Category: Other
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 […]
India plans global 3G spectrum auction
NEW DELHI, August 1, 2008 (AFP) – India said Friday it plans a global auction for the airwaves needed to offer high-speed third generation or 3G mobile phone services, a move that could rake in billions of dollars for the government.The long-awaited decision will allow foreign players the chance to enter the world’s fastest-growing mobile […]
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 […]
Emerging economies to drive world auto sales to record highs
OTTAWA, July 30, 2008 (AFP) – Auto sales in places like Brazil, India and China are expected to drive world demand to new records despite a sales slump in Europe and the United States, a Canadian bank said Wednesday.Global car sales advanced a mere 1.5 percent in the first half of 2008, undercut by slowing […]
Profit hits 11.68 bln dlrs at ExxonMobil
NEW YORK, July 31, 2008 (AFP) – US energy giant ExxonMobil on Thursday reported a 14 percent jump in quarterly net profits to a record 11.68 billion dollars in results below most forecasts on Wall Street. The second-quarter earnings amounted to 2.27 dollars per share excluding special items compared with an average forecast of 2.52 […]
Shell profits gush on record high oil prices
LONDON, July 31, 2008 (AFP) – Anglo-Dutch energy giant Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday that high oil prices helped push its net profit up by a third to 11.556 billion dollars (7.409 billion euros) in the second quarter. Profits rocketed despite flagging production which was hampered by violence at facilities in Nigeria. Output fell […]
Two decades on, South Asian grouping still to prove relevance
July 31, 2008 (AFP) – South Asian leaders are set for a weekend summit in Colombo where they are expected to repeat pious platitudes, highlighting that the 23-year-old regional grouping has little to show by way of economic progress. Observers compare summits to movie productions, but the script has changed little since the first SAARC […]
Wrecked WTO talks change the world trade game
GENEVA, July 30, 2008 (AFP) – Ministers saw a “new order” take hold of global trade Wednesday, with emerging economies calling the shots after WTO plans collapsed in a potentially devastating blow to millions of the world’s poor. “One thing that we can celebrate is that deals here are no longer made just by the […]
” despite policy conflicts
July 30, 2008 (LBO) – A summit meeting of South Asian leaders this weekend is placing ‘food security’ high on its agenda with promises of more state intervention, officials said, despite recent state meddling that backfired on the region’s poor and farmers.Sri Lanka’s international trade minister G L Peiris told reporters that the time has […]
Sri Lanka tea prices hit by collection fears
July 30, 2008 (LBO) – Prices of Sri Lankan low grown leafy grade teas fell sharply at this week’s Colombo auctions owing to fears that buyers may not be able to collect their purchases.Tea prices have been buoyed by good demand from traditional buyers like Russia and the Middle East oil exporting countries where consumers […]
Los Angeles passes ban on new fast-food outlets
LOS ANGELES, July 30, 2008 (AFP) – Los Angeles officials on Tuesday approved a one-year ban on fast-food chains opening in a poor neighborhood of the city battling higher-than-average obesity, officials said.The moratorium covers the 500,000 people living in the 32-square mile area of South Los Angeles, which is predominantly Hispanic and African-American. Designed to […]
Japan foreign minister puts off South Asia trip
TOKYO, July 30, 2008 (AFP) – Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura has put off a visit to South Asia starting this weekend due to political uncertainties at home, the foreign ministry said Wednesday. Japan was arranging for Komura to visit India, Sri Lanka and Uzbekistan from Friday until August 8, said a foreign ministry official, […]