Category: Other
” to buy more tea
November 15, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka, a key exporter of tea, has appealed to “friendly countries” to buy more of the brew to help the island weather the global financial crisis, officials said Saturday.The foreign ministry said ambassadors and envoys of Egypt, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait and Qatar were briefed about Sri […]
Sri Lanka tea market recovers
Nov 14, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea market is continuing its recovery with demand picking up at this week’s auction, brokers said. Prices of low grown teas, the hardest hit when demand and prices collapsed last month causing severe cash flow problems for the trade, improved at this week’s sale. “Demand for low grown […]
Sub-regional Asian summit calls for closer ties, free trade pact
NEW DELHI, November 13, 2008 (AFP) – A regional grouping of seven South and Southeast Asian countries on Thursday agreed to improve relations and called for the conclusion of negotiations on a free trade agreement.The group’s last summit was held in Thailand in 2004. The top leaders of the seven nations that form the Bay […]
Freedom Battle
Nov 14, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has suspended new broadcasting regulations brought through a gazette notice, after TV stations and journalists sought relief, lawyers said. Supreme Court justice Shirani Tilakawardane had also suggested that state TV stations share its towers with private stations for a fee. Sri Lanka’s Free Media Movement, a […]
Sri Lanka tea trade warns crisis not over yet
Nov 13, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea trade has warned that the crisis caused by the sudden collapse in demand and prices was not over yet and that it was bracing itself for further trouble.The Colombo Tea Traders™ Association (CTTA) said in a statement that cash flow problems remained throughout the supply chain, with […]
South Asia has little scope for economic stimulus after fuel subsidies: World Bank
TOKYO, November 12, 2008 (AFP) – South Asian economies, still reeling from food and energy crises, have little scope to boost their economies in the face of the global financial turmoil, a World Bank official said Wednesday. But growth will rebound by 2010 to 7.2 percent, supported by economic giants such as India, whose “fundamentals […]
Sri Lanka says milk powder levy must to be absorbed by importers
Nov 11, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government said it would not allow milk powder importers to raise retail prices despite an increase in import levy in the budget for 2009 presented last week, because world prices are falling. World market prices of milk are coming down while production in key producer countries is […]
New Maldives president to be sworn in
MALE, November 11, 2008 (AFP) – A former political prisoner who unseated Asia’s longest-serving leader as president of the Maldives will be sworn into office Tuesday, taking charge of a nation he fears could soon disappear. Mohamed “Anni” Nasheed, 41, the winner of the the Indian Ocean atoll nation’s first multi-party presidential elections, has come […]
Maldives saves for new homeland amid flooding fears: report
LONDON, November 10, 2008 (AFP) – The Maldives’ newly-elected president said in an interview Monday that his government will begin saving to buy a new homeland in case global warming causes the country to disappear into the sea.Beloved by tourists for their white sandy beaches, palm trees and clear waters, the 1,192 coral islands that […]
Sri Lanka govt gives incentives to troubled tea trade
Nov 06, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government plans to offer several incentives to the tea industry such as lower taxes and subsidised fertiliser, president Mahinda Rajapaksa said. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘act (space) lbo’ and send to 678 The incentives are meant to help the industry […]
Obama, McCain await judgment of history
WASHINGTON, November 5, 2008 (AFP) – Front-runner Barack Obama faced a tense wait Tuesday to see if millions of American voters would enshrine him as the first black president or whether Republican John McCain would mount a shock comeback.On a night of high drama, the presidential rivals were powerless as results started to pour in […]
Freeze on govt department spending in China for 2009: state media
BEIJING, November 5, 2008 (AFP) – Governmental department spending in China in 2009 will be frozen at this year’s level, ending an annual five-percent increase following the global financial crisis, state media said Wednesday. “The budgets for next year should be capped at the same amount as this year’s and every project will be looked […]