”” futures: Indian FM

MELBOURNE, August 10, 2009 (AFP) – “Dubious” Australian colleges are ruining the future prospects of young Indian students and trashing the country’s reputation abroad, India’s foreign minister said in comments published Monday.S.M. Krishna, visiting Australia to express concern over a wave of street assaults on Indian students, said there was concern in New Delhi about […]

Sri Lanka Bogawantalawa in US tea deal with multinational

Aug 09, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea growing and marketing company Bogawantalawa Tea Estates said in a statement it was in talks with a multinational to sell packaged tea in the United States.Bogawatalawa Tea Estates manages 14 estates on 8,000 hectares at elevations of 3,000-5,000 feet and also sells tea, including iced teas, in […]

MUMBAI, August 9, 2009 (AFP) – The traditional image of finishing schools is of the Swiss Alps, where elegant young ladies from well-to-do families learn to walk, talk and make conversation before entering polite society. Now India is looking to the model for the three million or so graduates it produces every year to refine […]

‘s foreign workers

KATHMANDU, August 9, 2009 (AFP) – When Anita Gimmi was unable to find work in her native Nepal last year, she borrowed 1,300 dollars and travelled to Qatar to take up a two-year contract with a cleaning company there.Less than a year later, the 26-year-old has been forced to return home still heavily in debt […]

Australia to probe international education after India attacks

SYDNEY, August 8, 2009 (AFP) – Australia announced a sweeping review of its international education sector Saturday, as India’s foreign minister prepared to meet with students rattled by a series of attacks and study scams. Education Minister Julia Gillard said former Liberal MP and diplomat Bruce Baird would head the review, which was aimed at […]

Thailand says Tamil Tiger leader arrested in Malaysia

BANGKOK, August 7, 2009 (AFP) – Thailand’s government on Friday rejected Sri Lankan state media claims that the new leader of the defeated Tamil Tiger separatist group had been arrested in Bangkok. Government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said Selvarasa Pathmanathan, better known as K.P., had instead been arrested in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur. “The National […]

Sri Lanka seasonal teas fetch high prices

Aug 06, 2009 (LBO) – Prices of Sri Lankan teas grown in the central highlands that showed the ‘Uva’ seasonal flavour shot up sharply at this week’s Colombo auctions, brokers said. Teas grown in the Uva and Udapussellawa regions of the island’s central hills are much sort after by overseas buyers during the quality season […]

‘s flagship outsourcing sector hits tough times

NEW DELHI, August 6, 2009 (AFP) – These are tough times for India’s flagship outsourcing industry whose skilled, low-cost workforce helped plant the country on the global business map.With the world in the grip of the worst economic slump since the 1930s, revenue growth from outsourcing — subcontracting work to a third-party company — is […]

Sri Lanka says new Tiger leader arrested

August 6, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s state television on Thursday announced that the new head of the remnants of the Tamil Tiger rebels had been arrested in Thailand. Pathmanathan, an overseas-based leader who took over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) following the killing of its supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran in mid-May, was also […]

Sri Lanka Bogawantalawa Tea starts distribution network

Aug 06, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea growing and marketing company Bogawantalawa Tea Estates said it has launched its own distribution channel in the local market.Most Sri Lankan tea producers sell their teas through the Colombo auctions but several firms are trying to establish their own brands and sell direct to consumers, cutting out […]

Sri Lanka tea processor June profits up marginally

Aug 05, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Tea Smallholder Factories, which processes tea grown mainly by small farmers, said net profit for the June 2009 quarter rose four percent to 53 million rupees from a year ago.Sri Lankan tea producers were hit hard by a severe drought earlier this year and the effects of last […]

Sugar price hits record high

LONDON, August 3, 2009 (AFP) – The price of sugar reached a record high here on Monday, aided by a weaker dollar amid more positive signs of economic recovery and the commodity’s weak supply situation, traders said.In London trade, white sugar for delivery in October reached 505.9 pounds a tonne — the highest level since […]

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