Category: Other
India set for 13th rate hike despite growth worries
NEW DELHI, October 22, 2011 (AFP) – India’s central bank is set to raise interest rates for the 13th consecutive time this week in a bid to tame near double-digit inflation, even as “dark clouds” gather over Asia’s third-largest economy. The Reserve Bank of India has increased interest rates 12 times since March 2010 — […]
Dossier Query
SYDNEY, October 19, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s envoy to Australia Wednesday said a dossier alleging war crimes during the dying days of his country’s civil war only served to fuel the agenda of “vested interests”. Thisara Samarasinghe, who was a commander in the Sri Lankan navy during the conflict which ended in 2009, said […]
‘s Reliance halts future oil and gas drilling
MUMBAI, October 17, 2011 (AFP) – India’s energy giant Reliance Industries has suspended drilling at its oil and gas exploration blocks covered under a deal with new venture partner BP pending a review, a company source said on Monday. India’s largest private oil explorer is “re-evaluating” its exploration and production strategy in partnership with the […]
Aussie Status
SYDNEY, October 17, 2011 (AFP) – Australian police were Monday examining a war crimes dossier alleging Sri Lankan authorities bombed and shelled civilians during the country’s civil war, which ended in 2009. Prepared by the International Commission of Jurists’ Australian chapter, the brief contains testimony from Sri Lankans now living in Australia that they were […]
Indian Ocean sea level rise; contrary research heard in India: report
Oct 16, 2011 (LBO) – A researcher who is questioning claims and forecasts on sea level rises connected to man made climate change, has got a hearing in India at a conference, a media report said. said Nils-Axel Morner, a Swedish academic had disputed claims of Indian Ocean sea level increases. Morner is a key […]
Sri Lanka freight group expands recycling business
Oct 13, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Expolanka Holdings has expanded and renamed its recycling subsidiary and also intends to venture into recycling electronic waste or ‘e-waste’. Group unit Neptune Papers has been rebranded as Neptune Recyclers and has moved into recycling plastic, polythene and scrap metal in addition to its existing waste paper business, […]
Sentence
NEW YORK, October 13, 2011 (AFP) – Disgraced star Wall Street hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam was sentenced Thursday to 11 years behind bars in the heaviest US sentence for insider trading, although far below what prosecutors had sought. New York federal Judge Richard Holwell also ordered the Sri Lankan-born founder of the Galleon Group […]
” of dirty tricks
MANILA, October 10, 2011 (AFP) – The World Health Organization’s chief on Monday urged governments to unite against “big tobacco”, as she accused the industry of dirty tricks, bullying and immorality in its quest to keep people smoking. This covers an area with a population of 1.6 billion people, including China, Australia, Japan, South Korea, […]
Bangladesh launches $130 laptop for schools
DHAKA, October 11, 2011 (AFP) – Bangladesh on Tuesday unveiled a $130 locally made laptop that it hopes will help bridge the digital divide in the impoverished South Asian country. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina unveiled the Doel — or magpie — laptops at a ceremony in the capital Dhaka, saying the computer, made by state-owned […]
‘s Tata Coffee shares surge on Starbucks tie-up report
MUMBAI, October 10, 2011 (AFP) – Shares in India’s Tata Coffee soared nearly 10 percent on Monday after media reports that a proposed tie-up with giant US chain Starbucks will be announced soon. Tata Coffee, a grower and supplier of high-quality Arabica beans, jumped 9.8 percent intraday to a day’s high of 881. 75 rupees […]
Western fast food, waistlines surge in India
NEW DELHI, October 9, 2011 (AFP) – Every lunchtime at a McDonald’s on the corner of one of central New Delhi’s biggest streets, queues of hungry young patrons, often four-wide and unruly, snake towards the counters. In another study published last month, the International Federation of the Red Cross focused on the “double-edged scandal” of […]
Legal Status
NEW YORK, October 9, 2011 (AFP) – Raj Rajaratnam, convicted in the biggest US insider trading case for years, faces a sentence of up to 24 years prison next week at the close of a case seen as making an example of the hedge fund tycoon. The sentencing hearing on October 13 before federal Judge […]