indigenously built cryogenic engine for launching its heavier rockets from its spaceport, a top official said Friday. "The cryogenic acceptance test will take place Saturday in our Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu. If it succeeds, we will use the cryogenic stage in the geostationary satellite launch]]> Fri, 18 MAY 2012 10:50:34 AEST A Bangladeshi special court on Sunday indicted a former opposition leader for alleged atrocities including genocide and murder during the nation's 1971 liberation struggle against Pakistan. Ghulam Azam, 89, the former head of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, is accused of creating and leading pro-Pakistan militias which carried out many killings and rapes during the nine-month war. Wheelchair-]]> Fri, 18 MAY 2012 10:50:34 AEST In a nation where a civil war and years of political deadlock have stunted prosperity and development, the burgeoning rhino population is one of Nepal's rare success stories. The Himalayan country's endangered one-horned rhinoceros has increased its numbers significantly over recent years thanks to tightened security against poachers and community conservation programmes. Wildlife expert]]> Fri, 18 MAY 2012 10:50:34 AEST The growing use of armed guards on merchant ships plying the piracy-plagued waters of the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean has spawned increasingly violent encounters with Somali marauders, maritime security experts say. This development illustrates how the pirate menace, which a few years ago was limited to the Gulf of Aden between Somalia and Yemen, has grown, and with it a maritime s]]> Fri, 18 MAY 2012 10:50:34 AEST Singapore Airlines (SIA) said Thursday it is exploring partnerships in India and China as it looks to guard against increased competition and global economic uncertainty. "There is always a constant look at how we can be nimble in response to changes in the market," chief executive Goh Choon Phong told reporters a day after the group announced sharply lower profits for the fiscal year to Mar]]> Fri, 18 MAY 2012 10:50:34 AEST The Exxon Valdez tanker that was involved in a huge oil spill off Alaska in 1989 has been banned from entering India where it was due to be dismantled, state officials said Wednesday. The Gujarat Maritime Board said it had refused permission for the ship, now renamed the Oriental Nicety, to berth in the state after the Supreme Court in New Delhi asked for reassurances over pollution fears. ]]> Fri, 18 MAY 2012 10:50:34 AEST