Wednesday, November 25, 2009 KATHMANDU: Nepal's first international fast-food restaurants opened in the capital Kathmandu on Wednesday, reflecting the country's cautious attempts to attract more investment from Western companies.Long queues formed outside Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) and Pizza Hut, with KFC serving more than 500 people in the first two hours of business."It has been an exciting day after a long period of planning and preparation," Vishnu Reddy, country manager for the two brands said. "We are happy and satisfied with the overwhelming response from customers."KFC and Pizza Hut arrived in Nepal as the country recovers from a decade-long civil war that claimed more than 16,000 lives before a peace deal was reached between rebel Maoists and the government in 2006.During the violence, rebels targeted foreign ventures including Coke, Pepsi and Unilever but more recently Kathmandu has seen rapid growth in restaurants, malls and supermarkets.Many of the ingredients for KFC and Pizza Hut are imported from abroad, including the chicken from Brazil and potatoes from Australia."We have to maintain our products and original taste," Reddy said.The Nagarik newspaper welcomed the restaurants, saying they gave "an opportunity for Nepalese customers for cheaper and better food and an alternative."
Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in...
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