All Blogs
New Wing
May 11 (LBO) – The government has given state oil giant Ceylon Petroleum Corporation the go ahead for a feasibility study to double capacity at its Sapugaskanda refinery. “We have got Cabinet approval for a feasibility study as well as a million dollars to fund the study,” M H M Fowzie, Minister for Petroleum Resources […]
Violence, oil cast shadow on Sri Lanka
May 11 (Dow Jones)–The course of Sri Lanka’s peace process has become crucial to the country’s economy, as high oil prices threaten double-digit inflation. High oil prices may also force the central bank to hold back an anticipated cut in interest rates, which could have spurred the economy and offset some of the pressure caused […]
Murali aiming for five-wicket Lord’s haul
LONDON, May 10, 2006 (AFP) – Muttiah Muralitharan wants to mark his first Test appearance at Lord’s by taking five wickets in an innings for Sri Lanka against England and getting his name on the dressing room honours board.“He will be the most important wicket for us as far as I’m concerned because when he […]
Sri Lanka still examining ‘pregnant bomber’ claim
May 10, 2006 (AFP) – Investigators have yet to find any evidence that a woman suicide bomber who tried to assassinate Sri Lanka’s army chief was really pregnant as some local media reports had claimed, police said Wednesday.Logs at the army headquarters showed the bomber entered the military compound and staged the attack last month […]
Face Lift
May 10 06 (LBO) – The government planning to re-surface the runway of the main international airport of the country, an official said. Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority, H M C Nimalsiri said that a team of Sri Lankan engineers was working on the project to re-surface the runway. The Bandaranaike International Airport […]
Hard Times
May 10 (LBO) – Domestic airlines say soaring fuel costs may force a hike in ticket fares, but any increase may also scare away dwindling numbers of travellers to the North. “We are in discussions to raise fares, but we are worried about the situation in the market.We are concerned that by raising fares we […]
Flying Low
TOKYO, May 10, 2006 (AFP) – Japan Airlines Corp, Asia’s largest carrier, said Wednesday high fuel costs and a series of safety lapses pushed it deep into loss in the year to March but forecast a return to profit this year. JAL made a net loss of 47.2 billion yen (424.5 million dollars) for the […]
Modest Growth
May 10 (LBO) – Union Assurance Ltd. posted a strong first quarter with profit after tax of Rs34 million as at March this year, over Rs37 million for the same period the year before. Growth was driven by increases in general insurance premiums, up 38 percent to Rs754 million in March and life premiums up […]
Alien Raid
May 10 (LBO) – Sri Lanka authorities have initiated a major crackdown on illegal foreign labour in the country, starting with workers in foreign owned factories. Last weekend investigators from the Department of Immigration and Emigration raided a factory in the Kalutara district and arrested seven Indian nationals. The Controller of Immigration and Emigration P […]
Hispanics, Asians are fastest growing groups in US
WASHINGTON, May 10, 2006 (AFP) – Hispanics and Asians are the fastest growing ethnic groups in the United States, where one in three people now belong to a minority group, the US Census Bureau said Wednesday. In 2005, the minority population totalled 98 million, or 33 percent of the 296.4 million US population, the agency […]