Author: lbostgadmin
Sri Lanka clashes kill 29: military
June 20, 2008 (AFP) – At least 26 Tamil Tiger guerrillas and three government soldiers have been killed in clashes across Sri Lanka’s northern regions, the defence ministry said Friday.Confrontations in the districts of Jaffna, Mannar, Vavuniya and Mullaitivu since Thursday killed 26 rebels, the ministry said, adding that 47 guerrillas were also believed to […]
Soft Cup
June 20, 2008 (LBO) – An environmental short film by a team from Sri Lanka made it to the top six in Microsoft’s Imagine Cup competition finals, which would be held in July in Paris this year, the firm’s local office said. Sri Lanka’s ˜Team Gènès|pictures’was able to qualify for the finals of the Microsoft […]
Tata Track
June 20, 2008 (LBO) – High inflation and interest rates have hit auto sales in Sri Lanka but the market for Indian made Tata vehicles remains strong, the brand’s agents, Diesel and Motor Engineering Company (DIMO) said.“We do not find them (Chinese imports) as a threat because people need to have spares, reach and service […]
Southern Anchorage
June 20, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority has called for bids to build a new port in southern Galle, next to the existing harbour, an official said. The main commodity handled by the existing Galle harbour is cement. In the project’s second phase, a large leisure component will be introduced with a […]
Sri Lankan shares rebound, heavy trading in Vallibel Power
June 20, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed more than one percent higher Friday, ending several days of declines, with speculative trading in Vallibel Power Erathna boosting turnover, brokers said.The All Share Price Index gained 1.11 percent (26.91 points) to end at 2,459.98 while the more liquid Milanka rose 1.33 percent (38.68 points) to […]
Oil Row
June 19, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has ordered a local unit of Indian Oil Corporation to sell diesel on par with state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation or face sanctions, after the Indian firm raised diesel prices in response to a new tax. Lanka IOC raised the price of diesel by 20 rupees to 130 rupees […]
Dollar stable as market weighs rate hike prospects
NEW YORK, June 18, 2008 (AFP) – The dollar held steady against other major currencies Wednesday in volatile trade as investors weighed prospects of US and eurozone interest rate hikes to counter rising inflation.The single European currency was at 1.5532 dollars around 2100 GMT, up from 1.5508 dollars late Tuesday. The dollar stood at 107.86 […]
World Bank expects Chinese economic slowdown
BEIJING, June 19, 2008 (AFP) – The World Bank said Thursday it expected China’s economic growth to fall to single digits in 2008 for the first time in six years, while inflation would be higher than previously forecast. “China’s economic growth has moderated to a more sustainable pace,” the bank said in its quarterly report […]
EU leaders split on how to tackle soaring oil prices
BRUSSELS, June 19, 2008 (AFP) – Soaring fuel and food prices posed a stiff challenge to EU leaders gathered for a summit in Brussels on Thursday, amid clear divisions over how to respond to growing calls for intervention.Following Irish voters’ rejection of the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty last week, EU leaders are eager to demonstrate […]
Sri Lanka agro-exports under threat if GSP+ is lost: exporter
June 19, 2008 (LBO) – A top Sri Lankan fruit and vegetables exporter which is pushing commercial agriculture in the poorest areas of the island says a withdrawal of European trade concessions would hit the high value agro export sector. The group also exports Spanish peppers, silver-skin onions as well as other fruits and vegetables […]
‘s Ceylinco Life says PDAs to enhance sales
June 19, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan insurance firm Ceylinco Life said it was arming its sales force with Personal Digital Assistants or PDAs in an effort to increase sales using the palm-top devices. The company said in a statement the launch of ˜e-assist’, a PDA-based “mobile insurance sales office”, will improve the way insurance […]
Infotel 2008
June 19, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s largest information technology exhibition to be held during a nationally declared ICT week in October will showcase the software hardware and the opportunities for IT enabled services, organizers said.The ninth Infotel Lanka Exhibition is part of the Information Communication Technology (ICT) week which will commence on 27 October. […]