Category: Other
No Justice
Jan 14, 2008 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan man has been released from prison after spending 50 years on remand, his lawyer said Monday.D.P. James, now 80, was arrested in August 1958 for attacking and wounding his father with a knife. He was sent to jail, then moved to a psychiatric hospital, and then discharged […]
China sets 2008 inflation target at 4.6 percent
SHANGHAI, Jan 14, 2008 (AFP) – China has set an initial inflation target of 4.6 percent for 2008, up from three percent last year, state media reported Monday, reflecting a recent spike in the prices of consumer products. The National Development and Reform Commission also set a target for economic growth this year of eight […]
Maldives economy slows in 2007: central bank
MALE, Jan 14, 2008 (AFP) – Economic growth in the Maldives slowed to 6.6 percent in 2007, the islands’ central bank said Monday as high oil prices and a drop in the fish catch impacted on the economy. Economic growth, down from a staggering 19 percent in 2006, was however better than the 5.5 percent […]
Sri Lanka stops pepper exports to India under free trade deal
Jan 14, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has stopped exporting pepper under the Indo-Lanka Free Trade Agreement (FTA) because of restrictions imposed by India, a top exporter has said. Gulam Chatoor, former chairman of the Spices and Allied Products Producers and Traders Association said India’s imposition of a cap of 2,500 tonnes a year on […]
Troubled Gulf Air places US$4bn Boeing order
MANAMA, Jan 12, 2008 (AFP) – The Bahrain-based airline Gulf Air has ordered 16 Boeing 787 Dreamliners valued at around four billion dollars and taken options for eight more, an airline official told AFP on Saturday.Gulf Air places four billion dollar order with Boeing ATTENTION – ADDS background /// “Gulf Air has signed today (Saturday) […]
Zimbabweans off banks after cash crunch
HARARE, Jan 13, 2008 (AFP) – Kennedy Tsambo’s faith in Zimbabwe’s banking system finally hit breaking point over Christmas when he spent an ultimately fruitless three days queuing to withdraw cash in order to buy a bus fare home. “This was not a donation that I was queuing for, it’s my own money which I […]
” choice for Americans, expert says
WASHINGTON, Jan 12, 2008 (AFP) – As adult obesity balloons in the United States, being overweight has become less of a health hazard and more of a lifestyle choice, the author of a new book argues.“Obesity is a natural extension of an advancing economy.As you become a First World economy and you get all these […]
Most Chinese unhappy at work, seek big pay rises: survey
BEIJING, Jan 12, 2008 (AFP) – Fewer than one in eight Chinese are happy at work, with most complaining about dead-end jobs and wages eroded by record inflation, according to a new survey.Only 12.6 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with their jobs, while 50 percent said they were unhappy with working conditions, according […]
Card Scam
Jan 12, 2007 (LBO) – Credit cards purported to have been issued by two Sri Lankan banks were found with a British national arrested in India over a credit card scam, a media report said. Police examinations of his e-mail had revealed that he had received confidential information such as PIN of ATM cards and […]
Sri Lankan betel farmers benefit from Pakistan buying: minister
Jan 12, 2008 (LBO) – Pakistan’s removal of a quota on Sri Lankan betel leaf exports has helped raise the quality of life among growers in three of the island’s districts, a government minister said. The government is keen to ensure that the benefits of the island’s burgeoning exports flow down to the villages in […]
Dollar tumbles as Bernanke says rate cuts may be needed
NEW YORK, Jan 10, 2008 (AFP) – The dollar fell sharply Thursday after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the US central bank was ready to implement fresh interest rate cuts if necessary amid lingering economic uncertainty.Traders ratcheted up their expectations that the US central bank would unleash a fresh rate cut at a looming […]
Everest conqueror Hillary dies aged 88
WELLINGTON, Jan 11, 2008 (AFP) – Edmund Hillary, the unassuming New Zealander who won world fame as the first man to climb Mount Everest, died Friday at the age of 88. Hillary, who with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of the world’s highest mountain on May 29, 1953, died of a heart attack in […]