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‘s Maluku, tsunami alert sounded
JAKARTA, Jan 30, 2008 (AFP) – A strong 6.6-magnitude earthquake rocked the eastern Indonesian province of Maluku on Wednesday, prompting the issuing of a tsunami alert, the meteorology and geophysics office said here.The earthquake, which struck at 4:32 pm (0732 GMT) was centered 300 kilometres (185 miles) northeast of the East Timorese capital Dili, some […]
Singapore ready to bailout another global bank: newspaper
SINGAPORE, Jan 30, 2008 (AFP) – The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), fresh from multi-billion-dollar capital injections into troubled global financial institutions, has the capacity for an additional bailout, a report said Wednesday. “We will look at any deal that is shown to us.We have a duty to do so. We would still have […]
Coal prices surge to catch up with oil
SYDNEY, Jan 30, 2008 (AFP) – Floods in Australia, freezing weather in China and transport bottlenecks in Indonesia have helped stoke a sharp rise in the price of coal, putting pressure on Asian consumer industries. Soaring demand from China and India as their economies steam ahead has also combined to push the cost of the […]
IMF lowers global growth forecast, citing financial crisis
WASHINGTON, Jan 29, 2008 (AFP) – The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday lowered its 2008 global growth outlook, citing a US slowdown and financial market turmoil that have put emerging economies at risk. The global economy is poised to grow 4.1 percent this year, down 0.3 percentage points from a previous estimate, the IMF report […]
‘s cricket XI
CANBERRA, Jan 30, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka kicked off their limited overs tour of Australia in good style, beating the Prime Minister’s XI by four wickets here Wednesday. Some quality fast bowling by the tourists helped them dismiss the PM’s XI, which featured some of Australia’s best young players, for just 152 after they […]
‘s Jaffna peninsula sees heavy fighting
Jan 30, 2008 (AFP) – Heavy fighting gripped Sri Lanka’s Jaffna peninsula Wednesday with both Tiger rebels and government forces claiming they had the upper hand after smashing each other’s fortifications.The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they resisted a pre-dawn three-pronged assault in the area, one of several points from where government […]
Sri Lanka union veteran bemoans muted voice of workers and lost freedoms
Jan 30, 2008 (LBO) – A veteran Sri Lankan trade unionist says the voice of the working class is now muted and people are battling to survive as prices are rising and terrorism is spreading to all corners of the land. “This is a great misfortune to the country. If there is no voice for […]
Sri Lanka journalists in danger, media rights groups say
Jan 30, 2008 (LBO) – The safety of journalists in Sri Lanka is in jeopardy with increasing attacks and threats against them that are meant to stifle freedom of opinion, international media rights groups have said. Attacks against journalists were bringing the government into disrepute and eroding democracy in the island, the International Federation of […]
Rate Hike
Jan 29, 2008 (LBO) – A grouping of shipping lines calling at Colombo port have given notice of a sharp increase in freight rates to Europe, citing rising fuel prices and port delays in the region. But exporters have raised doubts whether the 19 container shipping firms, known as the India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ceylon (IPBCC) […]
Sri Lanka needs more agricultural investment to boost productivity, cut poverty: World Bank
Jan 29, 2008 (LBO) – The World Bank says Sri Lanka’s agriculture needs more investment to diversify into high value products and boost productivity in order to reduce rural poverty. “Governments around the world and donors such as the World Bank have been under-investing in agriculture,” says Derek Byerlee, a rural strategy adviser to the […]