Category: Other
Charity Front
WASHINGTON, October 22, 2009 (AFP) – About 30 victims of attacks by Sri Lanka’s rebel Tamil Tigers filed a suit Thursday against the billionaire head of a US hedge fund facing insider trading charges. The suit alleges that Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam and a family foundation led by his father gave more than five […]
Sri Lanka milk farmers get marketing support
Oct 23, 2009 (LBO) – The US Agency for International Development (USAID) said it has partnered with a unit of the listed Chemical Industries (Colombo) (CIC) to help milk farmers take their product to market and increase incomes. The agency said in a statement it has established a dairy farmer network in Punani, in the […]
”s cheapest car
NEW DELHI, October 22, 2009 (AFP) – The world’s cheapest car, the Nano, launched by Indian maker Tata earlier this year, faces possible checks after owners complained of fires apparently caused by short circuits.But Tata Motors said it would not order a recall of the Nano, at least 7,500 of which have been delivered since […]
Australia set for decades-long mining boom: top official
SYDNEY, October 22, 2009 (AFP) – Australia could be set for a decades-long commodities boom fuelled by rocketing demand from China and India, a senior official said in the country’s latest upbeat economic assessment. Treasury secretary Ken Henry also said a return to full employment was a “conceivable possibility” in the coming years, with major […]
Sri Lanka tea output down in September
Oct 22, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s production of black tea in September 2009 fell three percent to 25.5 million kilos from a year ago, according to the Sri Lanka Tea Board’s statistics. The deficit of 42 million kilos makes up for the bulk of the global tea production shortfall that has driven up prices […]
‘s economy seen growing 6.5 pct this year: panel
NEW DELHI, October 21, 2009 (AFP) – India’s economy has withstood the global financial crisis well and should grow by 6.5 percent this fiscal year, a top government panel forecast Wednesday. The panel, which advises India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on economic policy, put the estimated growth range for the country between 6.25 percent and […]
Chinese ship seized as Somali piracy drifts East
NAIROBI, October 19, 2009 (AFP) – Somali pirates hijacked a Chinese bulk carrier Monday northeast of the Seychelles in the Indian Ocean, as the marauding sea bandits hunted their prey ever further from base to wrong-foot naval patrols.According to the European Union’s anti-piracy naval mission (EU NAVFOR), the unnamed ship was seized 550 nautical miles […]
Court Action
Oct 20, 2009 (LBO) – The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said one of the accused in its case against senior executives of Singalanka Standard Chemicals charged with falsifying accounts and forging auditors’ signatures has pleaded guilty. The SEC said the court re-issued summons against the first accused, the former chairman of Singalanka Standard Chemicals, […]
Good Faith
Oct 19, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan-born hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam was investigated for allegedly funding Tamil Tiger rebels, but there was no evidence against him, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka said Monday.US authorities on Friday charged Rajaratnam, 52, with fraud after saying they had uncovered the biggest ever case of insider-trading by […]
Ethnic Support
VANCOUVER, October 19, 2009 (AFP) – The Canadian Tamil Congress said Sunday its lawyers will represent dozens of illegal migrants arrested on a mystery ship seized off Canada’s West Coast.Detention hearings will begin early this week for as many as 76 migrants from a freighter seized Friday by Canadian military, police and other agencies. The […]
Suspect Donations
Oct 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is continuing investigations into financial support given to a Tamil charity with alleged terrorist links by a US hedge fund manager who was arrested for fraud, a senior official said.Sri Lankan Central Bank governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal told LBO the banking regulator was still investigating contributions made by […]
Maldives leader turns stuntman to fight climate change
MALE, October 18, 2009 (AFP) – Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed, who staged the world’s first underwater cabinet meeting at the weekend, is emerging as the global stuntman in the battle against climate change.Nasheed, 42, dived with his cabinet to the sea bottom Saturday in an effort to press December’s UN summit in Copenhagen to cap […]