NEW DELHI — India expects the fourth BRICS summit to be held in New Delhi today and tomorrow to add more weight on the emerging group as it is taking place amid the world economic downturn, an expert told Xinhua yesterday. Sudhir Vyas, India Secretary (Economic Relations) in the External

NEW YORK — Washington’s relentless pursuit of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and alleged whistle-blower Bradley Manning, is no secret.  But the fate of the two men has got US journalists worried, that they too could soon find themselves behind bars. Julian Assange’s life resembles a game of chess. He

MAPUTO — The government of Mozambique supports the candidacy of Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala for the post of president of the World Bank, according to the Mozambique News Agency (AIM). The Mozambican position was announced by the country’s Deputy Finance Minister Pedro Couto at

LUSAKA — Zambia’s Central Bank says printing of new rebased currencies will commence in May, the Zambia Daily Mail reported yesterday. The Zambian government announced early this year that it will rebase its currency by knocking out three zeros from the currency notes. Bank of Zambia (BoZ) Deputy

BEIRUT — Syria’s government has accepted a United Nations plan to halt the bloody uprising engulfing the country and forge a political solution, UN special envoy to Syria Kofi Annan said yesterday. The announcement was made in Beijing, where Annan held meetings with Chinese premier

BAMAKO/ABIDJAN — Soldiers yesterday blocked lawmakers trying to enter the national assembly which had been dissolved by a junta which seized power on March 22, an AFP journalist witnessed.
“We received the order not to allow you to enter,” one of the soldiers said to the members of

HONG KONG. — India’s New Delhi is at present in the limelight for the upcoming fourth BRICS Summit slated for March 28-29, where leaders of major emerging economies will gather to discuss topics like global governance, sustainable development and cooperation. Though still a relatively young

Pretoria. — South Africa’s foreign affairs ministry said it is reducing Iran oil imports as its largest supplier of crude oil faces international sanctions. A national oil industry group said it hasn’t been informed of the plan. South Africa has “downscaled” Iran imports, partly in response to requests from the US, and

PRETORIA — Suspended ANC Youth League president Julius Malema has apologised to those he offended whilst he carried out his “revolutionary mandate”. Malema was speaking after receiving the Newsmaker of the Year 2011 award in Pretoria on Friday evening. “I know that there were heated

DAKAR — Thousands of people celebrated in the streets of Dakar after Senegalese opposition candidate Macky Sall defeated president Abdoulaye Wade in his controversial bid for a third term in office. “The real winner remains the Senegalese people,” former prime minister Sall said after his

EMERGING economies must be given a fair shot at leading the institutions at the heart of global finance or they will end up going their own way, a challenger for the top job at the World Bank, Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said yesterday. “The balance of power in the world has