Category: Other
‘s Tata Steel may seek 5.4-billion dollar loan: report
NEW DELHI, September 4, 2010 (AFP) – The world’s seventh-largest steelmaker, Tata Steel, is in talks with banks for a 5. 4-billion-dollar loan for its British unit Corus, a report said Saturday. The Economic Times newspaper said BNP Paribas, HSBC Holdings and Royal Bank of Scotland may be among the banks contributing funds for the […]
‘s farmers
NAITALE, September 3, 2010 (AFP) – Sanjay Sathe stood by his vines in a sweeping agricultural belt outside the city of Nashik in western India and punched a number into his mobile phone. “Hello, it’s Sanjay Sathe,” the 36-year-old grape and tomato farmer announced in the local language, Marathi, as if talking to a friend. […]
World Bank raises Pakistan aid to one billion dollars
WASHINGTON, September 2, 2010 (AFP) – The World Bank raised its emergency funding to Pakistan to one billion dollars on Wednesday to help the nation cope with the massive economic impact of catastrophic monsoon flooding. The hike, an additional 100 million dollars on top of an existing 900 million dollar loan, was announced by World […]
Long queues form at Afghan bank amid corruption claims
KABUL, September 2, 2010 (AFP) – An owner of Afghanistan’s biggest bank, Kabul Bank, said Thursday it was not facing a run and was supplying branches with enough cash to meet demand, a day after US media allegations of corruption. “There is not a run. We’re here and we are prepared to pay out as […]
Deny Deny
RIYADH, September 1, 2010 (AFP) – Saudi government and private sector officials have questioned the account of a Sri Lankan maid who said her Saudi employers forced 24 nails and needles into her body. Saad al-Badah, head of the National Recruitment Committee of the Council of the Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry, told Saudi […]
Sri Lanka fishermen find peace leaves nets empty
TRINCOMALEE, September 2, 2010 (AFP) – Fishermen in the Sri Lankan port of Trincomalee hoped the end of the island’s civil war would bring prosperity, but dynamite and corruption now threaten their livelihoods. Trincomalee, on the northeast coast, has one of the world’s finest natural harbours and was fiercely fought over during the war until […]
Law Change
August 31, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court on Tuesday began assessing a draft bill that would amend the island’s constitution to allow President Mahinda Rajapakse to run for office for a third term. Registrar of the Supreme Court said the five-judge bench would give their decision to the president and speaker of parliament […]
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NEW DELHI, August 31, 2010 (AFP) – India on Tuesday said China was demonstrating “more than normal interest” in the Indian Ocean as two Chinese warships made a rare visit to military-ruled Myanmar. India is watchful of China’s growing presence in the region, including its major investments in ports being built in Sri Lanka and […]
Ordeal
KUALA LUMPUR, August 31, 2010 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan tourist died fleeing kidnappers in Malaysia while a friend escaped and another was rescued by police, the force said Tuesday. “As I was heading to the toilet, I turned around and kicked the kidnapper before running out of the flat. I ran up to the […]
India BlackBerry users relieved as shutdown averted
NEW DELHI, August 31, 2010 (AFP) – India’s BlackBerry users heaved a sigh of relief Tuesday after the government gave the company a two-month reprieve on a threat to ban its messaging services, averting a showdown over security access. Research in Motion (RIM), the smartphone’s maker, has made “certain proposals for lawful access” to heavily […]
Sri Lanka govt inaction on theft seen threatening spice trade
Aug 30, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government’s failure to crack down on theft in spice plantations is threatening the industry, a key foreign exchange earner and provider of employment, a senior official has warned. Christopher Fernando, chairman of the Spices and Allied Products Producers™ and Traders™ Association (SAPPTA), said theft of produce was […]
Sri Lanka Nestle unit opens milk centre in former war-zone
Aug 29, 2010 (LBO) – Nestle Lanka, a unit of Swiss based Nestle, has opened a milk chilling centre in the former war-zone of Kilinochchi in the north of Sri Lanka, to buy milk for hundreds of dairy farmer in the area, the food firm said in a statement. It will also distribute equipment and […]