Category:
Dollar nudges higher ahead of Bernanke speech
TOKYO, May 13, 2008 (AFP) – The dollar was slightly firmer in Asian trade on Tuesday as the market waited for a speech by Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke for fresh leads on the health of the US economy, dealers said. The dollar rose to 103.91 yen in Tokyo morning trade from 103.83 in New […]
China quake buries at least 10,000 people in one city: Xinhua
DUJIANGYAN, China, May 13, 2008 (AFP) – At least 10,000 people remained buried Tuesday in a single city in China’s Sichuan province following a massive earthquake, Xinhua news agency said. The 10,000 were missing in the city of Mianzhu, about 35 kilometres (22 miles) southeast of the epicentre of the 7.8-magnitude quake that struck on […]
Sri Lanka stocks fall in thin trading
May 12, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares ended lower Monday in thin trading with Ceylon Theatres and its subsidiary Cargills (Ceylon) accounting for the highest turnover.The Colombo Stock Exchange All Share Index fell 0.36 percent (9.51 points) to 2,631.73 and the more liquid Milanka Index was down 0.66 percent (21.29 points) at 3,203.38 points. […]
Sri Lanka Pelwatte Sugar losses mount
May 12, 2008 (LBO) – Pelwatte Sugar Industries said its March quarter net loss increased 57 percent pushing annual losses to more than half-a-billion rupees, while revenues fell. . Annual revenuea fell to 1.3 billion from 2.3 billion rupees, with a net loss of 574 million rupees for the year ended March 2008. The firm’s […]
Converged Service
May 12, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Dialog Telekom says it is offering a new voice and broadband bundled service that can slash charges and reduce hardware costs, the company said in a statement. The ‘Box Office’ package by Dialog Broadband Networks subsidiary will combine voice telephony with private branch exchange facilities, WiMax services to […]
Sri Lanka Ceylinco starts outpatient health insurance
May 12, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Ceylinco Insurance is offering cover for outpatient services which would be made available through a network of healthcare centres around the island, officials said. The Ceylinco National Health Policy sold at a premium of 500 rupees a year allows policy holders to get medical consultation at a Ceylinco […]
Renault-Nissan, Bajaj announce cheap car project
PARIS, May 12, 2008 (AFP) – Renault-Nissan and the Indian group Bajaj announced a joint venture Monday to produce a 2,500-dollar (1,600-euro) car, with sales expected to begin in India in early 2011.The joint venture would be 50 percent owned by Bajaj Auto, 25 percent by Renault and 25 percent by Nissan, said a staement.The […]
Polish woman who saved 2,500 Jewish children dies
WARSAW, May 12, 2008 (AFP) – Irena Sendler, a Polish woman who saved 2,500 Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto during the Nazi occupation in World War II, died Monday in Warsaw aged 98, her daughter confirmed.“She died today,” Janina Zgrzembska told AFP. A social worker, Irena Sendler worked with Warsaw’s poor Jewish families prior […]
Thousands killed in powerful China quake
BEIJING, May 12, 2008 (AFP) – A massive earthquake rocked southwest China on Monday killing thousands of people and flattening schools and homes in a powerful tremor that was felt across a swathe of southeast Asia.The quake, with a magnitude of 7.8, struck close to densely-populated areas of Sichuan province including the capital Chengdu. It […]
China inflation at 8.5 percent in April: govt
BEIJING, May 12, 2008 (AFP) – China’s inflation rate hit 8.5 percent in April, remaining near 12-year highs, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday. The figure comes on top of 8.3 percent consumer price inflation in March and 8.7 percent in February. China has made inflation control a top priority for economic policy-making this […]
Myanmar needs more aid for urgent needs: relief groups
YANGON, May 12, 2008 (AFP) – Aid groups said Sunday that supplies trickling into cyclone-hit Myanmar were far less than was needed, as the faltering relief effort suffered a new blow with the sinking of a Red Cross boat. The boat, carrying vital supplies of drinking water, rice, and purification tablets, hit a submerged tree […]
Sri Lanka opposition challenge govt poll win
May 12, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s opposition said Monday it planned to mount a legal challenge to the government’s weekend win in key local elections in the east of the island.The opposition said President Mahinda Rajapakse’s party and his allies — including Tamil Tiger rebel defectors — used “terror” tactics to bully voters and […]