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Even Keel
December 5, 2006 (LBO) – Dialog Telekom, the island’s biggest mobile phone operator, retained its AAA (lka) rating, but subscriber growth has lagged against industry peers, Fitch Ratings Lanka said. œThe rating reflects Dialog’s leading position in Sri Lanka’s cellular-mobile space with around 60 percent subscriber-share, its robust growth and strong operating cash flow, the […]
‘s richest two percent own half global wealth: UN
HELSINKI, Dec 5, 2006 (AFP) – The world’s richest two percent of adults own more than half of global household wealth, while half the world’s population own only one percent, a UN report published on Tuesday showed. “The study finds wealth to be more unequally distributed than income across countries,” Anthony Shorrocks, director of the […]
Charity resumes Sri Lankan battle zone operations after massacre
COLOMBO, Sept 6, 2006 (AFP) – A French charity Tuesday announced it is resuming its operations in Sri lankan, four months after 17 of its local employees were gunned down, allegedly by security forces. The Action Against Hunger (Action contre la Faim, or ACF) had in September reduced its number of staff by 60-70 percent […]
‘ cash grants to rebuild homes
Dec 05 (LBO) – Relief Agency the American Red Cross said Tuesday that it will give ten million dollars in cash grants to over 3000 Sri Lankan families to rebuild their homes destroyed in the tsunami two years ago. The tsunami that struck on December 26, 2004 extensively damaged or destroyed about 100,000 homes and […]
Fighting kills 19 in Sri Lanka: military
COLOMBO, Dec 5, 2006 (AFP) – At least 19 people have been killed in fresh violence in Sri Lanka as peace broker Norway cancelled a meeting with Tamil Tiger rebels, defence officials said Tuesday.Two soldiers and 15 guerrillas were killed in a confrontation in the eastern district of Batticaloa on Monday while 19 troopers were […]
Better Deal
Dec 05 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s small hydro developers are in talks with the government for a new electricity tariff, to be finalised in about a month, as mini-hydro electricity becomes more expensive to develop. There are currently about 100 megawatts of small hydro plants generating 300 million units of electricity a year, connected to […]
Sri Lanka fiddles with imported food prices as inflation rages
November, 05 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s finance ministry said Tuesday it was cutting duty on imported potatoes and onions in a bid to control rising food prices in December, as inflation in November rose to 19.8 percent. A kilogram of potatoes and onions were charged a cess of 20 rupees per kilo in a bid […]
Sri Lanka ask Norway to suspend contacts with Tamil Tigers
COLOMBO, Dec 3, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government asked peace broker Norway to suspend contacts with the Tamil Tiger rebels as it came under intense pressure Sunday to ban the guerrillas and end an Oslo-backed peace initiative. Norwegian peace envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer was told that his planned visit to the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi […]
Choices: “Rusiyavata vadiya lokuyi irisiyava”
December 3, 2006 (LBO) – Recently, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission issued an order setting the maximum price that could be charged for an SMS at LKR 5 per message. Given that SMS messages have never cost that much and their prices have dropped down to as low as LKR 0.50 depending on the package, one […]
Sri Lanka to use embarkation fee revenue to develop Kalpitiya Dutch Bay Island
December 2, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to part of its embarkation fee revenue to develop the Kalpitiya Dutch Bay Island into a tourist attraction, the government said Saturday. Cabinet of ministers had agreed to initiate the project across 5,000 acres of land at a cost of 350 million rupees. Tourism Minister Anura Bandaranaike […]