Malaysia to halve foreigners in manufacturing, plantations by 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, June 6, 2008 (AFP) – Malaysia plans to almost halve the number of foreigners working in the plantation and manufacturing sectors by 2010 by reducing its yearly foreign intake by 400,000, a report said Friday.Human Resources Minister S. Subramaniam said the government wanted to reduce the imported labour force in the country from […]

Sri Lanka Brandix is top apparel exporter

June 6, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s export promotion agency has named Brandix as the island’s top apparel exporter Friday, the group which employs more than 25,000 people, said. Brandix makes lingerie, casuals, sport wear, textiles, knitted fabrics, thread, accessories and hangers. It also has wet processing, finishing and fabric printing facilities. “The concluded year […]

Sri Lanka plans new defence structure

June 06, 2008 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government said it wants to introduce a new defence structure, including a joint chiefs of staff committee, for the ‘higher defence management’, to ensure better joint planning and operations by the armed forces. New laws are to be drafted to create the structure under proposals prepared by […]

Sri Lanka bomb blast in bus near capital

June 06, 2008 (LBO) – A bomb exploded inside a bus in a southern suburb of the Sri Lankan capital Colombo during the morning rush hour Friday, the media centre for national security said. The blast occurred on the Katubedda-Piliyandala road in front of the university in Moratuwa, officials said. At least 15 injured people […]

Sri Lanka bomb blast near capital kills 18: military

June 06, 2008 (LBO) – At least 18 people were killed when a bomb exploded on a highway in a southern suburb of the Sri Lankan capital Colombo during the morning rush hour Friday, the media centre for national security said. The blast occurred on the Katubedda-Piliyandala road in front of the university in Moratuwa, […]

Sri Lanka bus blast death toll rises to 21: military

June 06, 2008 (LBO) – The death toll in a bomb attack on a crowded bus in a southern suburb of the Sri Lankan capital Colombo during the morning rush hour Friday has risen to 21, the defence ministry said. AFP news agency quoted one of its photographers at the scene as saying he saw […]

Sri Lanka bus bombings kill 22, scores injured

June 6, 2008 (LBO) – Two bus bombings in the capital Colombo and off the central Sri Lankan city of Kandy by suspected Tamil Tigers has left at least 22 dead and more than 80 injured Friday, authorities said. Tigers and the military have been trading charges over civilian deaths in the conflict, which has […]

Second Sri Lanka bus bombing kills 2, injures 20

June 6, 2008 (LBO) – A bomb exploded in a bus off the central Sri Lankan city of Kandy, killing 2 people and injuring 20 within hours of a blast that killed 21 civilians near the capital Colombo, police said. Police spokesman Ranjith Gunesekera said the bomb exploded in a bus traveling from Matale to […]

Sri Lankan stocks weaken further due to lacklustre buying

June 06, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka stocks weakened by 0.68 percent during Friday’s trading adding to the week-long losing streak at the Colombo Stock Exchange.Dialog Telekom lost 25 cents to close at 13.50 rupees while John Keells Holdings closed 50 cents lower at 114.50. The All Share Price Index dropped 0.68 percent (16.88 points) […]

” 9.6-pct in May

June 05, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said its ‘core inflation’ index from which a number of items such as food had been dropped was 9.6 percent in May 2008 against ‘headline’ inflation of 26.2 percent. In May the ‘core’ index had grown 0.3 percent against 0.9 percent in April. The moving average […]

Oil Block

June 5, 2008 (LBO) – Cairn India Limited, a unit of Cairn Energy plc of the UK, has won an offshore exploration block in Sri Lanka’s Mannar basin beating two other players, the island’s petroleum minister A H M Fowzie said. The firm has made more than 30 oil and gas discoveries in India during […]

Piracy on the rise, but terrorism link not seen: study

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2008 (AFP) – Incidents of piracy have spiked across the world since 2000 but there is no evidence to support fears of extremist groups linking up with pirates for their operations, a new study finds.It attributed the rise to the expansion of the global sea trade, congested chokepoints, corrupt officials, shifting spending […]

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