BANGKOK / AP Japan’s foreign minister announced a multibillion-dollar initiative on Monday to promote development in Southeast Asia’s Mekong region, which encompasses parts of Vietnam, Laos and Thailand through which the river flows. In a speech at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Fumio Kishida affirmed the importance of Southeast Asia’s economic prosperity to Japan. He pledged 750 billion yen ($7 …

  New Delhi / AFP Hundreds of taxi drivers protested in New Delhi on Monday against a ban on diesel cabs, the latest initiative aimed at improving air quality in the world’s most polluted capital. India’s top court on Saturday ordered taxis run on the dirty fuel off the city’s roads, refusing industry requests for more time to switch to …

  New Delhi / Bloomberg India’s one-year interest-rate swaps dropped to a more than two-week low on optimism the central bank will add more funds to tackle the liquidity deficit in the financial system. The cost to lock in payments on borrowings for one year fell one basis point to 6.66 percent as of 12:30 p.m in Mumbai, the lowest …