Category: Other
Pakistan to seek 4.5 billion dollars from IMF
KARACHI, February 17, 2009 (AFP) – Pakistan is to ask for an additional loan of 4.5 billion dollars from the International Monetary Fund to patch up an economy wilting under a widening trade deficit, an official said Tuesday.Among other tight demands, the IMF wants a reduction in Pakistan’s deficit and huge borrowing from the central […]
Biofuels may speed up, not slow global warming: study
CHICAGO, February 14, 2009 (AFP) – The use of crop-based biofuels could speed up rather than slow down global warming by fueling the destruction of rainforests, scientists warned Saturday. Once heralded as the answer to oil, biofuels have become increasingly controversial because of their impact on food prices and the amount of energy it takes […]
Sri Lanka coconut plantation profit up
Feb 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-owned Chilaw Plantations, which grows coconut, has increased profit by 47 percent to 153.68 million rupees under state management in 2008, a year when commodity prices shot to record highs. The Strategic Enterprise Management Agency (SEMA), a government agency charged with ensuring state enterprises are run profitably, said […]
Sri Lanka tea prices tumble
Feb 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices fell at this week’s Colombo auction with lower buying from key markets like Russia contributing to the decline, brokers said.The better teas were selectively sought after by shippers to Japan, Pakistan and possibly the Continent. But there was noticeably less activity this week from shippers to […]
Sri Lanka tea exports rise in 2008
Feb 10, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka exported 319.7 million kilos of tea and earned an estimated 1.26 billion dollars in 2008, but industry officials said shippers may not have received full payment given the collapse of the market towards the end of the year. Brokers Asia Siyaka Commodities said in a market report that […]
Sri Lanka business chamber in anti-pollution campaign
Feb 10, 2009 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan business chamber said it plans to start an awareness programme to minimise pollution from agriculture and industry in the island’s provinces using selected enterprises as models for others.“Industrial pollution is causing lot of damage to the environment in urban and rural areas,” the Federation of Chambers of […]
‘s legendary cedars
BAROUK, February 7, 2009 (AFP) – Lebanon’s majestic cedar trees have withstood the test of time for centuries but climate change is threatening the country’s most treasured symbol. Used by various civilisations throughout history for their strong and durable wood, Lebanon’s cedars are now on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s “Red List” as […]
Sri Lanka tea prices fall
Feb 06, 2009 (LBO) – Prices of Sri Lankan tea fell on lower demand at this week’s Colombo auctions, breaking an upward trend that began with the first sale of the year, brokers said.High-priced teas from the low grown regions, which produce the bulk of the national crop, suffered the worst falls. “The market for […]
Black wolves got their hue from domestic dogs
WASHINGTON, February 5, 2009 (AFP) – Black wolves, found nearly exclusively in North America, likely inherited their coats from breeding with domestic dogs, according to a study published Thursday.The dogs of the earliest Native Americans or of European immigrants probably contributed to the genetic variability of their wild counterparts, researchers from Stanford University and the […]
Sri Lanka tea factory firm makes loss after price collapse
Feb 06, 2009 (LBO) – The collapse in Sri Lankan tea prices towards the end of last year has caused a loss of 35 million rupees at Tea Smallholder Factories, a listed unit of John Keells Holdings, in the December quarter.Tea Smallholder Factories said net profit for the nine months ending December 31, 2008 was […]
‘s biggest snake found in Colombia
PANAMA CITY, February 5, 2009 (AFP) – Scientists have found a 60-million-year-old fossil of the world’s largest snake, a 13-meter (42-foot), one-tonne behemoth dubbed Titanoboa, in a coal mine in Colombia, the US Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute said Wednesday. “The discovery of Titanoboa challenges our understanding of past climates and environments, as well as the […]
Darwin at 200: World salutes founder of evolutionary theory
PARIS, February 5, 2009 (AFP) – Two hundred years ago, in a wealthy household in rural England, a child was born who, in a quiet, dogged and utterly peaceful way, was destined to become one of the greatest revolutionaries who lived. Armed just with a pen, Charles Darwin reforged our concept of Nature and humanity’s […]