Sri Lanka troops, Tigers trade fire after heavy fighting

December 17, 2008 (AFP) – There was sporadic fighting in northern Sri Lanka Wednesday, a day after troops and Tamil Tigers fought intense battles around the rebels’ stronghold that left hundreds dead and wounded.The defence ministry said security forces recovered five bodies of Tiger guerrillas Tuesday evening after fighting around the rebels’ political capital of […]

Sri Lanka steps up air strikes after heavy ground battles

December 17, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka stepped up air attacks in the north Wednesday, a day after troops and Tamil Tigers fought intense ground battles around the rebels’ stronghold that left hundreds dead and wounded. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 Military officials said […]

Sri Lanka tea farmers say harvests halved

Dec 17, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea growers said their harvests had halved with the collapse in prices at the Colombo auctions, affecting the livelihoods of thousands of small farmers and the local economy. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 Chandrasena Wijesinghe, convenor of […]

Sri Lanka shares barely changed

Dec 17, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares were barely changed Wednesday, with the indices marginally firmer and almost half the trading volumes coming from transactions in parcels of John Keells Holdings, brokers said.Meanwhile, Hotel Services, owners of the Ceylon Continental Hotel said in a stock exchange filing that the major shareholders were willing to […]

Sri Lanka growth expected to slow in last quarter

Dec 17, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s economic expansion is likely to slow in the last quarter as an external slowdown hits demand for its products, resulting in year-end growth of around 6.0 percent, officials said. In the third quarter the economy expanded by 6.3 percent, the government’s statistics office said, helped by high agricultural […]

Sri Lanka economy expands 6.3 pct in third quarter: statistics office

Dec 16, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s economy expanded 6.3 percent in the third quarter of 2008 over the same quarter the previous year, and against 7.0 in the second quarter of this year, the governments statistics office said. Services grew by 5.5 percent, industry 5.6 percent and agriculture by 12.4 percent, statistics director Suranjana […]

Oil Commission

Dec 16, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) was instructed to consider a bigger commission to its dealers, by the island’s Supreme Court, as part of directions issued on a new pricing formula.CPC’s newly appointed chairman, Asoka Thoradeniya was instructed to discuss the issue with Laugfs, a distributor that went to […]

Emirates includes Sri Lankan firms in frequent flyer program

Dec 16, 2008 (LBO) – A frequent flyer program targeted at small and medium enterprises by Emirates, launched in the UAE in May 2008, has now been made available to Sri Lankan firms, the airline said. The ‘Business Rewards’ scheme allows a firm to earn flying miles whenever a registered employee books through the scheme. […]

Sri Lankan Airlines drops flights to some Indian cities

Dec 16, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan Airlines is dropping flights to Calicut, Cochin, Coimbatore and Hyderabad, from January 15, but increasing flights to more popular destinations including, Maldives, the airline said. The airline said the suspension of services to the four Indian cities will not affect the country’s tourism or export industry. Flights to […]

Sri Lanka fighting kills 145: military

December 16, 2008 (AFP) – Intense fighting in northern Sri Lanka on Tuesday left at least 25 government troops and 120 Tamil Tigers dead in ongoing battles for the rebels’ political capital, a military spokesman said.Security forces carried out simultaneous attacks against Tamil Tiger strong-points near the town of Kilinochchi, and also on the Jaffna […]

Berry Boost

Dec 16, 2008 (LBO) – Dialog Telecom, Sri Lanka’s largest telco, says the introduction of Blackberry mobile devices has boosted productivity at Brandix, a top apparel firm that has become its largest user. Blackberry allows users to check and respond to mail, download attachments and also use calendars and address books. Dialog says it is […]

Trial Balance

Dec 16, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka unit of UK-based Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) said its local branch will not be shut and services to students and members would continue, following the suspension of its local council. “The branch will not be closed,” the Colombo unit said in a statement. “The only […]

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