Category: Other
Sri Lanka plans inland fisheries expansion
July 25, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is expecting inland fish production to rise 15 percent to 60,000 tonnes in 2011, and is targeting 90,000 tonnes by 2013 backed by a program to push up production, officials said. Rohana Subasinghe, senior fishery resource officer at the Food and Agriculture Organization said Asia accounted for about […]
Tied Hands
July 25, 2011 (LBO) – The chairman of Sri Lanka’s state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, Ashantha de Mel had “no choice” but to use zero costs derivatives to which went against him when oil price fell “dramatically” in 2008, according to a ruling by a London court. A London court which dismissed a counter claim by […]
” India still reluctant to lead: analysts
NEW DELHI, July 24, 2011 (AFP) – A US challenge to India to take a more assertive role on the global stage runs counter to a decades-old foreign policy that has nearly always valued diplomatic caution over strategic ambition. “We need to contest the orthodoxy that says, ‘do as little as possible’”. Since independence in […]
India closer to opening up $450 bln retail sector
NEW DELHI, July 23, 2011 (AFP) – A top Indian government panel has approved a plan to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country’s vast retail market in what would be one of the country’s biggest economic reforms. “Business confidence will grow. It will definitely benefit the farmers as well as consumers, besides attracting […]
Sri Lanka mulls compulsory rubber auctions: minister
July 23, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s plantations industries ministry is exploring the possibility of introducing a compulsory auction system for rubber like the tea industry, plantations industries minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said. “The government has decided to investigate the possibility of having a compulsory auction system like what we have in the tea industry also […]
India private carrier Jet Airways slips to Q1 loss
MUMBAI, July 22, 2011 (AFP) – India’s largest private sector airline, Jet Airways, has swung to a quarterly net loss from a profit a year earlier, it reported Friday, as rising fuel costs offset a rise in passenger air traffic. India this week lowered its growth forecast for this financial year to 8.6 percent from […]
Sri Lanka tea crop steady
July 22, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea crop is steady at the half-year mark although there was a dip in June, with global tea statistics showing a big shortfall in East Africa while output is up in India, brokers said. The production of low grown teas, which make up over half the crop, was […]
Eyeing China, Clinton urges India to take leader role
CHENNAI, July 20, 2011 (AFP) – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged India on Wednesday to be more assertive in Asia, reflecting US desire for New Delhi to emerge as a counter-weight to Chinese power. Speaking in the Indian city of Chennai — a southern trading port looking out towards east Asia — Clinton […]
India reveals massive uranium discovery
NEW DELHI, July 19, 2011 (AFP) – A new mine in south India could contain the largest reserves of uranium in the world, a government official said in remarks reported Tuesday, signalling a major boost for the energy-hungry nation. The government has been seeking new supplies of uranium, which is refined into nuclear fuel, but […]
India signs deal to end ethnic unrest in tea hills
NEW DELHI, July 18, 2011 (AFP) – India was to sign a deal Monday to grant autonomy to an ethnic group in the Himalayan tea-growing area of Darjeeling in an effort to end decades of often-violent demands for a homeland. Bimal Gurung formed the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha pressure group in 2007 and rebelled against the […]
‘s Tata group to sell $700 flat-pack house
NEW DELHI, July 17, 2011 (AFP) – The Indian company that launched the world’s cheapest car has unveiled its latest product for the fast-growing nation: a flat-pack house that costs just 0 and can be built in a week. The Nano car drew worldwide attention when it was launched in 2009, but sales figures have […]
Lawlessness
July 16, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s lawlessness and injustice was systematically engineered by the best legal minds in the country over a long period and the island’s minority are not the only victims, a lawyer who has also spoken out against judicial autocracy has said. Kishali Pinto- Jayawardena, lawyer and author, addressing a meeting […]