Category: Other
‘s cinnamon industry on a different plane
A budding cinnamon plant that’s growing after the tsunami. PERALIYA, June 3, 2006 (LBO) — Wearing a red crash helmet to beat the sun, Punya Sena crouches on the ground, planting young cinnamon saplings to replace thousands that were destroyed by the tsunami that hit Sri Lanka’s coastal belt in December 2004. . Wimalawathi Mendis, […]
Rubber could lose some steam this year, but stay a cash cow
June 02 (LBO) – Overheated rubber prices are expected to settle down from its recent high spell, brokers say, but stocks with high exposure to rubber will still be the cash cow this year. Top grades of crepe rubber, which makes up bulk of Sri Lanka’s rubber exports, is now selling at 395 rupees a kilo, […]
Beat the heat — with rattlesnake ice cream
TOKYO, June 2, 2006 (AFP) – Anyone for rattlesnake ice cream? Japan is no stranger to bizarre frozen deserts and this year is no exception with cow tongue, Indian curry, cheese and even cactus among the flavours on offer for courageous taste buds at an annual event at the Namjatown theme park. Other ice creams […]
Illegal Smoke
June 01 (LBO) – Ceylon Tobacco Company together with several hotel associations filed petitions in the Supreme Court on Thursday against proposed laws to clamp down on smoking. The petition challenges the constitutionality of the proposed National Authority on Tobacco and Alcohol (NATA) bill, which the company claims prohibits smoking in hotels and restaurants, CTC […]
Collision course
Though Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe are thousands of miles apart and are on two separate continents, but our economic policies have so much in common with that country, that it is uncanny. Now things are so bad in Zimbabwe, that the country does not have forex to import security paper and ink to print notes. […]
driving into poverty
Though Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe are thousands of miles apart and are on two separate continents, but our economic policies have so much in common with that country, that it is uncanny. The readers of this column are no strangers to Zimbabwe as we have tried to keep a regular update on what is happening […]
WHO accuse tobacco industry of continuing misleading labels
MANILA, May 30, 2006 (AFP) – The World Health Organization (WHO) Tuesday accused the global tobacco industry of continuing to use misleading labels to lure millions of people, including children, to take up smoking.On the eve of World No Tobacco Day, WHO said it would focus on the “tobacco industry’s lies” and the great variety […]
Rise of migrants is damaging planet: British think-tank
LONDON, May 30, 2006 (AFP) – The growing number of people who migrate from developing countries to over-populated Western states in search of a better life is damaging the planet and could be avoided, a think-tank said Tuesday.Governments and aid agencies should encourage families to stay put by tackling environmental degradation, such as the spread […]
Stressed-out Southeast Asians unhappy with their sex lives:survey
SINGAPORE, May 30, 2006 (AFP) – Southeast Asias have the unhappiest sex lives in the world, making love less often than people elsewhere and getting the least satisfaction from it, a global survey showed Tuesday.Mexicans scored the highest sex satisfaction levels with 74.5 percent declaring they were very satisfied, followed by Brazil at 64.5 percent […]
World press leaders debate how to join the Internet revolution
EDINBURGH, May 29, 2006 (AFP) – Global press chiefs gathered in the Scottish capital Edinburgh to thrash out how best to wrestle with the rise of the Internet, stay on top of technology, and beat countless bloggers and citizen journalists to the story. The three-day International Press Institute (IPI) World Congress opened Sunday with fervent […]
Impotent patient kills sex doctor
NEW DELHI, May 29, 2006 (AFP) – An Indian sexologist was shot dead by a patient depressed by worsening impotency, reports said Monday. Javed Ali, 22, on Sunday pumped seven bullets into the self-styled sexologist who had been treating him for two years, The Hindustan Times said. Thirty-three-year-old Rajesh Abbot fell under a hail of […]
Why geography curses Indonesia — and always will
HONG KONG, May 29, 2006 (AFP) – The powerful earthquake that hit Indonesia was just the latest display of violent seismic activity on the archipelago, which stretches across one of the most unstable parts of the Earth’s surface.The country’s position on the planet’s crust means it will continue to experience such catastrophes, just as it […]