Category: Other
Weary foreigners ramp up mass exodus from Lebanon
NICOSIA, July 21, 2006 (AFP) – Thousands of foreigners huddled in makeshift transit centres Friday, weary but relieved, as governments around the world ramped up a mass evacuation from the raging conflict in Lebanon. Warships, cruisers and ferries criss-crossed the eastern Mediterranean from ports in Lebanon toward Cyprus and Turkey, packed with refugees, while planes […]
Tea exporters in cash and logistics crunch due to port strike
July 20, 2006 (LBO) – A backlog of tea shipments and falling prices due to trade union strikes at the Colombo port has vessels bypassing Sri Lanka and tea exporters worried over tight cash flows. Trade union action and go-slows at the port over a wage hike entered its tenth day on Thursday, with no solution […]
Indian bloggers angry over blocking of sites after Mumbai blasts
NEW DELHI, July 19, 2006 (AFP) – Indian Internet users, angry at being denied access to popular weblogs, lashed out at the government on Wednesday for banning some websites in the wake of last week’s Mumbai train bombings.There are nearly 38 million Internet users among the 1.1 billion population. “India has clearly joined the Internet […]
Shopping an Asian pastime: survey
SINGAPORE, July 19, 2006 (AFP) – Shopping for shopping’s sake has become a “national pastime” for many Asian countries, a global online survey said Wednesday. Seven of the top 10 markets that shop once a week for recreation all hail from the region, the survery by ACNielsen said. The survey of 22,000 Internet users in […]
Japan to cut foreign aid budget by three percent
TOKYO, July 19, 2006 (AFP) – Japan plans to cut its budget for foreign aid, long a top tool of Tokyo’s foreign policy, by three percent in the fiscal year starting in April 2007 due to financial constraints, officials said Wednesday.Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki and Foreign Minister Taro Aso agreed on the plan over the […]
Doggie hotel opens — 23 dollars a night, television optional
WASHINGTON, July 18, 2006 (AFP) – Washingtonians can now drop their pooches off at a pet hotel that cares for their friendly canines in a five-star environment — pet-themed television shows optional. In the mahogany paneled lobby of the PetSmart PetHotel, which just opened in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, the pets’ human “parents” line […]
Sri Lankan maid killed as Israel pounds Lebanon
BEIRUT, July 18, 2006 (AFP) – Israeli jets pounded Lebanon with a blistering wave of deadly raids under cover of darkness on Tuesday, the seventh day of an assault that has sent tens of thousands of people fleeing for their lives.Helicopters, plus ferries and other passenger ships were being commandeered to pick up foreign nationals […]
Standard Chartered set to take over Pakistan bank
KARACHI, July 18, 2006 (AFP) – Emerging markets giant Standard Chartered is completing a deal to buy Pakistan’s Union Bank in what would be the South Asian country’s largest corporate takeover, banking officials said Tuesday. The British-based bank plans to acquire a 49 percent stake in the company from a Saudi investor, they said. “Due […]
New York Times to shrink pages, staff
NEW YORK, July 18, 2006 (AFP) – The New York Times said Tuesday that in 2008 it will narrow down its pages by 38 milimeters (1.5 inches), close a printing operation in New Jersey and slash its staff by 250 workers to save 42 million dollars a year The measures that will go into effect […]
Malaysian ministers ask their drivers to slow down after fines blitz
KUALA LUMPUR, July 18, 2006 (AFP) – Malaysian ministers have asked their drivers to stick to the speed limit after several ministers, including Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, racked up numerous unpaid traffic fines.Deputy Transport Minister Tengku Azlan Sultan Abu Bakar told parliament the cabinet had resolved that ministers and deputy ministers were not exempt […]
Public Smoke
July 18, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s monopoly cigarette maker has asked for six months to enforce a public smoking and advertising ban, following legal amendments to anti-smoking laws that were passed in July. The amendments to the National Tobacco and Alcohol Authority Act softens some of the rules on public smoking in hotels, restaurants […]
Indian villagers perform marriage of donkeys to promote peace
NEW DELHI, July 17, 2006 (AFP) – A group of Indian villagers presided over the marriage of two donkeys at an ancient Hindu temple in southern India in a bid to promote world peace, a report said Monday.The wedding took place Sunday evening in the Sri Thirumoola Natha Swamy Temple in Tamil Nadu state, the […]