Category: Other
India to sell stakes in two energy companies
NEW DELHI, September 6, 2010 (AFP) – India said Monday it aims to sell stakes in two more state-run energy firms as part of its plans to speed reforms and raise funds to combat poverty. The Congress-led government is looking to sell 10 percent of its stake in Indian Oil Corp and a five-percent stake […]
Erratic global weather threatens food security: experts
STOCKHOLM , September 7, 2010 (AFP) – The drought in Russia and floods in Pakistan are part of a global trend of unpredictable weather patterns and rainfall that threaten food security, experts gathered in Stockholm said. Pointing out that there have been periods of extreme weather patterns before, he said: “These kinds of fluctuations are […]
Sri Lanka poultry industry recovering from state curbs, demand up
Sept 06, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Bairaha Farms, a poultry breeder and processor says the industry is recovering and increasing production after state restrictions on the industry were relaxed but demand is also rising. “Since the Government has been encouraging the local cultivation of maize it did not allow imports in spite of the […]
India tests supersonic cruise missile
BHUBANESWAR, September 5, 2010 (AFP) – India on Sunday successfully tested a surface-to-surface version of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile which it has developed jointly with Russia, officials said. The missile was fired from a mobile launcher 200 kilometres (125 miles) northeast of Bhubaneswar, the capital of the eastern state of Orissa. “The test of […]
‘s parliament again fails to elect new PM
KATHMANDU, September 5, 2010 (AFP) – Nepal’s parliament failed for the sixth time to elect a prime minister on Sunday, as the house speaker warned of a “serious crisis” if a new government is not in place soon. The country has been without a government since June 30, when former prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal […]
Sceptical green urges smart billions to fight warming
COPENHAGEN, September 5, 2010 (AFP) – Bjoern Lomborg, the bad boy of the climate debate who has rejected for years “alarmist” prophecies from environmentalists, stresses in a new book the need to invest billions to fight global warming. In “Smart Solutions to Climate Change,” Lomborg lashes out at current policies to curb greenhouse gas emissions […]
‘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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]