Category: Other
Ex-child soldier cry for freedom at UNICEF conference
PARIS, Feb 5, 2007 (AFP) – A former child soldier from Sierra Leone who started killing at the age of 12 opened an international conference on Monday with an appeal for action to stop the exploitation of children in war.“At that time, taking a gun and shooting somebody had become as easy as drinking a […]
Yen weakness to top agenda at G7 finance summit
FRANKFURT, Feb 4, 2007 (AFP) – The current weakness of the Japanese yen is likely to top the agenda when finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the Group of Seven (G7) countries gather in the western city of Essen next weekend. But if European governments entertained any hope the club of the world’s seven […]
Sri Lanka tea trade under pressure in first quarter, after record earnings in 2006
February 03 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea crop is set to drop in January after record earnings in the past year, as unfavourable weather slowed a recovery of strike-hit estates, industry officials said. “Estates which normally send had 8,000 to 10,000 kilograms to the auctions, are sending about 2,500 kilograms,” says Lal Alawattegama, of Asia Siyaka […]
‘s biggest mutual fund: report
BEIJING, Feb 2, 2007 (AFP) – China plans a special firm to manage one fifth of its forex reserves, laying the foundations of a behemoth that will handle more money than the biggest mutual fund in the world, state media said Friday.The State Foreign Exchange Investment Company is expected to be in charge of 210 […]
Zimbabwe central bank to limit money printing to curb inflation, calls for fiscal restraint
HARARE, Jan 31, 2007 (AFP) – Zimbabwe’s Reserve Bank governor Gideon Gono on Wednesday unveiled a battery of belt-tightening measures including slashed money supply to put the brakes on four-digit inflation.Gono however did not devalue the local currency, saying it was no panacea. “The urgency of the need to reduce inflation impels that 2007 be […]
Credit Clamp
January 31 (LBO) – The Securities and Exchange Commission has clamped down on brokers who finance customers by giving them extra time to settle, because the practice is undermining the finances of the intermediaries, an official said. No single client (a company, a group of companies or immediate family members) can be given more than […]
Coal industry urged to meet tougher environmental standards
SINGAPORE, Jan 30, 2007 (AFP) – The world’s coal industry needs to sharpen up its act in order to meet tougher environmental standards amid increasing global concern over rising greenhouse gas emissions, experts said Tuesday.Mulyono added it was “unavoidable” for Indonesia, a major coal producer and exporter, to market low-grade coal because of domestic and […]
Worldwide tourist numbers hit record in 2006
MADRID, Jan 29, 2007 (AFP) – The number of tourists worldwide rose 4.5 percent last year from 2005 to reach a record 842 million, with Africa showing the sharpest gain, the World Tourism Organisation reported Monday.It forecast an increase of 4.0 percent in tourist numbers in 2007, noting that the trend was now toward a […]
Citigroup buys Egg from Prudential
LONDON, Jan 29, 2007 (AFP) – British insurance group Prudential on Monday exited the consumer banking sector with the sale of its loss-making Internet bank arm Egg to US giant Citigroup for 575 million pounds in cash.Analysts welcomed the news, which leaves Prudential to concentrate on insurance and asset management, but said the price fell […]
Davos favour greening of business
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 28, 2007 (AFP) – When US Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss mentioned his doubts about climate change during a debate at the World Economic Forum last Friday, gasps emerged from the business-minded audience.“Whether it’s something that we need to be totally alarmed about, or nature taking its course, I don’t know,” said the […]
Only three percent Indians understand economic reforms: poll
NEW DELHI, Jan 26, 2007 (AFP) – India may be registering blistering rates of growth but only three percent of its people understand the economic reforms being implemented and most think they have benefitted only the rich, said a survey published Friday.“Seventy-two percent of Indians were unaware of the economic changes that the country has […]
Blair, Bill and Bono take Davos spotlight
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 26, 2007 (AFP) – Davos regulars Bill Gates, Tony Blair and Bono sought Friday to stir the collective conscience of the annual huddle of global leaders over the plight of the developing world.Bono, the U2 frontman — a rare exception to the bar on celebrity delegates at this year’s gathering of the […]