Sri Lanka aims to be South Asian shopper paradise

Mar 10, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s biggest state bank has proposed a bold project to make the island a Dubai-style duty free shopping mecca for the billion-plus consumers on the Indian sub-continent. Gamini Wickramasinghe, chairman of Bank of Ceylon (BOC), said much revenue can be generated by enticing visitors from the region, exploiting the […]

Sri Lanka govt vows to crush Tigers after suicide bombing

March 10, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government on Tuesday vowed to finish off the Tamil Tiger guerrilla rebels who were blamed for a suicide bomb that killed 15 people and badly injured a senior politician. There has been no reaction from the guerrillas, who have launched scores of similar suicide bombings in the past.Tuesday’s […]

Fifteen dead, minister hurt in Sri Lanka suicide attack

March 10, 2009 (AFP) – At least 15 people were killed Tuesday and another 60, including a government minister, were wounded in a suicide bombing in southern Sri Lanka blamed on Tamil Tiger rebels, officials said. The attacker targeted politicians attending a function at a mosque in the town of Akuressa, and came as the […]

Ten killed in Sri Lanka blast: policee

March 10, 2009 (AFP)- At least 10 people were killed Tuesday and another 25, including two ministers, were wounded in a suicide bomb attack in southern Sri Lanka, a local police official said. Telecommunications minister Mahinda Wijesekara and Cultural Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena were wounded, the official said.He said Wijesekera was in intensive care at […]

Sri Lanka coach fears Commonwealth Games a target

MELBOURNE, March 10, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka cricket coach Trevor Bayliss voiced fears on Tuesday that extremists would target next year’s Commonwealth Games in India and backed criticism of security arrangements in Pakistan. He supported criticism from match officials travelling in a minibus behind Sri Lanka’s team bus in Lahore that security was inadequate. […]

Sri Lanka EPF pension fund may allow early withdrawal

Mar 09, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Employee’s Provident Fund (EPF) which forcibly takes a part of the salary of a private sector worker for ‘management’ by the state may allow partial withdrawals of balances if new proposals become law, officials said. Up to now desperate private workers hit by high inflation created in the […]

Sri Lanka shares close flat

Mar 09, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed flat on Monday on thin volumes, with some Ceylinco group companies which are slated for management changes or take-over moving up, brokers said. The Colombo All Share Price Index edged up 0.18 percent (3.0 points) to end at 1,630.70 while the Milanka index of liquid stocks […]

No Kidding

Mar 09, 2009 (LBO) – One day a wealthy Englishman travels to Italy on business.While there he decides to buy a hand-crafted cupboard to furnish his new summer home in Spain.He visits an exclusive store in Rome, which sells furniture sourced from a small carpentry workshop in Morocco.This furniture is fabricated from wood imported from […]

Usage Gap

Mar 09, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankans low income customers of mobile communications, used phones least for business related activities in the region, potentially opening up a new marketing opportunity for celcos, a new study has found. “People who use phones for such activities have a higher income and people who don’t have a lower […]

Sri Lanka Tigers hit food ship; 150 dead in weekend fighting: military

March 9, 2009 (AFP) – The Sri Lankan military said Monday its troops have killed at least 150 Tamil Tigers in a weekend of fierce fighting inside the rebels’ shrinking fiefdom in the northeast of the island. Army spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said the Tigers, boxed into an area of less than 50 square kilometres (19 […]

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