Category: Other
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Dollar weaker in Asia ahead of Bernanke speech
TOKYO, Jan 10, 2008 (AFP) – The dollar softened in Asian trade Thursday as market players waited for clues from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the chances of further US interest rate cuts, dealers said.The dollar eased to 109.87 yen in Tokyo morning trade from 109.93 in New York late on Wednesday. The euro […]
Maldives budget deficit could undermine economy: World Bank
January 10, 2008 (LBO) — The World Bank warned Maldives, South Asia’s richest economy, that recent economic gains could unravel, if the atoll nation failed to tackle political instability and curb its budget deficit.“Constitutional changes, pressures for unsustainable fiscal deficits, and vulnerability to economic shocks could offset or potentially roll back some development gains,” Washington-based […]