Author: lbostgadmin
Sri Lanka north gets Japan, ADB grant for water
Feb 16, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s former war zones in the north of the island will get a two million dollar grant from Japan and the Asian Development Bank to provide safe water and sanitation for rural people. A 30-year war ended in the area in May 2009. ADB said the new grant will […]
Japan, India sign free trade pact
TOKYO, February 16, 2011 (AFP) – Japan and India signed a free trade pact Wednesday under which the high-tech nation and the South Asian giant pledged to scrap tariffs on 94 percent of goods within a decade. But Japan — the only country to have suffered atomic bombings, and a key voice in global denuclearisation […]
On Track
Feb 16, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka inaugurated a rail track on the south coast upgraded with Indian aid to enable train speeds of up to 100 kilometres an hour, reducing travel time, Wednesday, a statement said. The Galle-Matara track of 42 kilometres has been up-graded by India’s state-owned IRCON to world standards, the Indian […]
Sri Lanka flood victims to get EU aid
Feb 15, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s flood victims, some of whom were recovering from a recent war will get 105 million rupees (700,000 euros) of food aid from the European Union through the World Food Program. “The needs of the flood-affected communities are great and WFP still faces considerable shortfalls in our funding” WFP’s […]
Sri Lanka domestic aviation eyed by US aircraft maker
Feb 15, 2011 (LBO) – US aircraft Cessna is eyeing Sri Lanka’s fledgling domestic aviation industry after the end of a 30-year war has prompted liberalization of the sector and a tourism boom is increasing demand for international flights. “Because of the stability and peace in the country Sri Lanka now has a moment where […]
Maldives free British man after mid-air bomb scare
February 15, 2011 (AFP) – Maldives police have released a British man accused of sparking a bomb scare on a SriLankan Airlines flight, a spokesman said Tuesday, explaining he had been misunderstood by cabin crew. The airline faced attacks during Sri Lanka’s 37-year civil war that pitched Tamil Tiger rebels against government troops. Fighting ended […]
Briton arrested after Sri Lankan airline bomb hoax
February 14, 2011 (AFP) – Police in the Maldives arrested a British man Monday after he caused a bomb scare aboard a SriLankan airlines flight from London that was diverted to the atoll nation, an official said. The flight was heading for Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo but was forced to land in the Maldives where […]
Sri Lanka tourist arrivals up 46-pct in January
Feb 15, 2011 (LBO) – Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka in January 2011 rose 46.2 percent to 74,197 with Western Europe generating 32,627 and India being the single most important country with 13,786 visitors. Visitors from Western Europe who are important for the country’s beach resorts rose 53.7 percent from a year earlier maintaining the […]
Sri Lanka shares fall sharply
Feb 15, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares fell sharply Tuesday, with the main index losing most of Monday’s gains, with oil palm shares of the Carson group that had driven it to a new high, coming down, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 7,607. 79, down 2.61 percent (204.03 points) while […]
‘s economy shrinks in Q4 as China moves ahead
TOKYO, February 14, 2011 (AFP) – Japan ceded its spot as the world’s second-biggest economy to China in 2010, as gross domestic product contracted in the fourth quarter on sliding consumer consumption and demand, data showed. Real gross domestic product slipped by an annualised 1.1 percent in the October-December quarter as the expiration of auto […]
Sri Lanka seen as among fastest growing passenger markets
SINGAPORE, February 14, 2011 (AFP) – Eight-hundred million more people will travel by air by 2014, over a quarter of them from China, raising the need for more efficient traffic management and airports, IATA trade body said Monday. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) forecast an estimated 3. 3 billion air travellers in three years’ […]
Sri Lanka Aitken Spence Hotels net up on interest
Feb 14, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence Hotels, which also has operations in the Maldives, said net profit for the December quarter was up 30 percent to 272 million rupees, with revenues growing 5. 0 percent 2.0 billion from a year earlier. But operating profits fell 9.0 percent to 351 million during the […]