Category: Other
19 dead as monsoon lashes Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, June 9, 2013 (AFP) – Monsoon rains and strong winds in Sri Lanka have killed at least 19 people with dozens more missing, most of them fishermen caught in rough seas, officials said on Sunday. A 20-foot (17-metre) long whale washed ashore in Colombo on Saturday while a stranded giant sea turtle was rescued […]
Five dead, dozens missing as monsoon lashes Sri Lanka
June 8, 2013 (AFP) – At least five people were killed and dozens were missing as strong monsoon rains and wind lashed Sri Lanka on Saturday, damaging buildings on the tropical island, police said.Five people were confirmed dead, four at sea and one on land, while dozens of fishermen were missing, police spokesman Buddhika Siriwardena […]
Sri Lanka to assess marine fish stocks
June 07, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will conduct a comprehensive marine fisheries stock assessment in 2013 for the first time in nearly four decades with Thai assistance, an official said. Fisheries minister Rajitha Seneratne said last month that fishing vessels from Japan to be run by Koyoshi Kimura, a sushi restaurant chain owner known […]
Sri Lanka Sunshine Holdings cuts plantations unit stake
June 7, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Sunshine Holdings said it had sold a stake in its plantations unit to Pyramid Wilmar Plantations (Pvt) Ltd, for 910.3 million rupees. The sale cut its stake in Estate Management Services (Pvt) Ltd to 33.15 percent from 51 percent by the sale of 5.59 million shares, the firm […]
Sri Lanka Tea Smallholder Factories expands leaf suppliers
June 06, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Tea Smallholder Factories Ltd, a unit of John Keells Holdings, which produces tea from green leaf bought from independent growers said it had expanded suppliers during the past year. The company runs a network of eight factories. Last year it had increased suppliers by 2,714 to 11,532 direct […]
Sri Lanka cigarette production down 15-pct
June 01, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s cigarette production has slumped 15 percent over two decades to 4.27 billion sticks and 21 percent of the male population and 0.8 percent of the female population still smoked, a media report said.The Island newspaper quoted the Pubudu Sumanasekara, the Alcohol and Drug Information Centre (ADIC), an anti […]
Indian economy grows at slowest rate in a decade
NEW DELHI, May 31, 2013 (AFP) – India’s economy grew by 5.0 percent in 2012/2013, its slowest annual rate in a decade, in another blow to the corruption-hit government ahead of national elections due by next year, data showed Friday.India’s wholesale inflation, its most widely watched measure, cooled last month to a surprise 41-month low […]
‘s Malwatte Valley Plantations ups spice, fruit crop
May 28, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Malwatte Valley Plantations Plc, a tea and rubber growing company said it was expanding commercial spice and fruit cultivation.. Chairman Willem Bogtstra told shareholders in an annual review that the firm is focusing on pepper, cardamoms, rambutan, avocado, mango and mandarin, using currently uncultivated land. “During the review […]
‘s Watawala Plantations in profits with palm oil
May 23, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Watawala Plantations Plc reported profits of 124 million rupees in the March 2013 quarter down 54 percent from a year earlier, as commodity prices eased, with palm oil continuing to perform well.The firm reported earnings of 53 cents per share for the quarter, in accounts filed with the […]
Australia set to cull 10,000 wild horses
SYDNEY, May 22, 2013 (AFP) – A controversial cull of up to 10,000 wild horses in Australia’s harsh Outback reportedly began Wednesday in a bid to control the feral animals which officials say are destroying the land. The Central Land Council said animals — including horses, donkeys and camels — were dying in their thousands […]
Visiting Chinese PM vows to build trust with India
NEW DELHI, May 20, 2013 (AFP) – Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pledged Monday to build trust with India and declared that ties between the Asian giants were key to world peace as he visited New Delhi only weeks after a border spat.Speaking alongside his counterpart Manmohan Singh, Li said China wanted to increase cooperation with […]
‘s troubled garment hub
DHAKA, May 20, 2013 (AFP) – Bangladeshi police fired rubber bullets and tear gas at thousands of garment workers Monday as they demanded a wage hike at a protest in a manufacturing hub outside the capital Dhaka.Police said they reacted after workers blocked a key highway in the Ashulia industrial area, home to hundreds of […]