Category: Other
Chinese become biggest holidaymakers in Maldives
July 13, 2011 (AFP) – Visit the Maldives and there’s a high chance the fellow holidaymakers at your island retreat will be from China, according to new figures that show the Asian giant as the biggest source of visitors. “The Chinese don’t want the beach like the Europeans. They want activities, like visiting other islands, […]
Sri Lanka to get Bajaj four-wheeler
NEW DELHI, July 15, 2011 (AFP) – Indian motorbike maker Bajaj has abandoned plans to develop an ultra-low-cost car with France’s Renault and its Japanese partner Nissan, according to a senior executive. The companies announced in 2009 that they hoped to bring a ,500 minicar to market in 2012, but there have been suggestions for […]
” blasts that kill 21 in Mumbai
MUMBAI, July 14, 2011 (AFP) – Indian investigators Thursday probed triple bomb blasts that killed 21 people in Mumbai, the nation’s commercial capital which is still emerging from the shadows of the deadly 2008 militant attacks. The strongest of the coordinated explosions hit busy districts in the south of the city, the same area targeted […]
‘s inflation hits 9.44% in June
NEW DELHI, July 14, 2011 (AFP) – India’s annual inflation accelerated to 9.44 percent in June, official data showed on Thursday, increasing pressure on the central bank to hike interest rates further. Meanwhile, April’s inflation figure was revised higher to 9.74 percent from a provisional 8.66 percent estimate, according to the data. The rise in […]
Poor intelligence keeps India vulnerable: analysts
NEW DELHI, July 14, 2011 (AFP) – India will remain a soft target for militant attacks until it enforces a radical shift in counter-terror policy that prioritises effective intelligence-gathering, analysts said Thursday. “But India needs to realise that the acquisition of gadgets is not going to compensate for an ill-trained, semi-educated police force. ” Despite […]
” causes upset
MUMBAI, July 13, 2011 (AFP) – Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan’s new film has been a hit at the box office but has also led to protests and even a court case against its dialogue and content, which critics say is vulgar and offensive. The screwball comedy “Delhi Belly”, starring the actor-producer-director’s nephew Imran Khan, revolves […]
‘s low productivity seen eroding tea competitiveness
July 13, 2011 (LBO) – Labour productivity on Sri Lankan tea estates has to be improved if regional plantations companies are to survive and afford wage hikes in future, industry officials said. Lalith Obeysekere, chairman of the Planters’ Association which represents regional tea plantations companies, said the island’s tea estates had higher production costs and […]
Sri Lanka agro chemical firms forecast pesticide shortfalls
July 12, 2011 (LBO) – A group of agro firms have warned that Sri Lanka may run short of pesticides for the next growing season unless a controversy over the presence of arsenic is resolved quickly with independent testing. ‘Croplife Sri Lanka’ an industry grouping representing 26 agro chemical firms said arsenic is not an […]
Port Closed
WELLINGTON, July 11, 2011 (AFP) – New Zealand has refused entry to a boat load of Sri Lankan asylum seekers, saying it would only open the door to “millions of others” and reward people smugglers. A boat containing about 85 Sri Lankans who said they were heading to New Zealand was detained in Indonesian waters […]
US suspends $800 mn in Pakistan military aid
WASHINGTON, July 10, 2011 (AFP) – The United States is withholding some 0 million in aid to Pakistan, almost a third of the . 7 billion in security assistance it provides each year to Islamabad, President Barack Obama’s chief of staff confirmed Sunday. Relations between the key allies, always tricky, have drastically deteriorated since US […]
”: Indian PM
NEW DELHI, July 10, 2011 (AFP) – South Asian nations must make greater efforts to fight terrorism without relying on outside help, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told a regional conference in New Delhi. Stressing that South Asia could prosper as a whole, Singh said there was a need to develop a “culture” in which […]
‘s richest man attacks Western charity ethos
NEW DELHI, July 10, 2011 (AFP) – India’s wealthiest man Mukesh Ambani on Sunday criticised Western philanthropy as counter-productive and said his own country’s approach to charity gave more self-respect to the needy. Ambani, who heads petrochemical giant Reliance Industries, said that rapidly-growing India could create a more sustainable model in which businesses were an […]