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Bandar Seri Begawan, Aug 21 : India Wednesday asked the US to participate in the manufacturing and research and development (R&D) sectors of its economy.

Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma met US Trade Representative Michael Froman in the Brunei capital and reviewed ongoing negotiations in the World Trade Oorganisation in view of the coming Bali ministerial meet in December.

They also discussed the future roadmap for concluding the Doha Development Agreement negotiations and issues of trade facilitation and food security.

New Delhi, Aug 21 : Vodafone India, along with ICICI Bank, Wednesday launched its mobile money transfer and payment service 'M-Pesa' here. It plans to roll out this service in Mumbai and Lucknow in the next couple of days.

This service helps the unbanked and under-banked sections of the population gain access to financial services through the mobile phone.

New Delhi, Aug 21 : Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki is arriving in India Thursday on a four-day visit, the first such high-level bilateral visit between the two countries in 38 years.

Maliki is coming to India at the invitation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The visit by Iraq's Shiite prime minister comes as India's oil imports from Baghdad have increased substantially. Iraq is the second largest crude supplier to India, with oil imports standing at $20 billion. In comparison, India's oil imports from sanction-hit Iran have dipped to eighth position

Colombo, Aug 21 : The Sri Lankan government will place no restrictions on the forthcoming visit of United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay, a minister assured Wednesday.

Pillay, who is expected to arrive in the country Aug 25, will meet a range of government officials, including President Mahinda Rajapaksa, and is also scheduled to visit the former civil war-torn areas of Sri Lanka, Xinhua reported.

New Delhi, Aug 21 : The forthcoming sci-fi action entertainer "Riddick" will not be the last in "The Chronicles of Riddick" series. Hollywood actor Vin Diesel has reportedly revealed that there will be two more parts to it.

Diesel has committed over a decade to keep the series alive - "The Chronicles of Riddick: Into Pitch Black" (2000), "The Chronicles of Riddick" (2004) and now "Riddick", which releases Sep 6.

Beijing, Aug 21 : The launch of India's indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant has demonstrated the country's success in building large ships, a leading Chinese daily said Wednesday.

“The launch of India's home-built aircraft carrier is indeed worth celebrating, because it marks a firm stride toward the indigenization of arms,” Liu Zongyi, assistant research fellow at the Centre for Asia-Pacific Studies, Shanghai Institute for International Studies, wrote in an article in the Global Times Wednesday.

“The triumphant launch of the hull demonstrated India's progress in building giant surface carriers.”