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Olympus India executive dead in apparent suicide

By AP News Tue, Feb 21, 2012 6:57PM UTC

NEW DELHI (AP) — Police say an executive at an Indian subsidiary of scandal-plagued Olympus Corp. has apparently committed suicide. Police officer Amarjit Kataria says Tsutomi Omori’s body was found Monday hanging from a railing in a children’s play area at a luxury high-rise apartment complex in the New Delhi suburb of Gurgaon. Omori, 48,...

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Thai economy shrinks 10.7 percent after floods

By AP News Mon, Feb 20, 2012 3:31PM UTC

BANGKOK (AP) — Thailand’s economy shrank 10.7 percent in the last quarter of 2011 as widespread flooding forced manufacturers of autos, hard drives and other goods to halt production. The government’s economic forecasting agency is predicting Southeast Asia’s second biggest economy will rebound this year to grow between 5.5 percent and 6.5 percent. It grew...

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How many languages are spoken in India?

By Sriram Vadlamani Mon, Feb 20, 2012 11:41AM UTC

If you have the time and patience, then this would be an interesting question to ask any bystander in India: How many languages are spoken in India? My guess is you will get as many different numbers as possible. Every number would be right in their own way but wrong when we have some reliable...

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China’s unofficial lending falters, savers protest

By AP News Mon, Feb 20, 2012 10:00AM UTC

BEIJING (AP) — Ms. Zhang, a schoolteacher in the central city of Anyang, lent $43,000 last year to entrepreneurs who couldn’t get loans from state banks. Now as growth cools and Beijing cracks down on informal credit, Zhang and thousands of other small lenders are unpaid and angry. Underground lending by ordinary Chinese like Zhang...

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Thailand: After the floods, plans for factories in Isaan

By Siam Voices Mon, Feb 20, 2012 9:00AM UTC

By The Isaan Record When the mobile cabinet meeting rolls into Udon Thani on February 21, Withoon Kamonlnaruemet, the president of the Khon Kaen branch of the Federation of Thai Industries, is prepared to woo cabinet members with a presentation. Mr. Withoon and a committee headed by Khon Kaen Governor Sombat Triwatsuwan plan to request...

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