Category: Other
Sri Lanka tea trade warns labour action will hit exports
Sept 03, 2009 (LBO) – Action by labour unions on Sri Lanka’s tea estates to disrupt the movement of teas could hamper exports and threatens the industry and entire economy, the Colombo Tea Traders™ Association (CTTA) warned. It would also worsen the current cash-flow problems of plantation companies, the CTTA warned and result in serious […]
”’ adjusts to life in the IT sector
KATHMANDU, September 3, 2009 (AFP) – As a child, she was worshipped as a “living goddess” in Nepal after she proved her bravery in an ancient ritual by not crying at the sight of a sacrificed buffalo.But now Rashmila Shakya, 29, meets friends in cafes, listens to Bollywood music — and is building a promising […]
Jailed Journalist
OTTAWA, September 2, 2009 (AFP) – Canada is “deeply concerned” by Sri Lanka’s sentencing of a journalist to 20 years of hard labor, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said Wednesday. “The government of Canada is deeply concerned by the sentencing of J.S. Tissainayagam to 20 years in prison for violating Sri Lanka’s Prevention of Terrorism […]
Sri Lanka tea exporter profits halve, demand down
Sept 01, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Tea Services, which exports value-added teas under the Dilmah brand, said net profit halved last year and sales are likely to remain poor this year owing to recession.Group net profit in the year ended March 31, 2009 fell 55 percent to 487 million rupees from a year […]
‘s Maruti Suzuki posts record exports
MUMBAI, September 1, 2009 (AFP) – India’s largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India, majority-owned by Japan’s Suzuki Motor, announced record exports Tuesday in August, led by strong sales across European markets.Maruti’s exports nearly tripled to 14,847 vehicles during the month, from 5,795 a year earlier, helped by its A-star hatchback launched last November. “Data showed the […]
Emblematic Example
WASHINGTON, August 31, 2009 (AFP) – The United States criticized Sri Lanka Monday for sentencing to 20 years in prison a Tamil reporter whose case has been highlighted by US President Barack Obama. “We were disappointed to learn of the verdict and the severity of the sentence,” State Department deputy spokesman Robert Wood said after […]
India posts 6.1 pct quarterly growth
NEW DELHI, August 31, 2009 (AFP) – India’s economy expanded by 6.1 percent in the three months to June, picking up pace from the previous quarter as the country emerged from the global downturn, official data showed Monday. The quarterly growth figure was up from the 5.8 percent growth posted in the March quarter, but […]
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LUKLA, August 30, 2009 (AFP) – Over two decades, Funuru Sherpa has watched the lake above his native village of Dengboche in Nepal’s Himalayas grow, as the glacier that feeds it melts. The 29-year-old, who runs a busy Internet cafe for tourists visiting the Everest region, remembers his grandfather telling him that 50 years ago […]
Bangladeshi migrants pay high costs: World Bank
DHAKA, August 30, 2009 (AFP) – Bangladeshi migrant workers spend an average of 2,300 US dollars securing employment abroad — the equivalent of more than 18 months’ work in their new job, the World Bank said in a report. The World Bank survey calculated they send home on average 1,480 dollars a year and that […]
Probe Call
GENEVA, August 28, 2009 (AFP) – A United Nations expert on Friday urged the Sri Lankan government to set up an independent probe into the authencity of a video clip aired in Britain allegedly showing Sri Lankan troops executing prisoners. Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, said Colombo had […]
India summer crops may be 20 pct below normal: govt
NEW DELHI, August 27, 2009 (AFP) – India could record a 15 to 20 percent crop shortfall due to widespread drought caused by a bad monsoon, the finance minister said Thursday.Some 252 out of India’s 626 districts have been hit by drought as a result of the weak June-to-September monsoon that is running at 26 […]
Larger Bench
Aug 27, 2009 (LBO) – A case where Sri Lanka’s former Treasury Secretary is seeking permission to return to public service from which he was ousted by court, will be taken up before an expanded bench, lawyers said. Gamini Amaratunga, a serving judge was a part of the bench that delivered the original judgement on […]