Category: Other
” during World Cup
DHAKA, January 30, 2011 (AFP) – The mayor of Chittagong city in southern Bangladesh said Sunday that he would pay hundreds of beggars a daily wage to keep them off the streets during the cricket World Cup. Manzur Alam said that about 300 disabled beggars would be given 150 taka (two dollars) a day after […]
Court Action
WASHINGTON, January 29, 2011 (AFP) – Members of Sri Lanka’s Tamil minority on Friday filed a lawsuit in the United States against the island’s president, seeking million in damages over alleged extrajudicial killings. Activists from the Tamil diaspora spearheaded legal action after President Mahinda Rajapakse quietly traveled to the United States, in a test of […]
Truck People
Jan 28, 2011 (LBO) – Four Sri Lankans are among 219 migrants discovered by authorities squeezed into a truck in northern Mexico who were hoping to enter the United States, a media report said. The Washington Post newspaper said most of the migrants were from Central America but six were from Sri Lanka and four […]
Sri Lanka poultry firm net up five fold in Dec
Jan 27, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Bairaha Farms, a poultry breeder and processor said net profits for the December 2010 quarter rose 546 percent to 163 million rupees from a year earlier, with revenues growing 25 percent to 706 million rupees. The poultry industry is experiencing strong demand and high prices after a slump […]
Age Limit
Jan 26, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has raised the minimum age of those going abroad as domestic workers to 21 years from 18 to mainly to protect young female workers, the government said. “As per the data nearly 50 percent of Sri Lankans migrating for foreign employment are females of which large category goes […]
Prison Riot
January 24, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lankan prison guards opened fire Monday to halt a riot by prisoners protesting against poor conditions, killing at least one inmate and wounding another 20, an official said. Rounds of ammunition were fired as prisoners lit fires at the prison in the town of Anuradhapura, a prison official in […]
Sri Lanka Horana Plantation profits up 80-pct in Dec
Jan 25, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Horana Plantations, which grows tea and rubber said profits in the December 2010 quarter grew 80 percent to 135 million rupees, while revenues increased only 5.5 percent to 560 million rupees. The firms produces about 4.0 million kilos of tea a year and 1.6 million kilos of rubber. […]
Bangladesh orders probe into market slump
DHAKA, January 24, 2011 (AFP) – Bangladesh has ordered a probe into the slump on the Dhaka Stock Exchange and unveiled a series of reforms to restore confidence in the market. The move follows the index’s 30-percent fall since it hit a historic high of 8,918. 51 on December 5, with the crisis being blamed […]
Sri Lanka tea output hits record high in 2010
January 22, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka, one of the world’s biggest producers of black tea, reported Saturday that output hit a record high in 2010, helped by good weather. The total crop for 2010 grew by 13. 1 percent to 329.4 million kilograms (72 4.7 million pounds) from 291.1 million kilograms a year earlier, […]
Anti Smuggling
OTTAWA, January 19, 2011 (AFP) – Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews renewed calls Wednesday for tougher measures to curb human smuggling, amid reports the defeated Tamil rebels are regrouping in his country. Toews said “new information” suggests that “syndicated criminal networks are organizing migrant smuggling ventures potentially destined for Canada. ” Without elaborating, he […]
Sri Lanka to open rice flour factory with state backing
Jan 20, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is opening a rice flour factory with a loan from a state bank re-financed by the central bank, the monetary authority said. The central bank said the monetary “in association with several key stakeholders and two state banks, is currently promoting rice based industries in the country with […]
‘s IndiGo to start overseas flights
NEW DELHI, January 20, 2011 (AFP) – India’s ambitious budget airline IndiGo will start international operations in August, the company said in a statement, a week after it placed a huge order for 180 new aircraft. The aviation ministry has approved IndiGo’s proposal to launch services to Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai and Muscat. “IndiGo is delighted […]