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Japanese automotive major, Honda has indicated that it is planning to cut about 800 jobs at its Swindon factory in the UK due to the fall in demand for vehicles across the European region.

Ken Keir, executive vice-president of Honda Motor Europe, said, "Sustained low demand in European markets make it necessary to realign our business structure."

Newly appointed Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has criticized the way the authorities in China are handling the Island issue between the countries.

Abe was critical of Japan's larger neighbor for wrong handling of the territorial dispute over the islands called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. He said that it was wrong to damage business in order to achieve political objectives.

The European Commission has said that the hospital doctors are paid high salaries and the patients could suffer if their salaries are not reduced.

Health Minister James Reilly said in a leaked report that the salaries of the doctors must be reduced as they are the highest paid in Europe at present. The Commission said that if a cut is not made in their salaries, necessary hospital services might have to be cut. It also said that the doctors who do not prescribe cheap generic drugs to face penalties under the sytem.

In a new achievement for the German carmaker, Volkswagen Gol has surpassed its rival Maruti Alto to become the bestselling car in the world during 2012.

Maruti Suzuki India Limited sold a total of about 286,833 units of Alto in India. On the other hand, Volkswagen managed to sell 293,293 models of Gol in Brazil, which is another fast growing auto market in the world. Fiat Uno came in the third position with 255,838 units sold during the entire previous year.

The union government of India has approved a drought relief fund with about Rs 778 crore for the western state of Maharashtra, which was affected by lower rainfalls during the previous rainy season.

Some parts of Maharashtra are facing extreme drought condition in the second year while the state is facing a severe water shortage crisis. The state government is also relying on its contingency plans to ensure supply of drinking water to the people in the areas affected by the drought.

India's second-largest urea producer, Nagarjuna Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd (NFCL) has indiacted that it is aiming to double its capacity at its unit in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh with an investment of about Rs 4,500 crore.

The company said that it plans to double the capacity at the unit to 2.9 million tonne (mt) from 1.3 mt at present. A company official expressed that the company expects the new capacity will be operational by the year 2015-16.