Author: lbostgadmin
Bangladesh garment makers to sell cheap rice to workers
DHAKA, May 3, 2008 (AFP) – Bangladesh garment manufacturers on Saturday said they would distribute subsidised rice to thousands of some of the world’s lowest-paid workers to help them cope with sky-rocketing food prices.The announcement came after around 20,000 textile workers rioted in one of the main garment-making areas near the capital Dhaka last month, […]
Malaysia to give food stockpile priority over projects
KUALA LUMPUR, May 3, 2008 (AFP) – Malaysia’s prime minister said Saturday his government would delay non-essential projects and use funds to secure the country’s food supply amid spiralling global food prices. The government announced on Friday that it would spend 2.49 billion ringgit (778 million dollars) this year to boost food production as worldwide […]
Sri Lanka fighting claims 7 lives: military
May 3, 2008 (AFP) – At least seven combatants have been killed in fresh ground fighting between security forces and Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka’s embattled north, the defence ministry said Saturday. Government troops shot dead four Tiger rebels in clashes in the Weli Oya, Mannar and Jaffna regions on Friday, a ministry statement […]
Asian Development Bank promises food relief
MADRID, May 3, 2008 (AFP) – The Asian Development Bank on Saturday promised financial help for nations fighting the global food price crisis and attacked plans for a rice cartel.Loans will help countries subsidise the price of food staples for the poor, ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda said on the first day of the banks four-day […]
IMF welcomes Sri Lanka monetary and fiscal tightening; clarifies external shock study
May 02, 2008 (LBO) – The International Monetary Fund says it backs moves by Sri Lanka’s central bank to tighten monetary policy as well as ‘economically correct but politically difficult’ decisions by the island to reduce fuel and food subsidies. The head of IMF’s Asia Department David Burton says a recent IMF working paper on […]
Sri Lanka govt running out of time to fix economy: study
May 02, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government is running out of time to fix the economy, with inflation out of control and other economic fundamentals steadily deteriorating, a new research paper on the economy says. With the regime of President Mahinda Rajapakse nearing its half term (by November 2008) and the parliamentary election […]
China inspects 3,600 factories in child labour scandal: report
BEIJING, May 1, 2008 (AFP) – Chinese authorities inspected more than 3,600 businesses in a major export city at the centre of a child labour scandal, state press reported Thursday, after children were found working in factories.The children, aged from nine to 16, worked long hours in factories in the city of Dongguan for about […]
India inflation hits 42-month high of 7.57 pct
NEW DELHI, May 2, 2008 (AFP) – India’s inflation rate accelerated to a 42-month peak of 7.57 percent, driven by higher food costs, according to official data on Friday, dealing a fresh blow to the government.Annual inflation quickened more than two-tenths of a percentage point to touch 7.57 percent for the week ended April 19, […]
Non-stop media coverage of US campaign comes in for critique
WASHINGTON, May 2, 2008 (AFP) – Americans say the media are devoting too much ink and airtime to the US presidential race, amid growing criticism that news coverage has focused on the superficial instead of important issues.Half of the public, 51 percent, say news outlets are offering “too much coverage of the campaign,” according to […]
”: UN expert
PARIS, May 2, 2008 (AFP) – The UN’s new top advisor on food blamed two decades of wrong-headed policies by world powers for the food crisis sweeping the globe, in a stinging interview published on his first day in office Friday.Frenchman Olivier de Schutter, a law professor and human rights campaigner, told Le Monde newspaper […]
Emirates profits rise by half despite high fuel costs
May 02, 2008 (LBO) – Dubai’s Emirates Airlines, which owns a big stake in Sri Lanka’s national carrier, has reported group net profits increased 54.1 percent to 1.45 billion dollars for the financial year ended March 31, 2008. Group revenues rose 32.3 percent to 10.8 billion dollars during the period, the airline said in a […]
Fighting kills 35 in Sri Lanka: military
May 2, 2008 (AFP) – At least 34 Tamil Tiger rebels and a soldier died in the latest battles in the island’s restive north, the defence ministry said Friday.Security forces smashed rebel bunkers and engaged in artillery fire with Tamil separatists in the regions of Vavuniya, Jaffna, Mannar and Weli Oya on Thursday killing 34 […]