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‘s biggest Buddhist pageant goes ahead despite bomb scare
Aug 26, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka police Sunday defused a powerful bomb near the route of a major Buddhist festival in the sacred city of Kandy, officials said.Police removed the three-kilogramme (6.6 pound) bomb from an abandoned building near a path taken by the Kandy Perahera, or pageant which moves through the city’s streets, […]
Blasts in south India kill 28 people in suspected terror attack
HYDERABAD, India, Aug 26, 2007 (AFP) – Two near-simultaneous blasts tore through the Indian city of Hyderabad late Saturday, killing at least 28 people in what a state official said was a suspected terror attack.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the blasts in Hyderabad and voiced his deep concern, the Press Trust of India reported. One […]
Wall Street steadies, but more to come
NEW YORK, Aug 24, 2007 (AFP) – Wall Street found its footing over the past week after the market’s drubbing earlier this month, as investors pondered whether the storm over housing and a related credit squeeze was over. Despite a strong rebound in the week to Friday, analysts said they expect nervous trading ahead with […]
Venezuela consolidates Zimbabwe path
CARACAS, Aug 24, 2007 (AFP) – Lawmakers Friday launched a national campaign for constitutional reform to consolidate President Hugo Chavez’s power and socialist agenda that a weak and splintered opposition seems powerless to stop.With Chavez loyalists taking up all 167 seats of the single-chamber legislature, the constitutional reform is assured passage before it is put […]
Shell accuses Argentina of discrimination in fuel battle
BUENOS AIRES, Aug 24, 2007 (AFP) – Anglo-Dutch oil company Royal Dutch/Shell, whose top executives are under threat of arrest, accused the Argentine government of “discrimination” in a page-wide advert published Friday in leading newspapers.“The discrimination Shell is being subjected to is inadmissible,” said company president Juan Aranguren in the statement, adding that the firm […]
‘s Tata confirms interest in Land Rover, Jaguar
NEW DELHI, Aug 24, 2007 (AFP) – The head of India’s Tata conglomerate confirmed Friday that his group was interested in bidding for luxury British car brands Jaguar and Land Rover, in an interview with an Indian news channel.Last month, Indian news reports said that two Indian automakers — Tata Motors and the Mahindra group […]
China pledges investment to tackle pollution
BEIJING, Aug 25, 2007 (AFP) – China will invest more than 1.33 billion yuan (176 million dollars) to clean up the environment after decades of frantic economic growth, state media said Saturday. The money will be earmarked mainly for monitoring and reducing pollutant emissions, and for a new system of emission trading, the China Daily […]
Sri Lanka property bubble on the bursting path
August 25, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s land and condominium price bubble which has now peaked may pop with buildings now under construction expected to flood the market in the next two years and buyers turning cautious, analysts and developers have said. Speculators and foreign investors have been scared off by the flare up in […]
Sri Lanka rupee floats to new level
August 24, 2007 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka rupee closed Friday with bids at 112.70 against the greenback with the highest deal at 112.67 in spot trade in a day that it floated freely with no intervention from the authorities, dealers said. The week closed with bids for the spot dollar at 112.70 and offers […]
Sri Lanka rupee eases against greenback in early trade
August 24, 2007 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka rupee eased towards a resistant level on the figure with spot deals touching 112.67 against the greenback in intra-day trading Friday, dealers said.The Sri Lanka rupee has largely held steady against the greenback in recent weeks while most regional currencies, including the Australian dollar, lost ground sharply. […]