Category: Other
Jumpy Vietnamese caterpillar shies the Sun: study
PARIS, August 20, 2013 (AFP) – The larva of a Vietnamese moth has devised a unique form of transport — constructing a leaf cone and thrashing about inside to make it jump, a study showed Wednesday.Even more remarkably, the tiny caterpillar manages to steer its leafy vehicle in a clear direction along the forest floor […]
New alarmist IPCC report leaked as skepticism grows
WASHINGTON, August 21, 2013 (AFP) – Human activity is almost certainly the cause of climate change and global sea levels could rise by several feet by the end of the century, according to an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report leaked to media on Tuesday.The draft summary of the report all but dismissed recent […]
‘s rupee slips to new record low against dollar
MUMBAI, August 20, 2013 (AFP) – India’s rupee hit a new all-time low against the dollar on Tuesday on continuing fears that recent measures to stabilise the currency and kickstart the flagging economy will not work. Asia’s worst-performing currency this year slid to 64.11 rupees against the dollar, past its previous low of 63.22 the […]
New contamination scare hits New Zealand dairy industry
WELLINGTON, August 19, 2013 (AFP) – A new contamination scare hit New Zealand’s multi-billion dollar dairy industry on Monday after it was revealed a milk product with excessive nitrate levels had been exported to China. Both New Zealand’s Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) and the company at the centre of the latest scare, Westlake Milk, […]
‘s neo-Mercantilist forex controls draw skepticism
NEW DELHI, August 18, 2013 (AFP) – Indian policymakers are looking increasingly panicky as they battle the worst currency crisis in more than two decades, and more worryingly there is no sign their remedies are working.There have been no signs so far of domestic capital flight but analysts say the controls may have been tightened […]
Indian PM rules out repeat of 1991 economic crisis
NEW DELHI, August 17, 2013 (AFP) – India’s premier ruled out Saturday any suggestion the country could suffer a repeat of its 1991 balance-of-payments crisis as it grapples with a plunging rupee and a huge trade gap.Singh added that he hoped for “fresh thinking” at the central bank when its new governor Raghuram Rajan takes […]
‘s rupee hits new record low against dollar
MUMBAI, August 16, 2013 (AFP) – India’s rupee plunged to a fresh record low against the dollar on Friday over fears that the central bank’s measures may not be able to prop up the ailing currency, dealers said.The rupee, one of Asia’s worst-performing currencies this year, hit a new low of 62.00 rupees to the […]
India plunges into Mercantilist moves as currency slips
NEW DELHI, August 14, 2013 (AFP) – India slapped new controls Wednesday on foreign exchange outflows as it struggled to narrow a record current account deficit and arrest the fall of the rupee.The central bank “has to cater to both currency and inflation risks”, which means monetary easing to kickstart growth “is off the table […]
Indian minister says lives lost in submarine blast
NEW DELHI, August 14, 2013 (AFP) – India’s defence minister said Wednesday there were fatalities when a diesel-powered submarine exploded and sank at a dock in Mumbai. . “I feel sad about those navy personnel who have lost their lives in service of the country,” A.K Antony told reporters in New Delhi. The minister did […]
Missing Probe
August 14, 2013 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president Wednesday ordered a new investigation into the disappearance of thousands of people in the island’s northeast during an ethnic war which ended four years ago.The announcement comes just days before UN human rights chief Navi Pillay is due to visit the island, amid international criticism of Colombo’s […]
World-first study tracks dwarf minke whales
SYDNEY, August 14, 2013 (AFP) – Dwarf minke whales have been tagged and tracked in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in a world-first pilot study which hopes to solve the mystery of where they spend the summer. Scientists at James Cook University in Queensland state are taking part in the project, also involving researchers from Alaska, […]
‘s Balangoda Plantations profits plunge 56-pct
Aug 14, 2013 (LBO) – Balangoda Plantations Plc, a tea farming company in Sri Lanka’s Stassen group said profits fell 56 percent to 45.7 million rupees in the June 2013 quarter from a year earlier. Sri Lanka’s tea companies have been facing higher wage costs and from around mid year production disruption due to heavy […]