Category: Other
Chicken tikka masala claims its origins in Scotland
GLASGOW, August 3, 2009 (AFP) – Scotland is known around the world for bagpipes, Scotch whisky, haggis and tartan kilts. But now it is trying to protect a less obviously Scottish treasure: chicken tikka masala.A chef from Glasgow claims he invented the curry dish, and is pressing the European Union to give it “Protected Designation […]
Infants die in Bangladesh after taking cheaply made drugs
DHAKA, July 30, 2009 (AFP) – When Kohinur Akhter’s 19-month-old baby boy came down with a fever and cough a little over a week ago, she had no idea the medicine she gave him to ease the pain would put him on his death bed. Now Akhter has been told by doctors in Bangladesh that […]
Phone Ban
July 28, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has banned students from taking mobile phones to school following the suicide of a teenager disciplined for using her telephone, an education ministry spokesman said on Tuesday.All schools were ordered to impose the ban after a 14-year-old girl — reprimanded over telephone contact with a boy during school […]
Sri Lanka Talawakelle Tea Estates returns to profit
July 29, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Talawakelle Tea Estates said it had returned to profit in the June 2009 quarter after making a loss in the previous quarter because of a sharp fall in the crop.A severe drought and the lagged effects of last year’s commodity market crash that led to the neglect of […]
Sri Lanka June tea exports fall
July 29, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea exports fell in June from a year ago with earnings for the first half buoyed by the rupee’s depreciation against the dollar, brokers said. Prices at this week’s Colombo auction also fell from the week before, mainly on lower quality. Shipments of tea in June fell eight […]
Sri Lankan clothing retailer expands to the Maldives
July 29, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan menswear retailer Hameedia has expanded into the neighbouring Maldive islands, opening a showroom in the capital Male.“It involves a careful selection of fabrics and accessories, studying both national and international market trends, and, the demanding task of marketing.” Hameedia Managing Director Fouzul Hameed said the company was looking […]
‘s tryst with truth draws protests
NEW DELHI, July 26, 2009 (AFP) – The Indian version of a US reality TV show that extracts secrets from minor celebrities has caused protests and a furore in parliament with its focus on infidelity, incest and other taboo subjects. Indian Express columnist Shubhra Gupta was similarly insistent that viewers should be the final arbiters […]
Court Block
July 25, 2009 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan court has ordered a dozen websites to be blocked for allegedly containing pornographic material involving local women and children, a press report said Saturday.The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) was asked to block access to the 12 websites, including redtube.com, an adult-content sharing portal, the Lankadeepa newspaper said. […]
Sri Lanka to free military deserters: official
July 24, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka is to free some 1,800 jailed military deserters as part of a presidential amnesty, a justice ministry spokesman said on Friday. In 2003, the government moved to legally discharge 51,000 deserters from the security forces. Tens of thousands were killed in Sri Lanka’s decades-old Tamil separatist conflict.The pardon […]
‘s Bharti profits jump 24 pct, still in MTN merger talks
NEW DELHI, July 23, 2009 (AFP) – India’s top mobile company, Bharti Airtel, reported Thursday that first-quarter net profit jumped 24 percent and said it was still in merger talks with South Africa’s flagship MTN cellular group.Bharti said net profit for the three months to June 30 rose to 25.17 billion rupees (526 million dollars) […]
Sri Lanka June tea crop down 14 pct
July 23, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea production in June 2009 fell 14 percent to 23.6 million kilos compared with the same month in 2008 mainly because of sharp falls in teas grown in high and medium elevations, brokers said. In the six months to June 2009, the crop was down 23.8 percent to […]
India plans to welcome foreign universities: report
NEW DELHI, July 23, 2009 (AFP) – The world’s leading universities such as Harvard and Yale could soon be allowed to open colleges in India under new legislation proposed by the government, a report said Thursday.India has a severe shortage of higher education institutions and a booming population with more than 30 percent of its […]