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” vistors pay £3,000 visa bond
LONDON, June 23, 2013 (AFP) – Britain is planning to force visitors from India, Pakistan, Nigeria and other countries whose nationals are deemed to pose a “high risk” of immigration abuse to provide a cash bond before they can enter the country, a report said Sunday. The Sunday Times newspaper said that from November, a […]
Sri Lanka should guard against weather shocks: World Bank
June 23, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should take steps to guard against shocks from weather related events with projections of rising sea levels and higher temperatures from climate change, the World Bank, a multilateral lender has said.Meanwhile the World Bank said it there had been bad weather in Sri Lanka’s coast and it will […]
‘s Liberty
WASHINGTON, June 22, 2013 (AFP) – Internet users are taking a fresh look at “privacy” search engines that do not store data or track online activity, in light of the flap over US government surveillance.While Google’s market share has not seen a noticeable dent, privacy search engines like US-based DuckDuckGo and European-based Ixquick have seen […]
Rescuers race against time as India monsoon toll nears 600
DEHRADUN, June 22, 2013 (AFP) – Relief teams were racing against time Saturday to rescue tens of thousands of stranded people in rain-ravaged northern India as the death toll from flash floods and landslides neared 600.Rescue workers who managed to reach those stranded were racing to cut down trees and clear vegetation to allow military […]
Sri Lanka domestic gold prices edge up after tax
Jun 22, 2013 (LBO) – Gold prices in Sri Lanka’s domestic market have started to rise after the state slapped a 10 percent on imports, industry players said.On Friday a gold sovereign (about 8.1 grams) the most popular benchmark price was quoted around 47,500 rupees for 22 carats up about a 1,000 rupees from a […]
Sri Lanka rupee weaker, bond yields up
June 21, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka rupee was quoted below 129.00 to the US dollar in the spot market Friday while bond yields were also elevated, dealers said.The rupee opened at 128.40/60 levels against the US dollar and weakened in mid-day trade.Dealers say there were higher levels of forward covering in the market including […]
Sri Lanka stocks close down 0.9-pct
June 21, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s stocks closed down 0.90 percent on Friday with index heavy stocks showing losses and companies with interests in gold also retreating due to a 10 percent import tax imposed by the Sri Lankan govenment , brokers said. The benchmark Colombo All Share Index closed 56.17 points lower at […]
‘s Elpitiya Plantations boost tea yields, diversifies crop
June 21, 2013 (LBO) – Elpitiya Plantations Plc, a unit of Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence group said it had boosted tea yields and diversified into cinnamon oil palm and oil milling, allowing it to boost profits.In the year to March 2013, 11 percent of its 2.8 billion rupees in revenues came from palm oil as […]
Casino Watch
June 21, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will look into the possibility of setting up a casino regulator, a government minister said responding to a call by a legislator of the island’s main opposition.“We respect that idea,” information minister Keheliya Rambukwelle told reporters Thursday at a weekly news briefing to announce cabinet decisions. “Let’s see […]
Sri Lanka imposes 10 percent tax on gold imports
June 21, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka slapped a 10 percent tax on gold, a senior government official deputy Treasury Secretary S R Attygalle said, as world gold prices fell to levels seen in 2010.India had imposed an 8.0 percent tax earlier. Sri Lanka’s gold import surged to 100 million US dollars in the first […]