All Blogs
Narrow strip of land is Sri Lanka’s flashpoint
MUHAMALAI, Sri Lanka, May 23, 2006 (AFP) – A narrow strip of land in Sri Lanka’s northern peninsula of Jaffna is a flashpoint that could ignite a new war in the country, according to senior military commanders. “Tension is very high, very high,” the officer told AFP on Monday.“Anytime, this can accelerate.” In the past […]
Alliance Finance gets stable BBB2 from Lanka Ratings
May 23 (LBO) – Lanka Ratings gave Alliance Finance Company a stable long-term BBB2 (triple B two) rating on Tuesday, for its healthy asset quality and performance. “Due to its prudent policies, AFC’s asset quality is expected to remain healthy in the immediate term.†Pre-tax profits have been showing a steady increase over the past […]
Central Bank rejects 3-year bond auction again
May 23 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank, Tuesday rejected all bids sent in for the three-year bond auction for the second successive week, but did not give any reason.A fortnight ago, the bank sold three-year yields 10.87 percent, higher than 10.85 percent sold at the previous auction. Market players said that the bank […]
Tech Glitch
May 23 (LBO) – Local commercial banks with a backlog of un-cleared cheques say the operational glitch will be sorted out by the end of this week. LankaClear, the country’s cheque clearing house jointly owned by the Central Bank and licensed commercial banks, rolled out its new cheque imaging and truncation system earlier this month. […]
SriLankan Airlines flies to Goa, expands further into India
May 23 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines will expand services into India, flying to Goa from October this year, with plans to also up frequencies to existing destinations. SriLankan continues to explore further opportunities by increasing our services to India, and we are currently considering launching services to more cities, as well as increasing the frequency […]
India to push the mango to new markets
NEW DELHI, May 23, 2006 (AFP) – India, the world’s largest mango producer, is set for a big push to sell its succulent “king of fruit” to countries like Japan and the United States, officials say. The mango is native to India, which grows 12 million tons (10.8 million metric tonnes) of the fruit, more […]
Chipmaker Intel considers testing facility in India
BANGALORE, India, May 23, 2006 (AFP) – US-based Intel Corp, the world’s largest maker of semiconductors for computers, may build a facility to test its devices in India, the company’s chief executive said Tuesday.“We are in discussion with the Indian government for setting up an ATMP (assembly-test-mark-pack) plant in India with partners,” Paul Otellini told […]
Ritual killings could drive Kenyan lions to extinction: experts
NAIROBI, May 23, 2006 (AFP) – Kenya’s famed lion prides could be driven to extinction because ritual killings by tribal warriors are decimating their ranks in and around the country’s protected game reserves, wildlife experts warned Tuesday.The findings were immediately dismissed by members of the Maasai tribe, which is blamed for most of the deaths […]
Tigers turn down direct talks with Sri Lanka president
May 23, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels Tuesday rejected a call by Buddhist and Christian clergy for a direct meet between the president and the guerrilla leader in a bid to end decades of ethnic bloodshed. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they told a delegation of priests that […]
EU demands action over Sri Lanka attacks
COLOMBO, May 23, 2006 (AFP) – The European Union on Tuesday demanded action against those responsible for bombing three international charities operating in Sri Lanka’s embattled northeast. The EU said the Sri Lankan government must demonstrate its commitment to ending a “culture of impunity” by bringing to justice those responsible for Sunday’s grenade attacks which […]