Category: Other
Private Deals
July 13, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s construction industry is urging the government to accept draft guidelines on treating unsolicited bids in an effort to ensure transparency and fair competition in infrastructure contracts. The move comes at a time when the phenomenon of unsolicited bids in a range of infrastructure projects is becoming common, causing […]
Murdoch aims to conquer world of business news
NEW YORK, July 13, 2007 (AFP) – News magnate Rupert Murdoch will expand his media empire with a business news channel to challenge industry leader CNBC, as he presses on with a bid to add The Wall Street Journal to his portfolio. The global media mogul has set October 15 as the launch date of […]
‘s tallest man weds in China
BEIJING, July 12, 2007 (AFP) – A decades-long search by the world’s tallest man for a bride finally came to an end on Thursday when the Chinese herdsman married a woman who barely stands up to his elbow.Bao Xishun, who stands 2.36 metres (seven feet nine inches), wed sales clerk Xia Shujun in a traditional […]
Graft Web
July 11, 2007 (AFP) – A grouping of companies launched Wednesday a website dedicated to collecting information about officials and governments around the world who seek bribes. The US-based Trace International, a non-profit grouping of multinational firms, said their new website Bribeline.org will allow people or organizations to anonymously report bribe requests. Trace said its […]
Euro hits record high against dollar on US economy worries
NEW YORK, July 11, 2007 (AFP) – The euro surged to a record high against the dollar Wednesday on growing concerns about risky loans in the US property market and a European Central Bank hint of an interest rate hike.In late New York trade, the dollar stood at 1.2062 Swiss francs, up from 1.2019 Tuesday. […]
‘s to start coffee chain in Japan
TOKYO, July 12, 2007 (AFP) – McDonald’s said Thursday it will launch a chain of coffeeshops in Japan, hoping to tap into the country’s growing love of coffee but at lower prices than rivals.The Japanese unit of the global burger empire said it will open 15 “McCafes” in the Tokyo region next month and hoped […]
Free World
BRUSSELS, July 11, 2007 (AFP) – A top European court ordered EU antitrust regulators Wednesday to pay damages to French firm Schneider for wrongfully blocking its takeover bid of a rival, potentially opening a floodgate to other cases.The court’s ruling was one of two blows it dealt to the Commission on Wednesday after it also […]
Strikes at Chilean mines send copper prices sky-high
SANTIAGO, July 10, 2007 (AFP) – Copper prices soared Tuesday as labor strikes pressured some of the largest copper mines in Chile, which supplies one-third of the world’s supply of the metal.“There is a direct impact on the mine’s production.Because of the violence by a group of subcontractors, it was decided to suspend ore extraction, […]
Sri Lanka tea firms lose on wage hikes and strikes
July 10, 2007 (LBO) – A pay hike wrested by workers with a strike on Sri Lanka’s tea estates last year has taken its toll on two more plantations companies, Kahawatte Plantations and Madulsima Plantations, with both firms reporting losses. “For the industry, it is indeed a dilemma to reconcile social responsibilities with the realities […]
Mercy Call
July 9, 2007 (LBO) – The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is calling on Muslim scholars to appeal a death sentence facing an under-aged Sri Lankan girl who is accused of killing a child in Saudi Arabia. AHRC says the girl, Rizana Naffeek, is facing death for a mistake made while feeding a four month […]
Sri Lanka to tighten controls on tea imports
July 09, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Tea Board plans to double the import duty on foreign-made teas and introduce quality certification for imports to prevent illicit blending with Ceylon Tea. . Officials say this is aimed at safeguarding the image of pure Ceylon Tea. Under the new rules, to be gazetted soon, the import […]
Please Hurry
July 9, 2007 (LBO) – A Hong Kong based rights body has offered to foot a part of the legal fees to appeal the case of a young Sri Lankan girl condemned to death in Saudi Arabia with time rapidly running out to appeal her case. The Asian Human Rights Commission is urging the Sri […]