Category: Other
Indian court lets man divorce HIV positive wife
NEW DELHI, Nov 2, 2007 (AFP) – An Indian court has granted a man permission to divorce his HIV-positive wife on the grounds that he could no longer enjoy sex with her, a report said Friday. Judge Rajnish Bhatnagar found in favour of the unnamed husband noting that “marriage without sex is anathema,” the Hindustan […]
Sri Lanka small tea grower factory profits surge
Nov 01, 2007 (LBO) – Rising low grown tea prices have helped boost Sri Lanka’s Tea Smallholder Factories’ second quarter profit net profit 151 percent to 33.5 million rupees compared with the same period a year ago. Revenue for the quarter ended September 30, 2007 shot up 62 percent to 578 million rupees, according to […]
Dollar dives to new low against euro after Fed rate cut
NEW YORK, Oct 31, 2007 (AFP) – The dollar slid to new lows against the euro and the pound Wednesday after the US Federal Reserve cut a quarter-point from interest rates. The single European currency topped the 1.45 dollar level for the first time, reaching 1.4504 dollars after the Fed’s widely anticipated short-term rate cut […]
Gold passes 800 dollars an ounce as Fed prints more money
NEW YORK, Oct 31, 2007 (AFP) – The price of gold passed 800 dollars an ounce on Wednesday for the first time since 1980 after the US Federal Reserve lowered its key short-term interest rate, the New York Mercantile Exchange said. Gold futures for December touched 800.80 dollars on the exchange (NYMEX) after the Fed […]
Oil hits new high after Fed rate cut
SINGAPORE, Nov 1, 2007 (AFP) – Oil prices scaled record highs of more than 95 dollars a barrel in Asian trade Thursday after the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates and following news of a surprise decline in US crude stocks. New York’s main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, was trading at […]
‘s Ambani not so rich after all, says company
NEW DELHI, Oct 30, 2007 (AFP) – Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries moved swiftly Tuesday to deny a report that company chief Mukesh Ambani has become the world’s richest man thanks to a surge in India’s stock market.The report by the Press Trust of India putting his wealth at 63.2 billion dollars saw newspapers hailing his […]
Growing pains for Maldives as radicals raise tensions
MALE, Oct 31, 2007 (AFP) – The Maldives has built South Asia’s most successful economy based on luxury tourism, but the atoll nation is now facing religious tensions as it undergoes a difficult transition to democracy.The tranquillity of the paradise holiday destination was shattered in September when Islamic radicals set off a home-made bomb, wounding […]
Paradise Isle
GENEVA, Oct 30, 2007 (AFP) – The UN’s top torture expert, Manfred Nowak, said on Tuesday that torture — including beatings, asphyxiation and burning — was becoming “routine” during counter-terrorism operations in Sri Lanka.Nowak said in statement on his mission to the conflict-torn Indian Ocean island earlier this month that there was evidence that “torture […]
Curbing Corruption
Oct 31, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s bribery and corruption commission has vast powers to probe official misdeeds but cannot act except on a complaint and has its impartiality questioned by the presence of police investigators. Although commission officials say it is one of the most flexible and authoritative bodies compared to similar departments around […]
Moonlighting army moves garbage in tourist paradise
MALE, Oct 29, 2007 (AFP) – The Maldives is known as an upmarket holiday destination with squeaky clean beaches, but it’s an army of moonlighting Bangladeshis who keep the capital from sinking under a mountain of rubbish. The less than one square mile (two square kilometre) Male is one of the world’s most densely populated […]
Indian shares gain 3.82 percent to new record close
MUMBAI, Oct 29, 2007 (AFP) – India’s benchmark share index surged 3.82 percent to a new record close on Monday and crossed 20,000 points for the first time, a gain of nearly 4,000 points in the past six weeks, dealers said. They said hopes that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may cut key interest […]
Oil prices fall from historic highs
SINGAPORE, Oct 30, 2007 (AFP) – Oil retreated in Asian trade Tuesday after spiking to a historic high of over 93 dollars on geopolitical concerns in the Middle East, dealers said.At 10:30 am (0230 GMT) New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, was 84 cents lower at 92.69 dollars a barrel from […]