Category: Other
New Maldives president to be sworn in
MALE, November 11, 2008 (AFP) – A former political prisoner who unseated Asia’s longest-serving leader as president of the Maldives will be sworn into office Tuesday, taking charge of a nation he fears could soon disappear. Mohamed “Anni” Nasheed, 41, the winner of the the Indian Ocean atoll nation’s first multi-party presidential elections, has come […]
Maldives saves for new homeland amid flooding fears: report
LONDON, November 10, 2008 (AFP) – The Maldives’ newly-elected president said in an interview Monday that his government will begin saving to buy a new homeland in case global warming causes the country to disappear into the sea.Beloved by tourists for their white sandy beaches, palm trees and clear waters, the 1,192 coral islands that […]
Sri Lanka govt gives incentives to troubled tea trade
Nov 06, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government plans to offer several incentives to the tea industry such as lower taxes and subsidised fertiliser, president Mahinda Rajapaksa said. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘act (space) lbo’ and send to 678 The incentives are meant to help the industry […]
Obama, McCain await judgment of history
WASHINGTON, November 5, 2008 (AFP) – Front-runner Barack Obama faced a tense wait Tuesday to see if millions of American voters would enshrine him as the first black president or whether Republican John McCain would mount a shock comeback.On a night of high drama, the presidential rivals were powerless as results started to pour in […]
Freeze on govt department spending in China for 2009: state media
BEIJING, November 5, 2008 (AFP) – Governmental department spending in China in 2009 will be frozen at this year’s level, ending an annual five-percent increase following the global financial crisis, state media said Wednesday. “The budgets for next year should be capped at the same amount as this year’s and every project will be looked […]
Kenya erupts in joy as favourite son Obama takes White House
KOGELO, November 5, 2008 (AFP) – Hundreds of villagers in Kogelo, Barack Obama’s Kenyan family homestead, erupted into song and dance at the news that the nation’s favourite son had won the US presidential election. Swinging twigs and chairs in the air, men cheered and clapped while women ululated and shouted “Obama!Obama!” in the village […]
Sri Lanka tea auction demand recovers: brokers
Nov 05, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan tea auctions in Colombo stabilized this week with demand picking up and much less unsold teas although prices of some varieties still fell, brokers said. The Tea Board did not buy this week and has delayed payment for its purchases of a million kilos last week, with […]
Eurozone ministers drop plans to balance budgets by 2010: Juncker
BRUSSELS, November 3, 2008 (AFP) – Finance ministers from the 15 nations sharing the euro have dropped a 2010 deadline for balancing their budgets, in the face of a severe economic downturn, their chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said Monday. Juncker told journalists that the deadline, which was agreed under much rosier economic conditions in April last […]
Secret Budget
Nov 04, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has struck down a hidden budgetary fund that gave the island’s top treasury official power to circumvent the parliament and allocate money to any ministry, usurping parliamentary control over the public purse. Court said the government was caught in a ‘debt trap’ where debt service was […]
Mega doubts as Dubai mall to open amid global crisis
DUBAI, November 4, 2008 (AFP) – The vast Dubai Mall shopping centre is finally set to open for business on Tuesday but the success of the 20-billion-dollar project is far from certain amid the global economic crisis. The mall will be one of the world’s largest with 1,200 shops, four times as many as the […]
Pay Up
Nov 04, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said it has ordered four unlicensed finance companies that failed to register with the regulator to repay depositors, and given time for two more to comply with its rules. A bank statement said four of six organisations and individuals carrying on finance business without authority had […]
Americans crowd polling stations in historic election
WASHINGTON, November 4, 2008 (AFP) – Americans crowded polling stations Tuesday to vote in their historic election, with front-running Democrat Barack Obama seeking to become the first black US president and Republican rival John McCain battling for a comeback.With predictions of record turnout, long queues stretched in the dark from polling stations waiting to open […]