Category: Other
Fugitive Tipster
NEW YORK (AFP) – US regulators have levied a $34.5 million fine against alleged Galleon case insider trading tipster Deep Shah, who is believed to be hiding in India, a court filing showed Wednesday. Shah is the only one who remains at large. The Sri Lankan-born billionaire founder of Galleon Group, Raj Rajaratnam, was convicted […]
Another Step
Aug 25, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will end nearly three decades of emergency rule, President Mahinda Rajapaksa told the island’s parliament, which has to renew the law every month to give extensive arrest and detention powers to authorities over citizens. President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a special address to parliament said lawmakers would not have […]
‘s record
Aug 25, 2011 (LBO) – Although Sri Lanka’s tea crops have fallen in recent months, the island is likely to match last year’s record production with output seen reviving later in the year, a broker said. “Despite a downturn in production in the month of July, tea production is on course to achieve last years […]
Sri Lanka July 2011 tea output falls sharply
Aug 24, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s July 2011 tea production fell sharply from a year ago, owing to erratic weather conditions, reducing total crop for the year so far to slightly below that of the same 2010 period. Sri Lanka Tea Board statistics showed the July 2011 crop fell 11.5 percent to 24.2 million […]
Sri Lanka tea exporter calls for better labour relations
Aug 23, 2011 (LBO) – A top Sri Lankan tea exporter has suggested more cordial relations between plantations companies and labour unions could reduce “confrontational” approaches to wage negotiations. Fernando said that he believed the conflict with trade unions is largely due to lack of an ongoing dialogue between plantation owners and trade unions. “If […]
Asia lacks social benefits despite growth: ADB
SINGAPORE, August 23, 2011 (AFP) – Most Asian economies have not done enough to provide good jobs and adequate social benefits for their people, despite rapid economic growth over 20 years, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Tuesday. “Now is the time for us to think seriously about these kinds of issues because it’s going […]
Arundhati Roy warns of ultra-nationalism in Hazare
NEW DELHI, August 22, 2011 (AFP) – Indian Booker prize-winning author Arundhati Roy launched a scathing attack Monday on the “aggressive nationalism” behind the anti-corruption drive led by hunger-striking campaigner Anna Hazare. In a column entitled “I’d rather not be Anna” published in The Hindu newspaper, the novelist, essayist and rights activist condemned both the […]
Foreign Killing
August 19, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s High Court Friday handed five Chinese nationals the death penalty for murdering a compatriot at a restaurant near the capital over eight years ago, a court official said. A Chinese woman and two Chinese men were in court Friday to hear the sentence while judges issued a warrant […]
Arrest
August 20, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police on Saturday arrested a top Buddhist monk on a charge of having sex with a 12-year-old girl in violation of strict child protection laws, police said. The 60-year-old monk was accused of abusing the child over a period of one year at his temple in the north-central […]
”’ PM damaged by arrest of activist
NEW DELHI, August 20, 2011 (AFP) – There is no small irony in the fact that India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, known for his probity and integrity, now finds himself fighting for political survival with an anti-corruption activist. When the Congress party won elections in 2004, its decision to name Singh as premier was partly […]
Indian government struggles with mass protests
NEW DELHI, August 17, 2011 (AFP) – India’s graft-tainted government faced a growing crisis on Thursday, with the country rocked by mass anti-corruption protests that have pitted the prime minister against a popular hunger striker. Rallies continued late into the night across India on Wednesday in support of veteran campaigner Anna Hazare, 74, who remained […]
” comes alive as new species
PARIS, August 16, 2011 (AFP) – A new species of eel found in the gloom of an undersea cave is a “living fossil” astonishingly similar to the first eels that swam some 200 million years ago, biologists reported on Wednesday. The discovery was made in March last year by a team led by Masaki Miya […]