Category: Other
South Asian leaders admit failing their region
THIMPHU, April 28, 2010 (AFP) – South Asian leaders admitted Wednesday a common failure to overcome their differences and tackle the key challenges in their conflict-ridden region, including poverty, climate change and terrorism. Opening a summit of the eight-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in Bhutan, the host nation’s Prime Minister Jigme Thinley […]
Tiny Himalayan kingdom tackles South Asian summit
THIMPHU, April 27, 2010 (AFP) – A visit by a top foreign dignitary is still a big event for the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan. The combined presence of seven foreign heads of government is simply unheard of. Like a shy debutante taking her first steps in high society, the landlocked and still relatively reclusive […]
Detention
KUALA LUMPUR, April 26, 2010 (AFP) – Malaysian police Monday said they have detained 75 Sri Lankan migrants who refused to get off a fishing trawler, after three days of talks to persuade them to leave the vessel broke down. The trawler was intercepted off northern Perak state on Friday but the group, including six […]
Robotic subs race to cap leaking US oil well
NEW ORLEANS, April 27, 2010 (AFP) – Robotic underwater vessels raced Monday to stave off an environmental disaster by stopping 42,000 gallons of oil a day from streaming into the Gulf of Mexico from a sunken rig. A slick measuring 48 miles (77 kilometers) by 39 miles at its widest points has developed 30 miles […]
Arrested
THE HAGUE, April 26, 2010 (AFP) – Police arrested seven men in the Netherlands on Monday who are suspected of raising funds for Sri Lankan separatist group the Tamil Tigers, a statement said. “They are suspected of raising funds for the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) through collections, fundraisers, the sale of DVDs and […]
India-Pakistan cloud hangs over South Asia summit
THIMPU, April 26, 2010 (AFP) – A familiar game of “will they-won’t they” centred on a possible meeting between the leaders of India and Pakistan looks set to overshadow a summit of South Asian nations in Bhutan this week. The summit is supposed to culminate in a joint declaration entitled “Towards a Green and Happy […]
Sri Lanka dairy business prospects seen improving
Apr 23, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s dairy sector is improving with strong competition among processors expanding demand for milk and helping farmers, the US Agency for International Development said. USAID has boosted the sector by partnering with a private company to increase milk production, it said in a statement. A USAID study showed that […]
Maldives president wins UN eco prize
Apr 22, 2010 (LBO) – President Mohamed Nasheed of Maldives, a low lying atoll nation in the Indian Ocean which fears inundation rising sea levels, has won a top environmental prize from the United Nations, his office said. He has been named a winner of the ‘Champions of the Earth’ award for policy leadership. Maldives […]
‘s water crisis laid bare by clash with US cola giants
NEW DELHI, April 21, 2010 (AFP) – A pollution fine for Coca-Cola and an order for PepsiCo to cut water use at factories in India have highlighted an intensifying conflict between big business and farmers over natural resources. Last month, a report commissioned by the southern state of Kerala ordered Coca-Cola to pay 47 million […]
Policy Debate
Apr 21, 2010 (LBO) – Dr Harsha de Silva has been an exemplary policy intellectual. He had the greatest impact in contributing to the shifting of the frame for discussing inflation in Sri Lanka from the misguided focus on imported inflation to one that correctly places the actions of the Central Bank and the now […]
World Banks says East Asia could stabilise emissions by 2025
BEIJING, April 19, 2010 (AFP) – The World Bank said Monday that East Asia could stabilise its greenhouse gas emissions by 2025 while maintaining economic growth by investing in energy efficiency and low-carbon technologies. Achieving the target would require the region’s biggest energy guzzlers to invest an extra 80 billion dollars a year to make […]
Indian police defuse two bombs at cricket ground
BANGALORE, April 18, 2010 (AFP) – Police in the southern Indian city of Bangalore Sunday defused two crude bombs next to a cricket stadium, a senior officer said, a day after explosions outside the ground injured eight people, Both devices were found next to the 40,000-seater Chinnaswamy Stadium, where the blasts on Saturday sparked panic […]