Category: Other
Australia pressures Malaysia on people-smuggling
KUALA LUMPUR, July 6, 2009 (AFP) – Malaysia on Monday appealed for international help to curb people-smuggling, amid talks with Australian leaders who are pushing for action to close down illegal migration routes.Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is due to arrive here later Monday to pressure Malaysia on the thousands of illegal immigrants hit by wars […]
” return to 9.0 percent growth
NEW DELHI, July 6, 2009 (AFP) – India’s finance minister targeted a return to 9.0 percent economic growth “at the earliest” in a budget speech Monday that suggested the country had seen off the worst of the global financial crisis.But in announcing increased funding for farmers and poverty alleviation programmes, Pranab Mukherjee also warned that […]
Indian budget faces tough balancing act: economists
MUMBAI, July 5, 2009 (AFP) – India’s new Congress-led government will have to balance conflicting objectives of spurring growth and reining in a soaring fiscal deficit when it presents its first budget on Monday.Economists and analysts predict the budget will focus on regulatory and structural reform to stimulate growth, rather than announcing large government stimulus […]
India looks to cut out the middlemen on gold
MUMBAI, July 5, 2009 (AFP) – Gold has long had a special attraction for Indians.Loaded with cultural and religious significance, it is considered an auspicious metal and a visible sign of wealth and prosperity.Four refineries — two in Mumbai and two in Ahmedabad, in nearby Gujarat state — have already been approved.It is hoped to […]
Media Muzzle
July 05, 2009 (LBO) – Fresh attempts by Sri Lanka’s government to muzzle the press and block the freedom speech of the people through a draconian law will hurt the economy and corporate sector, a senior lawmaker and commentators have warned. “This archaic law’s provisions effectively ban the reporting of matters as sweeping as those […]
Sri Lanka favours GM food: agriculture minister
July 03, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is not opposed to genetically modified (GM) food and is likely to allow their use with certain restrictions, a government minister has said.Hemakumara Nanayakkara, the non-Cabinet minister of agricultural development, said the government was consulting foreign experts on allowing GM food imports and cultivation of GM crops. He […]
Just Safeguards
July 02, 2009 (LBO) – Many of the safeguards guaranteed by Sri Lanka’s laws of evidence were missing in recent fundamental rights petitions where private parties were involved, and there was a reliance on third party accounts, a senior lawyer said.Senior lawyer K Kanag-Isvaran said the articles 10 to 15 of Sri Lanka’s constitution guaranteed […]
‘s money in agriculture
July 02, 2009 (LBO) – The head of Sri Lanka’s Chemical Industries (Colombo) (CIC) said the company’s investments in agriculture proved it was profitable but investors should target niche, high-value products as land was limited.The company arranges visits to farms for people interested in entering the sector and also train about 1,000 farmers a year […]
Sri Lanka tea industry not getting cess funds
July 01, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea industry has said funds collected through a government cess on exports which are supposed to be used for the benefit of the trade are not forthcoming. Avi de Silva, chairman of the Colombo Tea Traders™ Association, said insufficient monies disbursed from the cess fund were making worse […]
Finance Issue
June 30, 2009 (LBO) – A new word that has been added to Sri Lanka’s vernacular usage recently has been ‘sakvithi’. This word has so far not got into lexicographers’ lexicon in its new sense. Literarily, it means the ‘Chief God of Heavens’. But, the contemporary media have used it in a different sense, drawing […]
‘s Mahindra Holidays aims for 57 mln dlr IPO
MUMBAI, June 29, 2009 (AFP) – India’s Mahindra Holidays and Resorts Monday said it hoped to raise almost 60 million dollars when it becomes the first firm to float on the country’s capital markets in more than a year. The firm, a subsidiary of the Mahindra group, said it will sell 9.26 million shares through […]
Trouble brewing for Sri Lanka tea farmers
KOTMALE, June 28, 2009 (AFP) – World tea prices have rocketed but along misty tea-growing mountain slopes in Sri Lanka’s central hills, farmers are facing disaster. “Earlier we were concentrating mainly on enhancing yields — drought was not an issue then — but we are now focusing on drought-tolerant varieties,” Gunasekare said. World tea prices […]