Category: Other
” computer growth: official
WASHINGTON, March 31, 2010 (AFP) – India is about to witness an explosion in the spread of personal computers and Internet connectivity, visiting Minister of State for IT and Communications Sachin Pilot said Tuesday. Asked about US computer giant Dell’s reported intention to move its manufacturing facilities from China to India, Pilot only could confirm […]
Transit Point
KUALA LUMPUR, March 31, 2010 (AFP) – Malaysia on Wednesday launched a national plan against human trafficking as the country moves to quash its image as a transit point for traffickers. Home minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the five-year plan would strengthen anti-trafficking legislation and training and improve border security among measures to tackle the problem. […]
‘ futures evaporate in China drought
QIXINGCUN, March 29, 2010 (AFP) – Peasant farmer Dong Guicheng wakes up every morning hoping for rain, but each day a crippling drought instead brings more disappointment and desperation. In a scene repeated by millions of people in a vast area of China’s parched southwest, Dong treks daily to a dwindling reservoir to fetch scarce […]
Sri Lanka Watawala Plantations creates new consumer products unit
Mar 26, 2010 9LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Watawala Plantations, which manufactures and sells branded teas, has decided to set up a fully owned subsidiary to sell its locally branded products, a stock exchange filing said. The new unit, named Watawala Marketing, will handle the firm’s fast moving consumer goods from April 1. The firm, a […]
Sri Lanka launches new tea certification scheme
Mar 25, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has introduced a quality certification programme for tea exports to ensure cleaner teas are sent to overseas markets, devoid of stones and other contamination now found during pre-export screening, officials said. Random test will be done on products to ensure they conform to the standards after certification is […]
Disappearing island solves India-Bangladesh dispute
KOLKATA, March 25, 2010 (AFP) – A tiny island at the centre of a territorial dispute between India and Bangladesh has disappeared beneath the waves due to rising sea levels and erosion, scientists say. At its height, it was never more than two metres (about six feet) above sea level. Hazra said a larger island, […]
India launches ultra-luxury Maharaja train service
KOLKATA, March 23, 2010 (AFP) – India has launched its most luxurious and expensive train service yet, seeking to attract well-heeled foreign rail enthusiasts prepared to pay the minimum 800-dollars-a-night price tag. For most visitors, rail travel in India is an indispensable part of any holiday, although an ability to overlook the often filthy toilets […]
Sri Lanka tea output back to normal levels in February
Mar 23, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea production in February was back to the usual levels having recovered from the effects of drought and a market crash last year, Tea Board statistics showed. A total of 23.5 million kilos of tea, including green tea, was produced in February 2010, up sharply from the 12. […]
Sri Lanka Finlays unit reveals gains from commodities crash
Mar 22, 2010 (LBO) – Buying tea for stock during the commodities crash in the last quarter of 2008 helped boost profits at Finlays Colombo group last year, the Sri Lankan company has revealed. The firm, part of the Swire group of the UK, said its tea packing business made higher profits in the first […]
India faces more rate hikes to tame inflation: analysts
MUMBAI, March 21, 2010 (AFP) – India’s central bank looks set to tighten monetary policy further after raising interest rates for the first time in nearly two years as it bids to check spiralling inflation, economists say. In a move that surprised experts, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hiked short-term rates from record lows […]
Sri Lanka poultry industry squeezed by state controls
Mar 19, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s poultry industry has been squeezed by taxes on imported maize which pushed feed costs up and price controls on processed chicken which worsened a downturn in the industry, a top agro firm has said. Ceylon Grain Elevators group, a unit of Singapore’s Prima, said an economic slump in […]
Sri Lanka tea trade says expects short quality season
Mar 19, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea industry expects a short ‘Western quality season’ this year with teas that had the desired quality picking up in price at recent auctions as volumes fell, officials said. “We might have a late season – there are signs of teas brightening up,” said Dhamitha Perera, chairman of […]