Author: lbostgadmin
Shadow of terrorism loiters over Asian Games
SINGAPORE, Nov 21, 2006 (AFP) – Qatar is seen as an island of stability in a volatile region, but a suicide car bombing last year sent shockwaves through the nation and it is taking no chances with security at the Asian Games. Organisers though are conscious that securiy should not overshadow what happens in the […]
‘ risky behaviour with HIV/AIDS
GENEVA, Nov 21, 2006 (AFP) – Some 8.6 million Asians are infected with the HIV virus, UNAIDS said on Tuesday, warning the disease is thriving on risky behaviour in Southeast Asia and slowly taking hold in China, the world’s most populous nation. An estimated 960,000 Asians were newly infected over the past year while about […]
High Rents
SINGAPORE, Nov 21, 2006 (AFP) – Tokyo has Asia’s most expensive office costs — and the second costliest in the world — with Hong Kong and Mumbai also in the world’s top ten, an industry report said Tuesday. Despite the rising costs, Singapore remains competitive against Tokyo and Hong Kong, he said. But he said […]
Open Doors
Nov 21 (LBO) – India on Tuesday lifted controversial controls on duty free imports of vanaspati oil from Sri Lanka, which had caused the shutdown of all local factories since June this year. An Indian gazette notice revoked controls that said all Sri Lankan vanaspati exports would have to go through a state run agricultural […]
‘ fear that deemed dividend tax may hurt capital of Sri Lankan banks
Nov 21 (LBO) – A controversial tax to force Sri Lankan companies to pay dividends would undermine the health of the commercial banks by depleting their capital, a top banker has warned. The government is keen to push dividends in order to charge the dividend tax. But private sector officials point out that choice of […]
‘ parley for feeding a credit bubble, inflation
November 21 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s loose monetary policy came under fire at a gathering of top economists and business leaders in the country, with panelists slamming the Central Bank for pushing inflation up, creating a credit bubble and putting Sri Lanka’s balance of payments under pressure. Upside Down Though the economy was growing at […]
Sri Lanka sends relief to isolated Jaffna
COLOMBO, Nov 20, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has sent essential supplies to the besieged Jaffna Peninsula amid local and international concern for half a million civilians trapped there, officials said. A government spokesman said a formal request was offered to relief agencies to support a food convoy by road to the Jaffna Peninsula, virtually […]
UN envoy slated in Sri Lanka over child soldier charge
COLOMBO, Nov 20, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan nationalists led by the island’s main Marxist party Monday demonstrated against a top UN envoy who accused the military of recruiting child soldiers on behalf of a Tamil rebel faction. Hundreds of protestors carried an effigy of special advisor to the United Nations Representative for Children and […]
Blast kills Sri Lanka soldier
COLOMBO, Nov 20, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels set off a land mine in northern Sri Lanka Monday, killing one soldier and wounding three others, defence officials said. The killings added to a weekend toll of 35 people killed according to claims by both sides. The bitter ethnic conflict between Tamil rebels in the […]
Tigers scoff Sri Lanka aid offer as political gimmick
COLOMBO, Nov 20, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels Monday scoffed a government offer to send supplies to the besieged Jaffna peninsula as a “political gimmick” aimed at appeasing the international community. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they had no formal word from the government about its offer to send […]
Singapore raises 2006 growth targets to 7.5-8.0 percent
SINGAPORE, Nov 20, 2006 (AFP) – Singapore raised its 2006 growth forecasts on Monday to 7.5-8.0 percent, a target analysts said is achievable after a better-than-expected third-quarter performance. Figures released by the MTI in its latest economic report showed third quarter growth was powered by the key manufacturing sector which surged 10.6 percent on the […]
UAE aims to lessen reliance on Asian workers
DUBAI, Nov 20, 2006 (AFP) – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) president announced plans to gradually replace Asian workers with nationals to redress the demographic imbalance in his country, in a newspaper interview Monday. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nayhan told London-based Asharq Al-Awsat he was aware of “the seriousness of the imbalance” in the oil-rich […]