Category: Other
Sri Lanka minister says South Asian telecom watchdogs should swiftly cut tariffs
Aug 03, 2008 (LBO) – South Asian telecommunications regulators should quickly move to bring down overseas telephone tariffs, Sri Lanka’s foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama said at the conclusion of a regional leaders’ meeting.Sri Lanka’s president Mahinda Rajapaksa raised the issue of cheaper call charges during his opening speech at the summit meeting of the South […]
Thousands of workers strike in inflation-battered Vietnam
HANOI, August 3, 2008 (AFP) – Thousands of workers have gone on strike in Vietnam, demanding higher wages to match the rising cost of living after inflation surged 27 percent year-on-year in July, media reported Saturday. Nearly 5,000 labourers downed tools from Friday at the Kingmaker footwear plant in the Vietnam-Singapore industrial zone in southern […]
Japan Inc suffers 15 percent profit fall in April-June: report
TOKYO, August 3, 2008 (AFP) – The pre-tax profit of major Japanese companies fell 15 percent year on year in the April-June quarter, weighed down by the US economic slowdown and price hikes, a survey showed on Sunday.The survey was conducted by the Nikkei business daily, covering 685 companies that had reported their quarterly earnings […]
GM posts 15.5 bln dlr loss as US sales skid
WASHINGTON, August 1, 2008 (AFP) – General Motors posted Friday a whopping 15.5-billion-dollar net loss in the second quarter as the US auto giant took hefty restructuring charges and US sales skidded.The bleak earnings reported by the largest US automaker coincided with news of a seventh straight month of US nonfarm job losses that stoked […]
India-Pakistan tensions to overshadow South Asia Summit
August 2, 2008 (AFP) – A summit of South Asian leaders was set to open in Sri Lanka on Saturday, with tensions between India and Pakistan likely to eclipse regional talks on trade, terrorism and poverty. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan’s new premier Yousuf Raza Gilani were due to hold their first-ever talks […]
Sri Lanka leader calls for lower international phone tariffs in south Asia
Aug 02, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa called for lower international direct dial (IDD) tariffs to better integrate the people of south Asia when he opened a regional summit in Colombo Saturday.But the international regime was dismantled from 2003, though its remnants seems to be still alive within SAARC. Last month he […]
‘ summit highlights action against terrorism
Aug 02, 2008 (LBO) – South Asian leaders have called for tough action against terrorism at their summit in Colombo this weekend where they are to sign an accord on co-operation in criminal matters. Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh said terrorism continues to “rear its ugly head” in the region. “It remains the single biggest […]
Sri Lanka tea export earnings up sharply in first half
Aug 01, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea export earnings hit a new high in the first half of this year compared with the same period in previous years, tea brokers said. Stock brokers said the high prices enjoyed by tea exporters were likely to boost the profits of listed plantations companies, which have drawn […]
Sri Lanka starts small with bio-fuels
Aug 01, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan renewable energy experts have started experimenting with bio-fuel production as an alternative to expensive fossil fuels but are constrained by lack of funds and land for commercial production.A pilot project on bio diesel initiated in Nikaweratiya in the north western province will soon be converted to a community […]
‘t compromise on farmers
NEW DELHI, July 31, 2008 (AFP) – India said on Thursday it was willing to return to the negotiating table to work out a new global trade deal but warned it would not make any compromises that could hurt poor farmers.It also pinned the blame for the talks’ collapse earlier this week in Geneva squarely […]
Chavez nationalizes Bank of Venezuela
CARACAS, August 1, 2008 (AFP) – Leftist President Hugo Chavez on Thursday said he will nationalize the Bank of Venezuela, one of the country’s largest, and has asked the bank’s Spanish owners, Grupo Santander, for a meeting to set a price for the deal. “We’re going to nationalize Bank of Venezuela. I’m calling on (Grupo […]
WTO talks on sticking point continue at technical level: Lamy
GENEVA, August 1, 2008 (AFP) – Talks at a technical level are under way at the World Trade Organization on safeguard issues that ended marathon negotiations on a global trade deal this week, WTO head Pascal Lamy revealed on Friday.He told journalists it was necessary to overcome the safeguard technical issue that had caused the […]