Category: Other
Sri Lanka to restrict coconut land sales
June 22, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka aims to bring in new laws restricting sale of coconut land to extents below five acres under efforts to prevent further reduction of acreage and to increase crops, an official said. Minister of coconut development Jagath Pushpakumara said the new laws would be introduced in parliament in about […]
Sri Lanka tea production falls in May
June 22, 2011 (LBO) – Tea production in Sri Lanka in May 2011 fell 5. 3 percent to 32 million kilos from a year ago, according to statistics released by the Tea Board. The shortfall in production came from the high and medium elevations while low grown teas, which make up the bulk of the […]
Renault to launch low-cost 4×4 in India
PARIS, June 21, 2011 (AFP) – French auto group Renault announced on Tuesday the launch in India of its low-cost four-wheel drive “Duster” vehicle built by its Dacia subsidiary. Duster, a model first introduced in 2010, will be especially adapted for the Indian market, the statement said. Before the end of the year, Renault hopes […]
Pakistan detains officer over links with militants: army
SLAMABAD, June 21, 2011 (AFP) – Pakistan on Tuesday announced the arrest of an army brigadier accused of having contacts with a banned militant group. The information was released seven weeks after US Navy SEALs found and killed Osama bin Laden in the military town of Abbottabad, reviving disturbing questions about ignorance or complicity within […]
Pilatus to sign record aircraft deal with India: report
GENEVA, June 18, 2011 (AFP) – Switzerland’s Pilatus Aircraft is about to sign a record deal to supply 75 of its successful PC-7 trainers to the Indian Air Force for 850 million francs ( billion), a press report said Saturday. The daily Le Temps, which described the contract as the biggest in the company’s history, […]
Rule Making
June 18, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s securities regulator has finalized rules to allow exchange traded funds (ETFs) with Indian help, and the final document is expected to be given legal effect within two months, an official said. “Within the next two months, regulations to enable ETFs to be traded in the Colombo Stock Exchange […]
Three baby elephants killed by Sri Lankan train
June 18, 2011 (AFP) – Three baby elephants were killed when they were hit by a passenger train in Sri Lanka on Saturday, an official said. The trio were crossing the tracks in a forested area near Ambanpola, 93 miles (150 kilometres) north of Colombo, when they were struck by a passenger train bound for […]
Sri Lanka poultry firm to build Rs360mn broiler farm
June 16, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Bairaha Farms, a poultry firm said it is building a 360 million rupee modern broiler farm in the northwestern Puttalam district to increase its production by 15 percent over the next three years. In 2010 prices surged. “Being of a cyclical nature, the poultry business is characterised by […]
India hikes interest rates by 25 basis points
MUMBAI, June 16, 2011 (AFP) – India’s central bank on Thursday raised its key short-term interest rates by 25 basis points — its 10th hike in 16 months — in a bid to tame high inflation stuck at “uncomfortable levels.” The Reserve Bank of India raised its repo rate — at which it lends to […]
Human Smuggling
OTTAWA, June 14, 2011 (AFP) – Canadian police arrested Tuesday four Sri Lankan nationals accused of being behind a 2009 operation that illegally brought 76 Tamils from war-torn Sri Lanka to Canada on a rickety freighter. All 76, including the four people arrested, requested asylum when they arrived off the coast of British Columbia in […]
UK Call
LONDON, June 14, 2011 (AFP) – Britain on Wednesday said “horrific” footage contained within a film documenting the final weeks of Sri Lanka’s civil war constituted “convincing evidence” of war crimes. The Channel 4 documentary, which aired on British television on Tuesday, contained footage of what it said were prisoner executions. It also showed the […]
Film Reaction
COLOMBO, June 15, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Wednesday denied it targeted civilians while crushing Tamil Tiger rebels but said action would be taken if war crimes allegations contained in a new British documentary were true. The Sri Lankan High Commission in London said images shown on Channel 4 on Tuesday night had not […]