Category: Other
Sri Lanka to give incentives for rice export, aquaculture
Nov 21, 2011 (LBO) – The state will give incentives to process rice for export, aquaculture in especially in former war torn areas in the east of the island, president Mahinda Rajapaksa said presenting a budget for 2012. Rajapaksa said funding for improved seed production and agriculture extension services for paddy will be increased. Rice […]
Sri Lanka to distribute unused plantation land among small farmers
Nov 21, 2011 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government is to take back 37,000 acres of unused land from regional plantations companies and distribute it to small farmers, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said. The lands to be re-distributed will be given small holder families for 30 years. The small farmers will also be given low cost […]
Legal Basis
Nov 20, 2011 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan activist who had petitioned courts to review an expropriation law says recent interpretations given by state spokesmen may mislead citizens whose property was seized. Sri Ameresekere, an accountant who has been involved in several public interest petitions said statements by Sri Lanka’s central bank and information minister […]
Indian govt, to moot South Asian postal union
NEW DELHI, (AsiaPulse) – The Indian government is likely to discuss the proposal to form South Asian Postal Union, a move that will enhance regional cooperation and can lead to reduction of postal tariffs among SAARC member states. “The proposal to set up South Asian Postal Union (SAPU) is scheduled for discussion in the Cabinet […]
Malaysia sovereign fund to invest in India
MUMBAI, (Asia Pulse) – Khazanah Nasional, the sovereign wealth fund of the Malaysian government, plans to invest in sectors like financial services, infrastructure and energy in India in the near future. “We are looking at sectors like financial services, infrastructure and energy for investment in the near future,” Khazanah Nasional executive director Michael Jude Fernandes […]
Naughty lemmings upset global warming beliefs
PARIS, November 18, 2011 (AFP) – Really, it’s enough to drive a climate scientist over the edge. In past years, satellite images have shown a perceptible growth in grasses and shrubs in parts of the Arctic, a phenomenon pinned on global warming. But part of the greening could come from lemmings, surprised researchers have found. […]
Sri Lanka based seed bank under SAARC common standard
Nov 18, 2011 (LBO) – A seed bank to be set up in Sri Lanka will operate under common standards to be developed by countries in the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC). Information minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the cabinet of ministers had given approval for the seed bank to be established in Sri […]
Indian airline Kingfisher posts widening losses
MUMBAI, November 15, 2011 (AFP) – Kingfisher Airlines said Tuesday it had doubled its losses in the July-September quarter, as its billionaire chief Vijay Mallya was set to announce plans to keep the Indian company afloat. The country’s second-largest airline by market share showed a net loss of 4. 69 billion rupees ($93 million) for […]
Freedom Debate
Nov 14, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court came under fire in parliament on a debate on an expropriation bill, after the highest court reportedly said it was consistent with the constitution. The bill went to the Supreme Court after the cabinet of ministers gave their assent. “How can the Supreme Court, like this […]
Sri Lanka spice theft seen as organized crime
Nov 12, 2011 (LBO) – Theft on spice plantations in Sri Lanka has become a major problem and amounts to ‘organised robbery’, Sarada de Silva, head of a Sri Lankan grouping representing the spice industry said. One plantation company which had nurtured a large extent of cinnamon, the island’s main spice, found their first crop […]
India warns against protectionism in debt fallout
MUMBAI, November 13, 2011 (AFP) – India warned on Sunday against protectionism as the world grapples with the sovereign debt crisis, portraying itself as a relative haven of stability in troubled economic times. Commerce minister Anand Sharma said India was an influential emerging economy and that the country “will be part of the stabilisation process […]
South Asia vows to boost trade as tensions ease
ADDU, November 11, 2011 (AFP) – South Asian leaders ended a summit in the Maldives Friday with pledges to increase regional trade as arch rivals India and Pakistan demonstrated signs of easing tensions between them. The US, which is an observer of SAARC, welcomed the easing of Indo-Pakistan tensions and said increasing trade and economic […]