All Blogs
Sri Lanka sells 100 million dollars worth of rupee gilts to foreigners
March 14 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has sold half of the targeted 20 billion rupees worth of bonds to foreign buyers this year, the country’s public debt office said.“Foreign investment in government Treasury bonds has shown a remarkable progress exceeding the total investment which now stands at over 50 per cent of the annual target […]
Second Life
March 14 (LBO) – After several false starts, the failed Pramuka Bank would start operations 0n June 01 as the Sri Lanka Savings Bank, the finance ministry said Wednesday. The Pramuka Bank licensed as a specialized bank was closed by the Central Bank in October 2002, with an estimated 80 percent bad loans. Of the […]
Health Wins
March 14 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s health service is now detecting tuberculosis patients faster and the infection rate of the once fatal disease is trending down, officials said.The national program hopes to decentralize treatment centers to better fight the disease where it occurs, Surakkali says. Last year 8,000 new infections had been detected which was […]
No Skin
March 14, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka banned on Wednesday the use of naked or semi-naked models in advertising, saying it was seeking to protect those offended by public nudity.The Ministry of Cultural Affairs announced the ban through notices in Sinhalese-language newspapers, warning advertisers against the use of unclothed males or females. The ministry statement […]
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 […]
Suntel Sale
March 14 (LBO) – Seven suitors are chasing Sri Lanka’s wireless operator Suntel, but its parent Telia of Sweden may even consider a stock market listing in Colombo if a sale does not go through, a top official said. TeliaSonera, the holding company of Overseas Telia which owns Suntel, is among six firms listed for […]
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 […]
” in Cup opener
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, March 14, 2007 (AFP) – If ace Sri Lankan spinner Muttiah Muralitharan sends down a ‘doosra’ in the opening World Cup Group B match here on Thursday, many Bermudian batsmen will struggle to read it. All the four Group B sides have arrived here and had workouts in bright sunshine on […]
Windies storm to opening World Cup win
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, March 13, 2007 (AFP) – West Indies, bidding to become the first host nation to win the World Cup, got their campaign off to a dream start on Tuesday with a 54-run win over Pakistan. Brian Lara’s side, who were restricted to 241-9 off their 50 overs, bowled out Inzamam-ul-Haq’s unpredictable Pakistanis for […]
Bowled Over
March 14 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s power utility is on a drive to provide uninterrupted supply to the country, while facing googlies from depleting hydro reserves, technical glitches, and higher demand from world cup cricket viewers. Meanwhile, the utility’s engineers union has also been warning that additional thermal plants may be needed to bridge a […]