Author: lbostgadmin
Sri Lankan troops kill 28 Tamil Tigers: military
February 12, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops killed 28 Tamil rebels and seized a cache of weapons and ammunition in their latest push for victory in the island’s drawn-out ethnic conflict, the government said Thursday.The Red Cross carried out a similar sea evacuation of 240 patients on Tuesday, saying the group had been stranded […]
Sri Lankan troops declare new civilian safe zone
February 12, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops declared a new safe zone for civilians Thursday as they battled to finish off the island’s drawn-out ethnic conflict, the defence ministry said. Concern has mounted for tens of thousands of non-combatants trapped in the war zone, with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) saying […]
Space Debris
WASHINGTON, February 12, 2009 (AFP) – Two satellites collided in space hundreds of miles (kilometers) above Earth, destroying an Iridium commercial satellite in a crash that may result in disruption of service, the US company said Wednesday.“This satellite loss may result in very limited service disruption in the form of brief, occasional outages,” it said, […]
Medicine Men
LONDON, February 12, 2009 (AFP) – International aid agency Oxfam urged the World Bank and rich nations Thursday to stop “wasting” donations and possibly risking lives by backing unproven private healthcare programmes in poor countries.While Lebanon spends twice as much as Sri Lanka on healthcare, its infant and maternal mortality rates are 2.5 and three […]
Tele Cricket
February 12, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s second largest mobile phone operator on Thursday agreed a three-year deal worth nearly five million dollars to sponsor the island’s cricket team, Sri Lanka Cricket said. The Sri Lankan team, led by outgoing captain Mahela Jayawardene, leaves for Pakistan on Saturday for a two-Test series, which begins on […]
Sri Lanka tea prices tumble
Feb 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices fell at this week’s Colombo auction with lower buying from key markets like Russia contributing to the decline, brokers said.The better teas were selectively sought after by shippers to Japan, Pakistan and possibly the Continent. But there was noticeably less activity this week from shippers to […]
Sri Lanka tourism re-launch mooted
Feb 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tourist hotel industry body has suggested a fresh campaign to promote the island as a destination for visitors now that the ethnic war that deterred tourists is ending. “Sri Lanka tourism is beginning to be cautiously optimistic, with the inevitable end to the long and protracted war situation,” […]
Sri Lanka Aitken Spence Hotels buoyed by overseas gains
Feb 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence Hotels said group net profit for the December 2008 quarter shot up almost 200 percent to 358 million rupees. Revenue for the nine months to December 31, 2008 rose eight percent to 4,505 million rupees The company said six months of the period under review relates […]
Sri Lankan stocks close down 0.7-pct
Feb 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed down 0.7 percent with institutional investors still waiting in the sidelines awaiting lower interest rates, though some foreign buying was seen, brokers said. Aitkin Spence Hotels gained two rupees to close at 100.Touchwood Investment gained 1.25 rupees to close at 64.50. The Colombo All Share Price […]
Sri Lanka cuts policy rates
Feb 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank has cut its discount rate that sets the upper limit of inter-bank transactions by 50 basis points to 16.50 percent and a restricted window by 25 basis points to 12.00 percent, amid falling inflation. “Inflation has been on a path of rapid deceleration, benefiting from the […]
‘s Jayawardene quits as captain
February 11, 2009 (AFP) – Mahela Jayawardene on Wednesday decided to step down as Sri Lanka’s cricket captain after the upcoming Tests in Pakistan, saying he was doing it “in the best interests” of the team.“This is something I have been considering for some time as it has been my long-held belief that my successor […]
Sri Lanka shelling kills 16 at hospital: ICRC
February 10, 2009 (AFP) – Sixteen patients at a makeshift hospital in Sri Lanka’s war zone were killed when the facility was shelled, the Red Cross said Tuesday, as Colombo accused Tamil rebels of gunning down 19 civilians.The news of Monday’s attack on the hospital in northern Putumattalan came as non-combatants poured across the frontlines […]