All Blogs
Sri Lankan rupee hits a record low; exports still competitive: Central Bank
October 12, 2006 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan rupee fell to a lifetime low Friday, depreciating just over 3-percent in value against the U.S. dollar, but the Central Bank says the currency has gained slightly against other key countries. The rupee softened to 105.95 to the dollar from Thursday’s close of 105.50 as importer bought […]
Sri Lankan rupee ends all time low; share prices edge up
October 13, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lankan rupee closed to a lifetime low Friday, on heavy demand by imports to settle trade bills, while share prices rose as investors were upbeat over a possible resumption of talks between the government and the Tamil Tiger rebels.The rupee fell to 105.95 to the dollar from Thursday’s close […]
Flight Delays
SINGAPORE, Oct 13, 2006 (AFP) – Delays in delivery of the Airbus A380 super jumbo have led to “a big problem” for Dubai-based Emirates, the single biggest customer for the passenger aircraft, the airline’s president said Friday. Other regional carriers, including launch customer Singapore Airlines, have also expressed disappointment at the A380 delays, which Airbus […]
Flight Path
Oct 13, 2006 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines is ripe for expansion and is looking for about 11 new planes to beef up airline seat capacity, says Tim Clark, Managing Director of SriLankan. SriLankan Airline’s net profits as at end March this year, rose to 797.93 million rupees over 7.66 million rupees, while group net profit […]
Sri Lanka greets fewer visitors in Sept; hopes peace, discount airfares will reverse fortunes
Oct 13, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s visitor arrivals in September fell 12 percent, but the Tourism Board is hoping discount airfares and peace talks between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels would stem the slide. Holidaymakers to this tear shaped island fell 11.6 percent to 38,485 visitors in September over the corresponding period 2005, […]
Braille Bills
Oct 13, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Telecom watchdog ordered local telco operators on Friday to provide consumer bills in Braille for the visually handicapped. Sri Lanka has four mobile phone operators Dialog, Celltell, Mobitel and Hutchison and three fixed line operators Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), Suntel and Lanka Bell. For the six months to […]
Microcredit: a tool for peace
PARIS, Oct 13, 2006 (AFP) – Microcredit has become an increasingly powerful tool to liberate the world’s poorest people, particularly women, from the prison of poverty and the power of loan sharks. It provides access to small loans to the world’s 1.2 billion poor people so they can rebuild their homes, pay school fees or […]
Multi-media age finally dawns, media bosses say
CANNES, France, Oct 13, 2006 (AFP) – After years of eager anticipation and a lot of talk, the multi-media age has finally dawned and a string of breakthrough deals at this week’s largest ever MIPCOM audiovisual trade show will send it on its way around the world.That was the message from the entire line-up of […]
Microcredit offers millions way out of poverty in Bangladesh
DHAKA, Oct 13, 2006 (AFP) – Nearly three decades after Nobel prize winner Muhammad Yunus launched the pioneering Grameen Bank, giving small loans to the poor, microcredit is hailed for helping more than five million Bangladeshis. Grameen began life in 1976 as a pilot project run by Yunus, a professor of rural economics at Chittagong […]
‘s biggest no-frills carrier raises 100 million dollars
BANGALORE, India, Oct 13, 2006 (AFP) – India’s biggest low-cost airline, Air Deccan, said Friday it has raised 4.5 billion rupees (100 million dollars) from two foreign banks to tide it over a financial crisis.G.R. Gopinath, Managing Director of Air Deccan, said the deal with British-based Banks Investec Bank and Germany’s Billon and HSH Nord […]