Category: Other
”, prices up: estate
July 25, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea growing areas in the hill country is suffering from an ‘acute’ supply shortfall of fuel wood and prices are going up, a plantation company which is expanding its own timber cropping area has said. “With the acute shortage and rapidly increasing prices of fuel-wood in the hill […]
India carmaker Maruti posts surprise quarterly profit fall
NEW DELHI, July 24, 2010 (AFP) – India’s biggest carmaker Maruti Suzuki reported Saturday quarterly net profit fell by a surprise 20 percent as the company was pummelled by a surge in raw material costs. Maruti, majority-owned by Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp, said net profit during the fiscal first quarter slid to 4. 65 billion […]
Indian state seeks one billion dollars to counter Maoists
NEW DELHI, July 24, 2010 (AFP) – An Indian state seen as a bastion of an increasingly deadly Maoist revolt said Saturday it was seeking one billion dollars to counter the left-wing insurgency with a development surge. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh told federal and state planners that the funds would be spent to rapidly […]
Maldives welcome foreign mediation
July 23, 2010 (LBO) – The Indian Ocean island of Maldives said it welcomed help from international community to resolve an internal political deadlock stemming from a battle between the president and parliament. “We are extremely grateful to our friends and partners in the international communities (sic), who are trying to help us resolve the […]
Sri Lanka June tea crop hits new high
July 22, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea output rose sharply in June from a year ago, hitting a new production peak as the crop continued to recover from the year before, the Tea Board and brokers said. “If this trend continues, we are likely to match up to the all-time record crop achieved in […]
Sri Lanka wide-eyed primate caught on camera for the first time
LONDON, July 19, 2010 (AFP) – A “cute” primate so rare it was thought to be extinct has been caught on camera in the forests of Sri Lanka for the first time, scientists said Monday. The Horton Plains slender loris is a small, nocturnal animal which can grow up to 17 centimetres (six inches) long […]
Clinton announces major aid projects for Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, July 19, 2010 (AFP) – US Secretary of State Clinton on Monday announced a raft of major aid projects focused on water and energy for Pakistan. The aid is a key part of the effort by the US administration to engage more fully with Pakistan, which has long seen Washington as interested only in […]
Oil prices fall in Asian trade
SINGAPORE, July 19, 2010 (AFP) – Oil prices dipped in Asian trade Monday as sentiment was dampened by weak US economic data that spurred concerns of slow demand in the world’s largest energy consumer, analysts said. “There is still some negative sentiment, but at the moment (the price) hasn’t fallen precipitously. Given the data flow, […]
Floor Tussle
July 18, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Bharti Airtel unit has taken floor prices imposed by the regulator to court complaining that it helps the market leader and hurts the consumer, a media report said. Bharti Airtel Lanka, has petitioned Sri Lanka’s supreme court, The Island newspaper said Saturday. The court has to agree to […]
Sri Lanka tea trade sees strong demand
July 17, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices are likely to stay strong on good demand from consuming countries and possible shortages caused by disruption of production at key origins like India, officials said. Tea Exporters Association chairman Jayantha Keragala said Sri Lankan tea prices were attractive right now. “At the moment we’re enjoying […]
US urges Maldives to accept foreign mediation
July 17, 2010 (AFP) – The United States on Saturday urged the Maldives to accept international offers of mediation to resolve a political crisis that has led to angry street demonstrations. Their intervention prompted Nasheed to reappoint his 13-member cabinet last Tuesday, a week after they resigned en masse. But the mediation has done little […]
BP stops Gulf oil flow for first time since April
NEW ORLEANS, July 16, 2010 (AFP) – British energy giant BP stopped the oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday for the first time in three months as it began key tests hoping to stem the spill for good. Shortly after BP engineers shut down the last of three valves on a giant […]