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Sri Lankan shares edge up on SLT, Carsons
May 05, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s shares closed marginally higher with retail interest in Sri Lanka Telecom and Carsons pushing indices higher, brokers said Monday.The All Share Price Index closed up 0.47 percent (12.49 points) at 2,648.23 points while the more liquid Milanka index closed 0.48 percent (15.69 points) higher at 3,250.99. State-owned fixed […]
Eastern Anchorage
May 05, 2008 (LBO) – Construction work on a new port in Oluvil on Sri Lanka’s east coast is to start on Tuesday as part of government efforts to revive the region’s economy, the Port Ministry said in a statement Monday. The main objective of the project is to develop a harbour with appropriate shore […]
EU eyes pollution tolls for truckers
BRDO PRI KRANJU, Slovenia, May 5, 2008 (AFP) – Europe’s truckers would have to pay for the pollution, traffic jams and noise they cause if the European Commission gets its way.The European Union’s executive arm is putting the finishing touches on proposals that would hit road hauliers with special new toll fees for the environmental […]
ADB announces regional fund to fight impact of climate change
MADRID, May 5, 2008 (AFP) – The head of the Asian Development Bank announced on Monday the establishment of a Climate Change Fund to combat the impact of global warming, which he termed a “fundamental threat” to the region.“We will substantially increase our attention to the environmental consequences of growth, including climate change,” Haruhiko Kuroda […]
Japan looks to immigrants as population shrinks: report
TOKYO, May 5, 2008 (AFP) – Japan’s ruling party is considering plans to encourage foreign workers to stay in the country long-term, a daily reported Monday after the birth rate fell for the 27th successive year. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has proposed setting up an “immigration agency” to help foreign workers — including providing […]
Surging food prices bite across Asia
SYDNEY, May 5, 2008 (AFP) – From the rice paddies of Asia to the wheat fields of Australia, the soaring price of food is breaking the budgets of the poor and raising the spectres of hunger and unrest, experts warn.A billion people in Asia are seriously affected by the surging costs of daily staples such […]
China tells firms to brace for tough times: report
SHANGHAI, May 5, 2008 (AFP) – A Chinese government watchdog has warned major state-owned enterprises to brace for tough times given the likelihood of a worsening global economic slowdown, state media reported Monday. Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) must pay more attention to their financial position to avoid a potential capital crunch, the Economic Observer reported, […]
Cambodia says rice cartel would ensure global food security
PHNOM PENH, May 5, 2008 (AFP) – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Monday that a proposed OPEC-style rice cartel in Southeast Asia would ensure global food security, rejecting concerns that it would increase hunger and poverty. Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said last week that his country had agreed in principle to form a […]
Is this the rice super-gene?
PARIS, May 4, 2008 (AFP) – Researchers in China have pinpointed an elusive gene that plays a linchpin role in determining the harvest potential of rice, according to a study released on Sunday by the journal Nature Genetics.The productivity of a rice plant is determined by several traits — the number and size of its […]
‘s Wade says UN food agency should be scrapped
DAKAR, May 5, 2008 (AFP) – Senegal’s outspoken President Abdoulaye Wade late Sunday called for the scrapping of the UN food agency, saying its inefficiency had largely led to soaring food prices worldwide.Wade said the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), headed by his compatriot Jacques Diouf, was a “waste of money largely spent on doing […]