Category: Other
‘s three-wheelers driven off the road
LONDON, Jan 19, 2008 (AFP) – Britain’s first fleet of tuk-tuks have been run off the roads by “archaic legislation”, the owner said Saturday.The colourful fleet of 12 three-wheeled motorised rickshaws, called tuk-tuks after the sound of the engine, have been patrolling the seafront at Brighton, southern England, since July 2006. But Dominic Ponniah of […]
India software giants wary of US slowdown
BANGALORE, India, Jan 20, 2008 (AFP) – India’s major software firms say a US economic slowdown may bring more customers seeking cost savings, but analysts warn that the once red-hot sector faces tough times in 2008. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys Technologies and Wipro, whose latest earnings were hit by a sharp gain in the […]
Carbon Disclosure Project to assess world business CO2 footprint
WASHINGTON, Jan 20, 2008 (AFP) – The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a consortium of 315 top institutional investors assessing industries about their CO2 emissions, announced Sunday a new partnership to extend its global initiative to companies and suppliers. With members including Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Allianz and HSBC that manage assets of more than 41 […]
ADB need to push reforms, governance and fiscal responsibility harder: study
MANILA, Jan 18, 2008 (AFP) – The Asian Development Bank admitted in an internal study released Friday that some of its loans to poor countries over the last few years had failed to achieve all their goals. The release of the study comes after reports that disillusioned major donor nations such as the US and […]
Criminal Risk
Jan 19, 2007 (LBO) – The legality of Sri Lanka’s casinos is uncertain and the lack of supervision could opened them to be controlled by criminals, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said. “Illegal profits are co-mingled with legitimate income in the placement and layering stages of money laundering.” The lack of regulation also made […]
Counter Terror
Jan 19, 2007 (LBO) – The United States has said Sri Lanka could get more support in its war against Tamil Tiger terrorism if the island improves its human rights record. A U.S embassy statement said the two countries discussed co-operation against Tamil Tiger terrorism during a visit by Admiral Robert F. Willard, Commander of […]
Asian markets tumble on US fears, Japan finance minister calls for calm
TOKYO, Jan 18, 2008 (AFP) – Japanese share prices tumbled 2.81 percent by the end of the morning session Friday after a sharp fall on Wall Street on rising fears of a US recession, dealers said. They said that congressional testimony by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke failed to reassure markets that stimulus measures were […]
” to 3.79-pct, no rate cut
NEW DELHI, Jan 18, 2008 (AFP) – India’s inflation jumped nearly three-tenths of one percentage point to its highest level in four months, data showed on Friday, making chances of an interest rate cut more remote.But economists expect the economy to lose steam in coming months as the effects of aggressive monetary tightening to curb […]
Kenya crisis hits tea hard
NAIROBI, Jan 17, 2008 (AFP) – Tea is a casualty of the turmoil sparked by disputed presidential elections in Kenya, with thousands of workers forced to flee plantations in one of the world’s top exporters, industry sources say. Between 26,000 and 70,000 tea sector employees from the western region of Kericho, where Kenya’s main plantations […]
Maldives nab foreigners for prostitution
January 17, 2006 (LBO) — Five foreigners have been arrested in the Indian Ocean Island of Maldives for allegedly offering commercial sex and having lubricants and condoms on them, police said Thursday.“Three men and two women were arrested Tuesday midnight on a tip off from a house in Male,” police spokesman Sergeant Ahmed Shiyam said […]
Sri Lanka coconut prices may ease, but not much
Jan 16, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan coconut prices which have soared in recent months are expected to ease by end-February as new crops come in but will remain high as world edible oil prices were high, industry officials said. “The shortage of nuts could ease towards the end of February but I’m not sure […]
British bank Northern Rock looking for suitors after defeating rebel shareholders
LONDON, Jan 15, 2008 (AFP) – Northern Rock, the British bank almost sunk by the global credit crunch, on Tuesday defeated most of the plans by rebel shareholders to limit management’s ability to sell the group without consulting investors. However, the Financial Times on Tuesday reported that Brown would not be forced into making a […]