Category: Other
‘s 35-dollar computer
NEW DELHI, December 9, 2010 (AFP) – The Indian government won headlines around the world when it unveiled a prototype 35-dollar tablet computer in July, but questions are now growing over whether the project is just a pipe dream. “The One Laptop per Child Association in the US was difficult to comprehend and there was […]
India to attend Nobel ceremony: report
NEW DELHI, December 7, 2010 (AFP) – India will attend Friday’s Nobel peace prize ceremony in Oslo for jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, the country’s national news agency said on Tuesday. The Press Trust of India (PTI) did not give details or say who will represent India at the ceremony. Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Vishnu […]
Sri Lanka runs out of chicken as tourists flock to island
December 8, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka is set to import chicken for the first time in over two decades as consumption zooms due to a tourist bonanza and rising incomes on the formerly war-ravaged island, a minister said Wednesday. Trade Minister Johnston Fernando said he had ordered the import of 2,500 tonnes of chicken […]
Thai Crackdown
BANGKOK, December 8, 2010 (AFP) – Thai authorities said Wednesday they had arrested 45 migrants from Sri Lanka in the latest of a series of crackdowns in recent months. The Sri Lankans, who were rounded up at a crowded apartment in a Bangkok suburb, appear to be economic migrants hoping to travel to a third […]
‘s rural rupee inspires tech innovations
NEW DELHI, December 7, 2010 (AFP) – India’s hunger for new technology is as sharp in its countless small villages as in its shiny office towers or shopping malls — and businesses are waking up to an area of massive potential growth. Specific designs being aimed at Indian villagers include a mobile phone cash-transfer system, […]
Bangladesh says pirates steering ship towards Somalia
DHAKA, December 6, 2010 (AFP) – A Bangladeshi-flagged vessel hijacked by pirates in the Arabian Sea off the coast of India was heading towards the Somali coast on Monday, the head of Bangladesh’s shipping department said. Officials said Bangladesh’s shipping department had also contacted a British anti-piracy office in Dubai and a regional anti-piracy office […]
Asset Realization
Dec 05, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court which is hearing a case on liquidating assets of a failed financial firm has approved the sale of hotel to repay depositors, a media report said. Ceysands and Golden Key are in Sri Lanka’s Ceylinco group. Golden Key depositors are said to be owed between 13 […]
‘s workforce boom is a mixed blessing: experts
NEW DELHI, December 5, 2010 (AFP) – An explosion of working-age people in India could serve as an engine of economic growth — or bring social turmoil, experts say. Over the next two decades, India’s working-age population will increase by 240 million — four times the entire population of Britain — according to investment house […]
Sri Lanka October tea exports hit new high
Dec 02, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea export earnings hit a new high in October 2010 as shipments rose to their highest level in four years amid high prices, brokers said. Some of the BOP type teas rose by over 50 rupees a kilo. Prices of low grown teas, which make up the bulk […]
Sri Lanka commodity export tax seen hitting grower income
Nov 30, 2010 (LBO) – An increase in tax on Sri Lanka’s bulk tea exports is likely to reduce prices paid by buyers although it had no immediate impact owing to prevailing strong demand, brokers said. The cess on all other value added tea products will remain at 7. 50 rupees a kilo. “The 3.50 […]
Sri Lanka turns former Tiger hideout into wildlife sanctuary
Sri Lanka turns former Tiger hideout into wildlife sanctuary November 30, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka is to turn a vast jungle area that was a base for the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels into a wildlife sanctuary, 18 months after the end of island’s bloody civil war, the government said Tuesday. The jungles of Mullaittivu, […]
India economy grows by forecast-beating 8.9 percent
NEW DELHI, November 30, 2010 (AFP) – India’s economy grew a forecast-beating 8. 9 percent year-on-year in July-September, data showed Tuesday, underscoring the country’s brisk recovery from the global financial crisis. The healthy numbers brought temporary cheer to the Congress-led government, buffeted by a string of scandals including a damaging telecom corruption scam which could […]