Category: Other
Virgin to form alliance with AirAsia for long-haul ops
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 7, 2007 (AFP) – Asian low-cost airline pioneer Tony Fernandes looks set to score a major coup with British businessman Richard Branson coming on board to help get his struggling, high-risk long-haul venture off the ground, analysts said Tuesday.Branson of Virgin Group is to take a 20 percent stake in Malaysia’s AirAsia […]
Mugabe at anti-poverty summit in Malaysia
LANGKAWI, Malaysia, Aug 6, 2007 (AFP) – Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, internationally condemned for his nation’s economic meltdown and human rights abuses, was given a warm welcome Monday at an anti-poverty summit in Malaysia, delegates said.While he has proved elusive to the packs of journalists and photographers staking out the venue, he was said to […]
US soldier gets 110 years in rape, killing of Iraqi girl
WASHINGTON, Aug 4, 2007 (AFP) – A US soldier was sentenced Saturday to 110 years in jail for raping and killing a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and slaying her family, the army said.That investigation focused a critical light on the US military’s controversial rules of engagement in Iraq.“Private First Class Jesse Spielman was sentenced to 110 […]
Zimbabwe money printing, price control mess, boom for border town
MUSINA, South Africa, Aug 5, 2007 (AFP) – James Diop rings up another sale and then contemplates his good fortune to work in a supermarket in South Africa as the stores across the border in Zimbabwe grow emptier by the day.“We’ve had a 300 percent increase in sales since June which is unprecedented … and […]
Rural Japan puts thorn in side of farm reform
TOKYO, Aug 5, 2007 (AFP) – Fearing their government cares more about big business than small farmers, Japan’s rural dwellers are deserting the ruling conservative camp, leaving its plan to open up the agriculture market in doubt.With the opposition now in control of one house of parliament, experts say the government may find it harder […]
Level Play
August 4, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state sector has to improve governance for the country to progress, at a time when private firms were coming under increasingly tight regulation and self regulation, a senior business executive said. Former chairman of the Colombo Stock Exchange and current chairman of Hatton National Bank Rienzie Wijetilleke said […]
China blacklists companies exporting poor-quality goods
BEIJING, Aug 4, 2007 (AFP) – China has established a blacklist of companies that have violated rules on the quality of exports, the commerce ministry said Saturday amid growing global concern about the safety of China-made goods.“We have set up a blacklist system for companies in the exporting sector and punished some companies that have […]
Baby Probe
COLOMBO, Aug 3, 2007 (AFP) – A Dutch couple has been detained in custody for another two weeks following their arrest nine days ago for trying to illegally adopt an infant, officials said Friday.The couple, who appeared before the Colombo Chief Magistrate Kusala Sarojini Weerawardena on Friday, were to be questioned later in the day […]
India and US in landmark nuclear deal
NEW DELHI, Aug 3, 2007 (AFP) – India and the United States unveiled on Friday the text of an operating agreement for their controversial civilian nuclear technology deal, with key provisions on fuel supplies and safeguards.The agreement, which took two years to complete, spells out how a plan for Washington to share nuclear technology with […]
India inflation eases but RBI warns of rising commodity prices
NEW DELHI, Aug 3, 2007 (AFP) – India’s inflation rate eased to 4.36 percent on falling food prices, official data on Friday showed, after the central bank held benchmark interest rates steady earlier in the week. Inflation dropped in line with market expectations for the week ended July 21 from 4.41 per cent for the […]
Sri Lanka earns more by selling less tea
Aug 2, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s tea export volumes fell by 10 percent in the first six months of this year, but earnings rose marginally by three percent, a commodity broker said Thursday. Sri Lanka, which is better known for its high quality aromatic tea known by the country’s previous name Ceylon, is made […]
IMF plays down sharemarket falls as APEC finance meet opens
COOLUM, Australia, Aug 2, 2007 (AFP) – The IMF played down recent sharemarket turmoil and said it would not lower its global economic outlook Thursday as a meeting of Asia Pacific finance ministers opened in Australia.International Monetary Fund (IMF) deputy managing director John Lipsky also said interest rates may need to rise in some countries […]