Category: Other
‘s ruling party
NEW DELHI, January 4, 2011 (AFP) – One of India’s biggest corruption cases that tarnished late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi in the 1980s returned to haunt the ruling party on Tuesday amid new charges of kickbacks and graft. The weekly current affairs magazine India Today said in its New Year issue that “the size and […]
Sri Lanka plantations mull loans for replanting
Dec 31, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s plantations are considering concessionary loans with interest subsidies from the government to improve replanting of tea, which has fallen behind targets, the Tea Board said. The plantations ministry wants to increase the re- plantation rate of regional plantations corporation estates to three percent a year from the current […]
Indian group buys luxury London hotel Grosvenor House
LONDON, December 31, 2010 (AFP) – The conglomerate, Sahara India Pariwar, has bought London’s luxurious Grosvenor House hotel from state-rescued Royal Bank of Scotland for 470 million pounds (545 million euros, 728 million dollars). “We are extremely happy to announce Grosvenor House joining the Sahara family,” Sahara Group chairman Subrata Roy Sahara said in a […]
Indians to outnumber Chinese in 2025: US
WASHINGTON, December 29, 2010 (AFP) – India is on course to top China as the world’s most populous country in 2025, the US Census Bureau forecast, potentially changing the dynamics between the Asian giants. The latest Census Bureau estimates out this week, which are in line with previous studies, predicted that India would have 1. […]
‘s new rich prove reluctant philanthropists
NEW DELHI, December 30, 2010 (AFP) – A huge charity gift by a high-tech tycoon has shone a harsh light on the philanthropic track record of India’s established and emerging billionaires. Azim Premji, who transformed a family-owned cooking oil firm into the software giant Wipro, announced earlier this month that he was giving two billion […]
Bangladesh to explore gas in restive hill region
DHAKA, December 28, 2010 (AFP) – Bangladesh has invited some of the world’s leading state-owned gas giants to help explore its insurgency-hit southeastern hill tracts region, an official said Tuesday. The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) region makes up one-tenth of the South Asian country’s landmass but has been largely left unexplored due to a decades-long […]
‘s poorest
KAVRE, December 29, 2010 (AFP) – Seven years ago, Nepalese farmer Madhab Parajuli faced an agonising choice: lose his small plot of farmland to mounting debts, or sell one of his kidneys to an organ trafficker. “Local people see that you can give up a kidney and still try to live a healthy life. So, […]
Sri Lanka coconut farmers to get subsidies amid high prices
Dec 28, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s coconut farmers, who are now perhaps getting the highest prices in the world due to agriculture protection, are to get tax payer support in the form of a fertilizer subsidy, the government has said. Earlier in the year Sri Lanka’s desiccated coconut producers proposed a periodically adjusted tax […]
Sri Lanka to get fish canning plants
Dec 28, 2010 (LBO) – Two fish canning plants are to be built in Sri Lanka next year to supply both the export and domestic markets, fisheries minister Rajitha Senaratne said. Fish production has been increasing since the island’s 30-year ethnic war ended in May 2009. “By the end of next year, we aim to […]
India launches sharia stock index for Muslims
MUMBAI, December 27, 2010 (AFP) – India’s Bombay Stock Exchange launched a share index of sharia-compliant companies on Monday in an attempt to open stock-trading to more Muslims. The BSE TASIS Sharia 50 consists of the largest and most liquid sharia-compliant stocks within the BSE 500 index. All the companies have been vetted to ensure […]
Sri Lanka fish prices seen falling when weather improves
Dec 27, 2010 (LBO) – Fish prices in Sri Lanka should come down when the weather improves and Catholic fishermen put out to sea with the end of Christmas celebrations, the fisheries minister Rajitha Senaratne said. Increased sales by the state-owned Ceylon Fisheries Corporation had already brought fish prices down by about 22 percent on […]
‘ warm words
NEW DELHI, December 26, 2010 (AFP) – The theme of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to India was “friends not rivals,” but a border dispute remains a source of tension and, analysts warn, potential conflict between the Asian giants. The joint communique that concluded Wen’s recent visit barely mentioned the long-standing border issue, as both […]