Category: Other
Indian inflation at 7.6-pct in April
NEW DELHI, May 9, 2008 (AFP) – India’s annual inflation rate rose marginally to a near four-year high at 7.61 percent on the back of rising food prices, official data released Friday showed.The government immediately announced prices were stabilising and would soon come down after weeks of steady increases. Inflation moved up for the week […]
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NEW DELHI, May 8, 2008 (AFP) – India’s government on Thursday halted trading in futures contracts for key staple foods and for rubber as it battled to avoid an election drubbing due to high inflation.The government suspended futures trade in basic foods such as chickpeas, soybean oil and potatoes for four months, saying the move […]
Majority of economists mislead over commodity bubble: survey
WASHINGTON, May 8, 2008 (AFP) – A surge in food and energy prices is being driven by fundamental market conditions, rather than an investment bubble, according to a Wall Street Journal survey of economists published Thursday.Fifty-one percent of the respondents said demand from China and India was the prime factor in soaring energy prices, and […]
Wrong response aggravates Asia food crisis: ADB report
MANILA, May 9, 2008 (AFP) – Asia’s response to tightening global grain supplies has aggravated food price inflation and uncertainty, according to an Asian Development Bank report released here Friday.Export bans and price floors imposed by grain exporters including China, Pakistan, Vietnam and India “have increased price volatility and uncertainty in the international rice markets,” […]
” consumers, US trails: study
WASHINGTON, May 7, 2008 (AFP) – Inhabitants of Brazil and India have the world’s most environmentally-sustainable lifestyle and Americans have the least, according to a new study tracking global attitudes towards consumption and the environment. The survey by the National Geographic Society establishes a “Greendex” — an index measuring the economic impact of consumer lifestyle […]
Nepal lifts ban on Everest as Olympic torch summits
KATHMANDU, May 8, 2008 (AFP) – Scores of climbers waiting on the southern Nepalese approach to Mount Everest will be allowed to proceed after the Chinese Olympic torch team made it to the roof of the world, officials said Thursday. “Mountaineers will be allowed to move towards the summit from Friday,” said Prem Rai, Nepal’s […]
‘s growth rewarding amid global risks: Merrill Lynch
MUMBAI, May 7, 2008 (AFP) – India offers one of most rewarding opportunities for growth in spite of recessionary conditions in the United States, wealth management group Merrill Lynch chief executive John Thain said Wednesday.“I do not believe in the ‘decoupling’ theory but India, led by strong local demand, will be relatively less affected by […]
Thailand says Malaysia to buy emergency rice supplies
BANGKOK, May 8, 2008 (AFP) – Thailand said Thursday it would provide 500,000 tonnes of rice to Malaysia in an emergency purchase as the latter’s national stockpile had enough supplies to last only 15 days.Government spokesman Wichainchot Sukchotrat said Malaysian agriculture minister Mustafa Mohamed met with Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej on Thursday to discuss […]
‘s Bharti joins 700-million-dollar cable project linking Britain
BANGALORE, India, May 7, 2008 (AFP) – Bharti Airtel, India’s top mobile-phone operator, said Wednesday it had joined a consortium to build a 700-million-dollar submarine cable system. Bharti signed a construction and maintenance agreement in London for the Europe India Gateway (EIG), the first high-bandwidth, optical-fibre cable system from India to Britain, the company said. […]
Sri Lanka tea exports to Iran face high duties, packet ban
May 07, 2008 (LBO) – High import duty rates and a ban on packet tea imports by Iran is preventing Sri Lankan tea exporters from better penetrating a potentially lucrative market, industry officials said. Instead, a lot of the Sri Lankan tea that reaches Iran is smuggled over its borders, with Dubai as the region’s […]
Sri Lanka a blue whale watching hot spot
May 07, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka may be one of the easiest places to watch whales, allowing it to become a global top spot to watch blue and sperm whales, a researcher and an eco-tourism specialist have said. “I think Sri Lanka has enormous potential to be a whale destination,” marine biologist Charles Anderson, […]