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 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 […]

‘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 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 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 […]

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 […]

Treasury Case

Aug 03, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s former Treasury chief P B Jayasundera is to file a confidential affidavit in an application to release him from an undertaking given to Supreme Court not to hold public office, lawyers said.The bar on public office came following an order to reverse the sale of land and a […]

No Variation

Aug 03, 2009 (LBO) – Several applications asking to vary orders made following a landmark judgment which reversed a transfer of state land to build a golf course were refused by Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court, lawyers said.Court was also asked to award compensation by others who had bought land in a related project. The next […]

Sri Lanka Kelani Valley almost out of the red

Aug 03, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Kelani Valley Plantations (KVPL) said it made a net profit of 41 million rupees in the June 2009 quarter, down 37 percent from a year ago, enabling it to almost erase losses in the previous quarter.Sales in the June 2009 quarter fell 18 percent to 674 million rupees […]

Sri Lanka Tata tea unit June net falls 37-pct

Aug 03, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Watawala Plantations said net profit in the June 2009 quarter fell 37 percent to 37 million rupees from a year ago with the bottom line buoyed by palm oil and retail marketing earnings. Sales rose three percent to 1.1 billion rupees in the period, the company, a unit […]

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