Author: lbostgadmin
‘s 60-year wait
NEW DELHI, October 10, 2010 (AFP) – Manju Wanniarachchi on Sunday guaranteed Sri Lanka their first Commonwealth Games boxing medal in 60 years after easing through to the semi-finals on points. The 30-year-old saw of Kenya’s Nicholas Okoth in the bantamweight quarter-finals, putting him through to the last-four and a guaranteed bronze. “This is Sri […]
‘s SpiceJet
Oct 10, 2010 (LBO) – Indian budget carrier SpiceJet, which has launched daily flights to Sri Lanka to exploit the island’s post-war tourism prospects, intends to increase frequencies and add more destinations soon, officials said. “We like consumers to book early,” Sridharan said. “Closer to the flight fares go up. The last few seats are […]
Over 60 percent of Afghans suffer mental health problems
KABUL, October 10, 2010 (AFP) – Scarred by decades of war, social problems and poverty, more than 60 percent of Afghans suffer from stress disorders and mental health problems, officials warned Sunday. The population of Afghanistan is estimated at roughly 28 million. “This is a major problem,” Suraya Dalil, Afghanistan’s acting public health minister, told […]
‘s largest cuppa
Oct 09, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka, a top exporter of tea, has made the world’s largest cup of the brew in a ten foot high thousand gallon cup breaking a Guinness record previously held by the United States. An official from Guinness in London was in Colombo to monitor the event, the organizers said. […]
Sri Lanka state sell-down proposals spell new direction
Oct 09, 2010 (LBO) – Planned sell-downs of two state enterprises charts a new direction in Sri Lanka’s post-war economic strategy that can make state firms more transparent and also boost capital markets, analysts said. During the year the firm had given back 4,000 billion rupees to the parent in a share-buy back, which earned […]
India jets order boosts ailing Russian defence industry
MOSCOW, October 9, 2010 (AFP) – Russia’s ailing defence industry has received one of its biggest boosts in years with a huge fighter jet deal with India, but much of the sector remains stuck in a Soviet-era time warp, analysts said. Moscow is in the race for a contract to supply New Delhi with 126 […]
Canada to unveil law to deter illegal migrants
OTTAWA, October 7, 2010 (AFP) – Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday his government would soon unveil a law to deter illegal immigration in response to the arrival of rickety cargo ships carrying Tamil refugees. Harper said current legislation does not go far enough to deter human smuggling, which “will increase in the years […]
Australia renews push for regional immigration centre
SYDNEY, October 8, 2010 (AFP) – Australia will urge Indonesia, Malaysia and East Timor to back its proposal for a regional centre to process asylum-seekers during talks next week, Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said Friday. Bowen, who will leave Monday for Dili to begin high-level discussions on people-smuggling and border security in the three countries, […]
Bangladesh apparel exports surge as EU buyers shift from Sri Lanka: report
Oct 08, 2010 (LBO) – Bangladesh’s exports of apparel are surging beyond projections as buyers from the European Union shifted orders ahead of Sri Lanka losing preferential duty concessions, a media report said. Sri Lanka has exported 268.1 million US dollars of apparel in July 2010, down 11 percent from 301.3 million US dollars a […]
Sri Lanka to liberalise civil aviation
Oct 08, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to further liberalise its civil aviation sector and remove flying restrictions with the end of its ethnic war, an official said. The private sector will be given more opportunities to operate hot air balloons, float planes and helicopters, the Civil Aviation Authority director-general H M C Nimalsiri […]
Sri Lanka national carrier to list flight kitchen
Oct 08, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run national carrier SriLankan Airlines is planning to divest a part of its fully owned catering unit through a public listing, Chairman Nishantha Wickramasinghe said. Earlier this week the government said it will divest a 49 percent stake in a gas distributor it planned to buy back from […]
Better Marks
Oct 08, 2010 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has upgraded Sri Lanka’s Dialog Axiata’s (Dialog) national long-term rating to ‘AAA(lka)’ from ‘AA(lka)’, and revised the outlook to stable from negative, a statement said. This is to help mitigate potential currency risk on the scheduled repayments of its US dollar debt, which fall due between 2011 and […]