Category: Other
New Singapore terminal to bolster air hub status: analysts
SINGAPORE, Jan 6, 2008 (AFP) – Singapore will Wednesday open an ultra-modern new 1.2-billion-dollar airport terminal that industry analysts say will reinforce the city-state’s position as a regional aviation hub.Terminal 3, which boasts a five-storey vertical garden with waterfalls, will receive its first passengers just months after a new terminal opened in Hong Kong and […]
High oil price will last until March: OPEC president
ALGIERS, Jan 5, 2008 (AFP) – The high price of oil will continue until the end of March 2008, the president of OPEC said Saturday.“The surge in price will probably endure until the end of the first quarter of 2008, before stabilising during the second quarter,” the Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil — who is […]
” in Mideast, S. Asia: minister
LONDON, Jan 6, 2008 (AFP) – Britain is planning a “diplomatic surge” in the Middle East and south Asia to help counter extremism and nuclear proliferation, Foreign Secretary David Miliband said in an article published Sunday. Writing in The Sunday Times, Miliband said 2008 would “show in word and deed” what Prime Minister Gordon Brown […]
The sniper of Baghdad
BAGHDAD, Jan 5, 2008 (AFP) – Through the sights of a high-powered rifle the silhouette of a soldier takes shape in the window of a concrete watchtower.A shot rings out and the body collapses like a puppet, falling from view. Juba has struck again. A new video of the mysterious marksman of the Islamic Army […]
Sri Lankan tea may be lifted by Kenyan unrest
Jan 04, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices could be pushed higher if violence in Kenya, the world’s biggest tea exporter, disrupts supplies to the world market, trade officials said. The violence in Pakistan, a big tea consumer nation, could on the other hand dampen demand, they said. There has been no impact yet […]
Obama beats Clinton in Iowa, Huckabee top Republican
DES MOINES, Iowa, Jan 3, 2008 (AFP) – Democrat Barack Obama triumphed in the first 2008 White House nominating contest Thursday, dealing a severe blow to Hillary Clinton’s hopes and boosting his own chances of being the first black US president.“We are choosing hope over fear.We’re choosing unity over division and sending a powerful message […]
Sri Lanka withdraws from truce with Tamil Tigers
Jan 2, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government Wednesday decided to formally end a moribund peace process with Tamil rebels and withdraw from a ceasefire arranged by peace broker Norway, top officials told AFP. “The cabinet of ministers today decided to pull out of the ceasefire,” presidential spokesman Chandrapala Liyanage said. “The legal process will […]
France bans smoking in restaurants to reduce tobacco deaths
PARIS, Jan 1, 2008 (AFP) – France began 2008 under a new smoking ban in cafes and restaurants that drove smokers out into the street to light up their cigarettes as bar owners put away ashtrays. The ban signals a sizeable cultural shift for one of Europe’s last smokers’ bastions, particularly in Paris where cafe […]
Kenyans burnt alive in church as unrest toll tops 300
NAIROBI, Jan 1, 2008 (AFP) – At least 35 children and adults sheltering in a church were burnt alive by an angry mob in Kenya Tuesday, as an eruption of election violence threatened to tip over into a full-scale tribal conflict.The darling of foreign investors in east Africa, with an average annual growth over five […]
Sri Lankan seamen school to take foreign cadets
Jan 02, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Mercantile Seamen Training Institute (MSTI) in the southern port of Galle plans to open its doors to foreign aspirants in 2008. The company offers seagoing opportunities for trainees on board its own ships and is building a pool of trained seamen to supply its own ships as well […]
Cyprus and Malta adopt low inflation euro
NICOSIA, Jan 1, 2008 (AFP) – Cyprus and Malta joined the eurozone on Tuesday, bidding farewell to the Cyprus pound and Maltese lira, expanding the club of countries using the single European currency to 15. In Malta, central bank chief Michael Bonello voiced concern that people are hoarding the equivalent of about 466 million euros […]