All Blogs
Bitter Prescription
July 18, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is taking a hard look on how to manage subsidising fuel prices amidst a worsening Middle East crisis that is threatening to send oil prices even higher. “Right now the middle east is entering into a sixth day of intensified conflict,” Treasury Secretary P B Jasundera said Tuesday […]
IPS to develop action plan for Sri Lankan industrialists
July 18, 2006 (LBO) – The Industrial Association of Sri Lanka has commissioned a study to develop a national action plan to be presented to the government later this year. The Institute of Policy Studies, a government think tank, will carry out the study on behalf of the trade body, with financial assistance from the […]
Govt agrees to rationalise lubricant tariffs
July 17 (LBO) – The government has agreed to amend lubricant tariffs, narrowing the gap between lube imports and raw materials like base oil, to spur competition in the sector. New investors will also be allowed to blend lubricants locally, though the small size of the local lube market is widely expected to support just […]
Priority Road
July 17 (LBO) – A research study has indicated that the construction of the Colombo Outer Circle Road should have the highest priority, a logistics expert said. Professor Saman Bandara of the Transport and Logistics Department of the University of Moratuwa says the Outer Circle Road should be built before the proposed expressways. The second […]
Indian villagers perform marriage of donkeys to promote peace
NEW DELHI, July 17, 2006 (AFP) – A group of Indian villagers presided over the marriage of two donkeys at an ancient Hindu temple in southern India in a bid to promote world peace, a report said Monday.The wedding took place Sunday evening in the Sri Thirumoola Natha Swamy Temple in Tamil Nadu state, the […]
Tigers step up mine blasts in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, July 17, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels set off three powerful mines in Sri Lanka’s troubled regions Monday, killing a soldier and wounding 12 other servicemen, the defence ministry said. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) set off one mine in the Jaffna peninsula, killing a soldier and wounding six others, […]
Five killed after tsunami hits Indonesia
JAKARTA, July 17, 2006 (AFP) – Five people were killed when waves hit buildings on the south coast of Indonesia’s Java island Monday after a strong undersea quake triggered a tsunami alert, Indonesia’s president said. “Based on reports I have received, five people have been killed,” President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told reporters.“The search is ongoing […]
Slow Down
VIENNA, July 17, 2006 (AFP) – Developments in the oil industry should help cool crude prices in 2007 but the market will remain vulnerable to geopolitical tensions, OPEC said in its July report published Monday. “The expected increase in OPEC capacity, combined with the projected decline in required OPEC crude, should help to moderate prices,” […]
New Blend
July 17 (LBO) – The government has agreed to amend lubricant tariffs, narrowing the gap between lube imports and raw materials like base oil, to spur competition in the sector. New investors will also be allowed to blend lubricants locally, though the small size of the local lube market is widely expected to support just […]
Car trunks key for Zimbabwean ‘millionaires’
HARARE, July 16, 2006 (AFP) – Becoming a millionaire in Zimbabwe is easy these days, but wallets and purses have given way to car trunks and suitcases as the crucial accessory for carrying wads of nearly worthless cash.As the southern African country battles hyper-inflation and grinding fuel and foreign exchange shortages amid a seven-year economic […]