Category: Other
Internet flaw could let hackers take over the Web
SAN FRANCISCO, July 9, 2008 (AFP) – Computer industry heavyweights are hustling to fix a flaw in the foundation of the Internet that would let hackers control traffic on the World Wide Web. Major software and hardware makers worked in secret for months to create a software “patch” released on Tuesday to repair the problem, […]
‘s Noor Islamic Bank to launch operations in Maldives
July 9, 2008 (LBO) – Dubai’s Noor Islamic Bank has inked a deal to open up an Islamic banking unit in the Indian Ocean Island of Maldives, officials said.Operating under the name Noor Islamic Maldives Private Limited, the Dubai-based bank will hold 33 percent in the new company, Maldives Monetary Authority Governor, Abdulla Jihad said […]
Top climate scientist blasts G8 climate pledge
PARIS, July 8, 2008 (AFP) – One of the world’s most respected climate scientists on Tuesday slammed the G8 summit’s goal of halving global warming emissions by 2050 as “worse than worthless.” Leaders of the world’s richest nations, meeting in Japan, “are taking actions that guarantee that we deliver to our children climate catastrophes that […]
”’ quota unconstitutional, court rules
BUCHAREST, July 9, 2008 (AFP) – Romanians have a right to doom and gloom, the country’s constitutional court ruled Wednesday, blocking a government move obliging radio and television stations to broadcast good and bad news in equal proportions.The court ruled that a new law, which stipulated that upbeat news should make up half of all […]
Sri Lanka to get Chinese support in tea cultivation
July 09, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea industry expects to get support from China to improve plant breeding and cultivation, Sri Lanka Tea Board chairman Lalith Hettiarachchi said. “We hope to do that in the very near future at a government-to-government level,” Hettiarachchi said. He said scientists from both countries, both big tea producers, […]
‘s Gorkhas campaign for new state
DARJEELING, July 8, 2008 (AFP) – Leaders of the ethnic Nepali-speaking minority in India’s mountainous and tea-rich northeast have started month-long prayers to press for their own federal state.Ethnic Gorkhas — who number more than a million in the eastern state of West Bengal — have been demanding a separate state within India for decades, […]
South Korea props up won with dollar sales
EOUL, July 8, 2008 (AFP) – The South Korean won hit a two-week high Tuesday after foreign exchange authorities sold up to two billion dollars to prop it up, traders said.The currency was quoted at 1,031.60 per dollar as of 0500 GMT, compared to Monday’s close of 1,042.90. Earlier Tuesday it rallied as high as […]
” of recession: survey
LONDON, July 8, 2008 (AFP) – Britain’s economy, buckling under the credit crunch and a slowing property market, faces a “serious risk” of recession as firms face soaring costs and falling orders, according to a survey published Tuesday.The British Chambers of Commerce, which represents the country’s business interests around the world, made the claim in […]
Matsushita Electric Works says it has developed eco-friendly lamp
TOKYO, July 8, 2008 (AFP) – Japan’s Matsushita Electric Works Ltd.said Tuesday it had developed a fluorescent lamp that does not use mercury or a gas-discharging process. The enviromentally friendly device, which uses processed silicon, could be 50 percent brighter than a conventional fluorescent lamp while consuming the same amount of electricity, the company said […]
Sri Lanka rubber prices, cultivation rising: trade official
July 08, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan natural rubber prices will remain high on strong demand while cultivation and production is increasing, the chairman of the Colombo Rubber Traders’ Association Anura Edirisinghe said. Global natural rubber consumption will continue to outstrip supply through 2009, resulting in prices maintaining current high levels or increasing even above […]
Sri Lanka tea exporter sees lifestyle trends expanding market
July 08, 2008 (LBO) – Changing consumer tastes and a willingness to pay a premium for a superior product should help tea producers, who until recent years had faced stagnant prices, a top Sri Lankan exporter says. Anslem Perera, managing director of Euro Scan, says tea producers and exporters were making use of traditional consumption […]
Loose money US believes in strong dollar
TOYAKO, July 6, 2008 (AFP) – President George W.Bush on Sunday reaffirmed the United States’ “strong dollar” policy, saying the US economy’s fundamental strength would ultimately support the flagging currency.“The US believes in a strong dollar policy and believes that the strength of our economy will be reflected in the dollar,” he said ahead of […]