Category: Other
Sri Lanka finds nearly 6,000 elephants in count
Sep 02, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s authorities say nearly 6,000 elephants had been found in an island wide census, which was slammed by conservationists as a cover for rulers to identify tusked elephants for capture and domestication. “Out of the total wild elephant population 1107 are calves and juveniles,” minister of agrarian services and […]
Detention Order
Aug 31, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Wednesday used draconian anti-terror laws to detain thousands of Tamil rebel suspects who would have had to be freed when a state of emergency ended after 28 years, an official said. Attorney General Mohan Peiris said President Mahinda Rajapakse invoked regulations under the Prevention of Terrorism Act […]
‘s economic boom fuels booze bonanza
PUNE, August 31, 2011 (AFP) – It’s Friday night at a microbrewery pub in Pune, western India, and Swapnil Dakshindas and his friends don’t know which beer to choose. The barman pours four different brews, fermented in giant steel vats just next door, for them to try. “It’s fresh, has no preservatives and I know […]
‘s Maruti Suzuki
MUMBAI, August 31, 2011 (AFP) – India’s largest car maker by sales Maruti Suzuki said it restarted production at one of its plants on Wednesday after locking workers out in a dispute over alleged sabotage earlier this week. “Maruti started assembly operations in Manesar, rolling out the first Swift car since production halted on Monday, […]
Detention End
August 31, 2011 (AFP) – About 1,200 alleged Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka will be released, with the end of emergency rule imposed 28 years ago to deal with the separatist movement, state media said Wednesday. The Daily News quoted Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem as saying that the end of emergency rule, announced by […]
India proposes to allow more private banks
MUMBAI, August 29, 2011 (AFP) – India’s central bank on Monday outlined proposals to allow more private players in the banking sector to foster greater competition and widen the availability of banking services. India’s state-run banks dominate the sector and inefficient practices and bloated workforces have brought calls for more private sector capital to reinvigorate […]
‘s killers
CHENNAI, August 30, 2011 (AFP) – Judges in Chennai on Tuesday delayed by two months the execution of three men convicted of the 1991 assassination of former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi. The three men were due to be hanged on September 9 at a jail in the southern state of Tamil Nadu after India’s […]
Compounded
Aug 30, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s securities watchdog has fined Environmental Resources Inc and several officers, over a disclosure related offence, market sources said. Sri Lanka’s Securities and Exchange Commission earlier sent the firm a notice of action, over a disclosure related matter. Under Sri Lanka’s securities law, a person charged with securities fraud […]
Karachi bloodshed threatens havoc for Pakistan
KARACHI, August 29, 2011 (AFP) – Murder gangs rooted in Karachi’s boiling cauldron of ethnic politics are waging a savage fight for power and space in Pakistan’s financial capital, threatening to destabilise the entire country. At one of Karachi’s overflowing morgues, Amir Ali, clutching a photograph of his missing brother on his wedding day, searches […]
Indian anti-graft activist ends 13-day fast
NEW DELHI, August 28, 2011 (AFP) – Indian anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare ended his 13-day hunger strike on Sunday triggering wild celebrations among supporters after parliament agreed to consider his demands. Hazare’s fast at an open-air venue in New Delhi attracted tens of thousands of people every day as a nationwide protest movement emerged to […]
Sri Lanka investors stumped by low labour productivity in tea estates
Aug 27, 2011 (LBO) – Investors are losing interest in Sri Lanka’s plantations as rising wages without productivity gains are making companies reluctant to invest in the replanting needed to sustain the industry, a business group has warned. Sri Lanka™s competitiveness as a tea producer has declined with each successive wage hike with no commensurate […]
‘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 […]