Category: Other
China, Pakistan to formalise 10 billion dollar deals
ISLAMABAD, December 18, 2010 (AFP) – China and Pakistan are set to conclude another 10 billion dollars’ worth of deals on Saturday, the latest signings on a trade focused trip to South Asia for Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. Business leaders are scheduled to formalise deals at Islamabad’s five-star Marriott Hotel, where a devastating suicide truck […]
Expert Visit
December 18, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has softened its stance and agreed to welcome a panel of experts appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to probe alleged war crimes, a minister said Saturday. UN sources said no dates had yet been finalised for the UN experts to visit Sri Lanka, but noted that […]
Sri Lanka tea prices seen firm in 2011 first quarter
Dec 17, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea could see strong demand in the first quarter of 2011 as it is a low cropping period and supply and demand are finely balanced at the end of this year, brokers said. There was good demand at the penultimate auction this week and prices were mostly firm. […]
Sri Lanka battles coconut price spike
December 17, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s authorities have imposed price control coconuts — a dietary staple — by setting a ceiling price and arranging imports to bring down prices. So important is the coconut to the national cuisine that shortages in the past have had serious political implications and even been held responsible for […]
Sri Lanka tea exporter goes carbon neutral
Dec 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea firm Eswaran Brothers Exports has got ‘Carbon Neutral’ certification by reducing emissions and buying carbon offsets from a biomass renewable energy project on a tea estate, a statement said. “It’s among the initial steps we have taken in our drive to become a truly ethical and sustainable […]
Sri Lanka Bairaha to expand broiler production with new farm
Dec 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan poultry firm Bairaha Farms aims to increase production by more than half in three years with a total estimated investment of almost 360 million rupees on a new farm, a statement said. The poultry producer, which owns and manages a large-scale chicken processing factory and also operates breeder […]
Animal Rights
Dec 14, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan animal lovers and welfare organizations have raised concern over the rounding up of dogs near a popular promenade in Colombo, saying it might violate the president’s ‘no kill’ policy on strays. Just 15 of these have been won. The challenges in going to court include high costs, having […]
Indian microlenders face crisis, warns industry group
NEW DELHI, December 12, 2010 (AFP) – India’s seven-billion-dollar microfinance industry could be thrown into crisis by a bill that seeks to regulate lending to the poor more tightly, a lobby representing the sector has warned. The sector is also under fire in neighbouring Bangladesh where the micro lending model was pioneered, with Prime Minister […]
Court orders Air India to rehire overweight air hostess
NEW DELHI, December 10, 2010 (AFP) – An Indian court ordered state-run Air India on Friday to rehire an airline hostess that the carrier had sacked nearly a decade ago for being overweight. Dismissed overweight women have previously unsuccessfully challenged Air India’s policy in Indian courts, which upheld clauses in the group’s employment contracts. Neepa […]
Nations set up global climate fund
CANCUN, December 11, 2010 (AFP) – Global talks on climate change on Saturday set up a new fund to manage billions of dollars in aid to poor nations in a hard-fought package urging deep cuts in industrial emissions. After two weeks of talks in Mexico and two virtually sleepless final days, more than 190 countries […]
Baby Saga
December 10, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s child protection authorities have traced the biological mother of a six-year-old girl who was suspected to have been sold as an orphan after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, police said Friday. Staff at the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) took custody of the child after neighbours complained that […]
Sri Lanka tea exporters to pack in Iran
Dec 10, 2010 (LBO) – Iran, which restricts import of value-added teas, has offered to let Sri Lankan exporters pack and sell tea in the country under a preferential tariff quota scheme, the government said. Tea is Sri Lanka’s main export to Iran, the island’s sixth largest trading partner with total two-way trade between the […]