Category: Other
Ocean Lines
Mar 15, 2007 (LBO) –Sri Lanka is to soon begin a survey to re-draw its continental shelf boundary with the help of a British survey company, a top official said Thursday. (1 nautical mile = 1.852 kilometers) Geophysical survey company Geotechnical Engineering and Marine Surveys (GEMS) of the UK is to conduct the two-month study, […]
Asian stocks down sharply as Wall St nerves hit home
HONG KONG, March 14, 2007 (AFP) – Asian stock markets closed sharply lower Wednesday, hit by a fresh round of turmoil after Wall Street tumbled overnight on figures showed growing problems in the US housing market, dealers said.They said investors were already wary following their battering earlier this month when a dramatic sell-off in Chinese […]
Petro Law
March 14 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to develop an oil exploration laws and establish a regulatory system with funding from the United States, the US embassy in Colombo said Wednesday.The Ministry of Petroleum and Petroleum Resources Development is getting a 51 million rupee grant from the US Trade and Development Agency to develop oil […]
‘s interest
SEOUL, March 13, 2007 (AFP) – South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun said Tuesday his government could scrap free trade talks with Washington if Seoul’s economic interests are not properly reflected in a final deal. Roh instructed his cabinet to consider “real economic benefits” in forging a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States, saying […]
Armed police sent in to tackle latest Chinese riot
BEIJING, March 13, 2007 (AFP) – Police poured into a central Chinese city to quell riots sparked by rising bus fees, residents said Tuesday, in the latest incident to highlight rising social pressures in the fast-changing country. Detachments from the People’s Armed Police joined local security forces in Yongzhou city in Hunan province overnight Monday, […]
Strong rubber prices in Sri Lanka gives bounce to Kelani Valley
March 11 (LBO) – Robust rubber prices have boosted after tax profits of Kelani Valley Plantations (KVPL) by 66 percent in 2006, while turnover grew by 21 percent, the company said. Kelani Valley Plantations Limited (KVPL), a subsidiary of Dipped Products Limited (DPL) says turnover grew to 2,330 million in 2006, with increases of 11 […]
Sri Lanka tea replanting, promotions hit due to withheld industry funds
March 10 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s smallholders are not getting promised incentives for replanting and the national promotional budget for tea has also been hit because industry funds are being held by the state, officials said. Local tea exporters currently pay a four-rupee cess on every kilogram of tea sold, netting in over a billion rupees […]
Bill Gates still top dog but rising billionaires catching up
NEW YORK, March 8, 2007 (AFP) – Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is still the richest man in the world, but his lead over other entrepreneurs is narrowing, according to Forbes magazine’s list of billionaires published Thursday. Despite Gates leading the rich list for a 13th straight year with a tidy nest egg of 56 billion […]
If you want to see carnivorus cattle, rush to India
KOLKATA, India, March 8, 2007 (AFP) – Hundreds of people have rushed to a village in eastern India to see a male calf defy its herbivore nature by eating live chicks. In majority Hindu India, the cow is revered as a sacred animal. Ghosh said his calf has now been named Lal (‘Red’), after the […]
Rajiv Gandhi murder accomplice wins Indian citizenship for daughter
CHENNAI, India, March 8, 2007 (AFP) – An Indian woman convicted along with her Sri Lankan husband in the 1991 killing of former premier Rajiv Gandhi has secured Indian citizenship for their daughter. A court in the southern state of Tamil Nadu on Wednesday gave the federal government four weeks to issue an entry permit […]
Post-strike blues hit Sri Lanka tea production
March 08, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka, one of the world’s biggest exporters of tea, has reported its lowest monthly output in nine-years this January, as bad weather slowed recovery of strike-hit estates. Crop figures in January fell 14 percent to 21.1 million kilos from 24.6 million kilos a year earlier, the lowest since 1996, […]
European stock markets rally after Tokyo bounce
LONDON, March 8, 2007 (AFP) – European stock markets moved higher on Thursday, following bumper gains earlier in Tokyo, as investors regained confidence after a recent slump in global equities, dealers said. However, trading was cautious ahead of crucial interest rate decisions from the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of England (BoE). London’s […]