Category: Other
‘s rupee a victim of global turmoil
NEW DELHI, October 2, 2011 (AFP) – India’s rupee has slid nearly 10 percent in three months against the dollar, a consequence of global economic uncertainty that will stoke already high inflation in Asia’s third-biggest economy. The rupee’s tumble makes import prices of everything from oil, fertilizers to food staples such as pulses, fuelling near-double-digit […]
Sri Lanka value-added tea exports fall
Oct 04, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s value-added tea exports have fallen in recent months in what a tea broker described as a “disturbing trend” as the country is trying to coax its main export up the value chain. Tea bags rose to a “healthy” nine percent in the quarter from six percent a year […]
Lawlessness
Oct 02, 2011 (LBO) – Five police officers have been arrested in Sri Lanka after thousands of angry citizens surrounded a police station seeking justice, where a suspect had died in custody, a media report said. Sri Lanka’s The Sunday Times newspaper said an estimated 3,000 civilians had surrounded a police station in Dompe in […]
Sri Lanka volunteers combat rabies
Oct 01, 2011 (LBO) – Volunteers in Sri Lanka are teaming up to combat rabies spread with free vaccinations which can save lives and also make a dent in 500 million rupees spent each year to treat dog bite victims. Dozens of volunteers teamed up on a hot Sunday afternoon to offer free rabies vaccination […]
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NEW DELHI, September 30, 2011 (AFP) – India’s workaholic Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has not taken a holiday since he took the top job in 2004, according to a new in-depth profile published this week. The 12,000-word study in current affairs journal The Caravan of 79-year-old Singh, under fire for a series of debilitating scandals […]
Zany scientists honored in alternative Nobels
NEW YORK, September 29, 2011 (AFP) – In the ultimate accolade for the world’s mad scientists, spoof Nobel prizes were awarded Thursday for studies into beetle sex, yawning, the desperation of people dying to urinate, and other daffy investigations. The annual Ig Nobel prizes, now in their 21st year, were given out at Harvard University […]
Sri Lanka tea estates still making heavy losses
Sept 30, 2011 (LBO) – Tea estates in Sri Lanka’s central hills have had no respite from a market downturn and continue to incur losses of 150 rupees a kilo owing to lower prices and crops, a broker said. However, despite lower crops in recent months, an anticipated recovery in production in the last quarter […]
Japan tsunami was wake-up call for S. Asia: expert
SEOUL, September 29, 2011 (AFP) – Japan’s March tsunami was a wake-up call for Indian Ocean nations still restoring their coastlines after a massive wave struck in December 2004, an expert said Thursday. “This year’s tsunami heightened awareness among all MFF countries that they are still vulnerable,” said Donald Macintosh, senior adviser to a group […]
Sri Lanka waters among most dangerous for sea turtles: study
MANILA, September 29, 2011 (AFP) – The waters around India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are home to the world’s most endangered sea turtles, according to a study released Thursday aimed at setting a blueprint for global conservation. While it was well known that almost all sea turtle species face extinction, the study by 30 scientists […]
Europe threatens to break off India free-trade talks
BRUSSELS, September 27, 2011 (AFP) – European governments are threatening to break off negotiations with India on a free-trade deal the EU had hoped would be worth 175 billion euros a year, an EU report revealed on Tuesday. Four years after talks began with New Delhi, frustrated European Union trade ministers have taken the decision […]
Criminal Trial
THE HAGUE (AFP) – Dutch prosecutors Tuesday asked for jail sentences between 10 to 16 years against five suspected Tamil Tigers for aiding the Sri Lankan rebel movement from the Netherlands, including collecting funds. Prosecutors said by extension, the men were responsible for the LTTE’s actions like the recruitment of child soldiers and murder. Arrested […]
” needed on India trade deal
BRUSSELS, September 26, 2011 (AFP) – European Union trade commissioner Karel De Gucht warned Monday that a long-planned free-trade agreement between Europe and India is in trouble failing more “flexibility” from both sides. “We remain fully engaged on these negotiations,” the Belgian said after talks in Brussels among the EU’s 27 trade ministers. “But I […]