Category: Other
No US economic recovery this year: IMF chief
WASHINGTON, May 2, 2008 (AFP) – International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn said Friday that he does not see the US economy recovering from its current doldrums this year.Describing a US government labor report Friday that showed fewer than expected job losses as a “flash in the pan,” the IMF managing director said “the medium-term […]
Asian Development Bank promises food relief
MADRID, May 3, 2008 (AFP) – The Asian Development Bank on Saturday promised financial help for nations fighting the global food price crisis and attacked plans for a rice cartel.Loans will help countries subsidise the price of food staples for the poor, ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda said on the first day of the banks four-day […]
‘s Krakatau Steel: reports
JAKARTA, May 3, 2008 (AFP) – India’s Tata Steel could bid for a stake in Indonesia’s largest steel maker PT Krakatau Steel, according to a report here Saturday.“Tata (Steel) has also expressed their interest in finding out more details in the Krakatau Steel privatisation,” the industry ministry’s director general for metal, Ansari Bukhari, told state-run […]
Bangladesh garment makers to sell cheap rice to workers
DHAKA, May 3, 2008 (AFP) – Bangladesh garment manufacturers on Saturday said they would distribute subsidised rice to thousands of some of the world’s lowest-paid workers to help them cope with sky-rocketing food prices.The announcement came after around 20,000 textile workers rioted in one of the main garment-making areas near the capital Dhaka last month, […]
Malaysia to give food stockpile priority over projects
KUALA LUMPUR, May 3, 2008 (AFP) – Malaysia’s prime minister said Saturday his government would delay non-essential projects and use funds to secure the country’s food supply amid spiralling global food prices. The government announced on Friday that it would spend 2.49 billion ringgit (778 million dollars) this year to boost food production as worldwide […]
”: UN expert
PARIS, May 2, 2008 (AFP) – The UN’s new top advisor on food blamed two decades of wrong-headed policies by world powers for the food crisis sweeping the globe, in a stinging interview published on his first day in office Friday.Frenchman Olivier de Schutter, a law professor and human rights campaigner, told Le Monde newspaper […]
Sri Lankan tea prices ease, crops on the rise
May 02, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices have begun to decline with the end of the western quality season and increasing crops, brokers said. “The market is coming down because of high crops and because seasonal quality is over,” said a broker. “Now the Colombo market is very attractive, almost in line with […]
China inspects 3,600 factories in child labour scandal: report
BEIJING, May 1, 2008 (AFP) – Chinese authorities inspected more than 3,600 businesses in a major export city at the centre of a child labour scandal, state press reported Thursday, after children were found working in factories.The children, aged from nine to 16, worked long hours in factories in the city of Dongguan for about […]
India inflation hits 42-month high of 7.57 pct
NEW DELHI, May 2, 2008 (AFP) – India’s inflation rate accelerated to a 42-month peak of 7.57 percent, driven by higher food costs, according to official data on Friday, dealing a fresh blow to the government.Annual inflation quickened more than two-tenths of a percentage point to touch 7.57 percent for the week ended April 19, […]
Non-stop media coverage of US campaign comes in for critique
WASHINGTON, May 2, 2008 (AFP) – Americans say the media are devoting too much ink and airtime to the US presidential race, amid growing criticism that news coverage has focused on the superficial instead of important issues.Half of the public, 51 percent, say news outlets are offering “too much coverage of the campaign,” according to […]
‘s top four: study
PARIS, April 30, 2008 (AFP) – Three Chinese institutions were among the world’s top four banks at the end of 2007 at a time when the market capitalisation of Western banks was suffering from a global financial crisis, a study showed Wednesday.The number one spot in the rankings, compiled by the Boston Consulting Group, was […]
‘s Reliance Communications up 46.8 percent
MUMBAI, April 30, 2008 (AFP) – India’s second-biggest telecoms firm Reliance Communications reported Wednesday its fourth quarter net profit rose 46.8 percent on revenue growth across its businesses.The company showed a net profit of 15.03 billion rupees (374 million dollars) for the three months ended March 31, up from 10.24 billion rupees a year earlier. […]