Category: Other
France, Germany pledge to defend independent ECB
TOULOUSE, France, July 16, 2007 (AFP) – France and Germany agree on the need to keep the European Central Bank free of political meddling, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday. “We are both in agreement on the fact that the European Central Bank is independent.It is very important,” Merkel told a joint news conference with […]
Bangladesh to donate Buddha hair relic to Sri Lanka
DHAKA, July 15, 2007 (AFP) – The small Buddhist community in Bangladesh plans to donate a few strands of a lock of hair said to have come from the Buddha to Sri Lanka as a goodwill gesture, officials said Sunday. Three cabinet ministers from majority-Buddhist Sri Lanka along with religious leaders are scheduled to arrive […]
Zimbabwe arrests business people as money printing drives prices up
HARARE, July 13, 2007 (AFP) – Authorities in Zimbabwe announced the arrest of hundreds more retailers and executives as part of an ongoing price crackdown Friday as it emerged the head of the central bank had warned against the blitz. Mugabe has warned that his government will seize and nationalise companies that refuse to toe […]
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 […]
Sri Lanka low grown teas fetch record prices
July 13, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s low grown tea prices have surged owing to strong demand from key buying countries and a shortfall in the crop, brokers said. Prices of low grown teas, grown mainly in the low country districts and by smallholders, have been climbing steadily for the past one year. But the […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]