Category: Other
Detention Protest
SYDNEY, September 20, 2010 (AFP) – A Fijian man died suddenly at a Sydney immigration centre Monday, officials said, with a protest breaking out in the compound after claims he had jumped from a rooftop fearing deportation. Immigration officials said they were helping a police investigation into the “sudden death of a 36-year-old detainee” at […]
‘s end
Sept 20, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to impose a new levy on tea exports to raise funds for marketing and advertising to increase its market share in the highly competitive beverage market, officials said. Upali Dissanayake, additional secretary of the Ministry of Plantation Industries, said the law to enable the collection of the […]
Jail Protest
September 19, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s ex-army chief and opposition leader Sarath Fonseka on Sunday rejected his conviction at a court martial and said he would fight against a proposed three-year jail term. Fonseka, in a statement released through his democratic National Alliance (DNA) party, said he did not accept Friday’s verdict in a […]
Set Free
VANCOUVER, September 18, 2010 (AFP) – Canada’s Federal Court ordered Friday the release of four women out of nearly 500 Tamils from Sri Lanka, who arrived via a cargo ship in Western Canada last month and claimed refugee status. As of Friday the government had appealed all but one release order — for a heavily-pregnant […]
Rebels strike as Afghanistan goes to the polls
KABUL, September 18, 2010 (AFP) – Afghanistan was voting for a new parliament on Saturday against a backdrop of rebel attacks and a full security alert following Taliban threats to derail the high-stakes election. Insurgents fired rockets in Kabul and other parts of the country and set off a bomb at a polling station, with […]
India shares breach 19,000 points level
MUMBAI, September 13, 2010 (AFP) – India’s main stock market on Monday crossed the key 19,000 points marks to its highest level for more than two years, boosted by optimism about growth in Asia’s third largest economy, dealers said. The 30-share Sensex hit a day’s high of 19,095. 74 in morning trade, before retracing marginally […]
Fifth interest rate hike expected as India battles inflation
NEW DELHI, September 12, 2010 (AFP) – India is expected to hike interest rates this week for a fifth time in six months after a surge in industrial output strengthened the case for another dose of monetary tightening, economists say. Although India has been the most aggressive in the Asia-Pacific region in raising rates to […]
Sri Lanka tea trade told to liberalise, tap stock market
Sept 10, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should consider liberalising tea imports to encourage blending and value addition while plantations companies could use the current stock market bull run to raise funds, a report said. “Given the current buoyancy of the equity market, however, it is opportune for such companies to start tapping the stock […]
Rural India remains beyond reach of Internet: study
NEW DELHI, September 8, 2010 (AFP) – Barely one percent of rural Indians use the Internet, a new study has calculated, despite a rapid recent boom in web access across the country. About 5.4 million of an estimated 570 million rural Indians are active Internet users, said the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI). […]
” in South Asia
NEW DELHI, September 7, 2010 (AFP) – China is seeking to expand its influence in South Asia and gain a “foothold” in the region, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in remarks published Tuesday. “China would like to have a foothold in South Asia and we have to reflect on this reality,” Singh was quoted […]
” says watchdog head
NEW DELHI, September 8, 2010 (AFP) – Almost one-third of Indians are “utterly corrupt” and half are “borderline”, the outgoing head of the country’s corruption watchdog has said, blaming increased wealth for much of the problem. Pratyush Sinha, who retired as India’s Central Vigilance Commissioner this week, said the worst part of his “thankless job” […]
Bangladesh exports soar as orders shift from China: industry
DHAKA, September 8, 2010 (AFP) – Bangladesh said Wednesday exports leapt more than 25 percent year on year in July, with manufacturers linking the jump to a shift in orders from China to the low-cost South Asian country. In July, the first month of its financial year, Bangladesh shipped 1.82 billion dollars of goods — […]