Sri Lanka to allow recreational flying

Mar 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has decided to lift restrictions on private flying and open up her skies for recreational aviation to lure tourists after the end of a 30-year war, a senior official said. Dissanayake said they want to revive an ‘open skies’ scheme started in November 2006 in the island’s south […]

Furniture Push

Mar 16, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka unit of Singer, a consumer durables firm, said it was re-branding a furniture range under its own name and pushing it out to rural areas where the firm has strong brand loyalty. “There is more potential in the growth in the consumer behaviour in rural areas. There […]

Sri Lanka Spence Hotel earmarks investments for former war zone

Mar 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings said the largest chunk of 2.5 billion rupees it plans to raise through a rights issue will go for new hotels in the island’s former war zone. It also plans to build a hotel in the northern Jaffna region. The firm said about a […]

Sri Lankan stocks 1.58-pct down

Mar 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks ended lower Tuesday dragged down by falls in speculative and retail driven stocks, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 3,782.84, down 1.58 percent (60.71 points) Tuesday, while the Milanka index of more liquid shares dived 2.35 percent (104.22 points) to close at 4,335.39. Turnover […]

Sri Lanka state worker cost climbs to new high

Mar 15, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka state workers took away 57 cents as salaries and wages out of every tax rupee paid by the people in 2009, as the government continued to expand a bloated public service amid an economic slump, the latest official data showed. Salaries and pensions of workers climbed to 353 […]

Sri Lanka former top judge slams opposition leader arrest

NEW DELHI, March 15, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s former chief justice slammed the arrest of ex-army chief and opposition leader Sarath Fonseka on Monday on the eve of his court martial, saying there was “no democracy” in the country. Retired chief justice Sarath Silva criticised the treatment of Fonseka, who challenged President Mahinda Rajapakse […]

” at night

PARIS, March 14, 2010 (AFP) – Scientists revealed Sunday for the first time how some snakes can detect the faint body heat exuded by a mouse a metre (three feet) away with enough precision and speed to hunt in the dark. It has been known for decades that rattlesnakes, boas and pythons have so-called pit […]

Sri Lanka lures back Japanese surfers

Mar 15, 2010 (LBO) – Some of the world’s top surfers will take part in a Japanese surfing championship that returns to Sri Lanka this month after a five-year break following the end of the island’s ethnic war. The Japan Pro Surfing Association’s (JPSA) annual competition will be held during March 19-23 at Hikkaduwa, a […]

Reaching Out

Mar 15, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan finance companies should reach out to rural areas which historically have been short of credit, governor of the Central Bank, Nivard Cabraal, said. Rural savers are also known to make deposits at unregulated finance companies that offer high interest rates but risk making heavy losses if the firms […]

Extra Income

Mar 15, 2010 (LBO) – Payment of an extra 20 percent ‘bonus interest’ to Sri Lankan senior citizens on rupee deposits maintained at licensed commercial banks will start from Thursday, March 18, the Central Bank said. The government will pay the extra interest to citizens over 60 years of age subject to a limit of […]

Port Move

Mar 15, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Colombo port will get new cranes before the end of this year to replace aging equipment and improve cargo handling capacity, a senior official said. Container traffic in Colombo, which is a hub for south Asian cargo, has begun to recover after dipping last year because of global […]

Sri Lankan stocks becalmed

Mar 15, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka stocks closed flat Monday as investors took profits and reinvested in selected midcap and hotels stocks, while heavy interest in John Keells Holdings (JKH) and Hotel Services (Ceylon) boosted turnover past a billion rupees, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 3,843.55, down 0.03 percent (1.29 […]

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