Author: lbostgadmin
Wild elephants hold up Sri Lanka vote: police
March 10, 2008 (AFP) – Security forces armed with loud hailers were deployed in eastern Sri Lanka Monday to drive away wild elephants blocking access to polling booths, police said.Villagers in Wellaveli told the authorities that they were unable to vote at the first local elections in 14 years because a herd of elephants had […]
Sri Lanka captain says no need to panic
March 10, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene said Monday there was no need to panic following the team’s repeated batting failures in recent one-day internationals.“What we have to remember is that all these guys have made a lot of runs in the past,” said Jayawardene. “Everyone takes responsibility for the failure and […]
‘s death
PANAJI, India, March 10, 2008 (AFP) – Police in the Indian resort state of Goa Sunday arrested one of three men held in connection with the murder of a British teenager whose partially naked body was found on a beach last month.The man has been identified as 29-year-old Samsung D’Souza, an Indian working at a […]
Bangladesh scraps bank sale after Saudi prince fails to pay
DHAKA, March 10, 2008 (AFP) – Bangladesh has scrapped a deal to sell its fourth-largest bank to a Saudi prince for 458 million dollars after he failed to make any payment, the country’s finance minister said.Prince Bandar Bin Mohammad Bin Abdul Rahman won the bid to take a 93 percent stake in Rupali Bank in […]
Tele Connect
Mar 10, 2008 (LBO) – The sale of an equity stake in Sri Lanka Telecom held by Japan’s NTT to Malaysia’s Usaha Tegas group could go ahead, the island’s supreme court has ruled, a reporter at the court said. The UT group was initially expected to purchase 25 percent of the stock with NTT keeping […]
Web Eyeballs
Mar 10, 2008 (LBO) – Advertising agencies are struggling to convince clients to use the web as internet penetration increases in Sri Lanka, but poor awareness among clients and users alike, hinder these efforts, officials said.“If you look outward and what kind of business opportunities are out there, then the web can play a very […]
High Flyers
Mar 10, 2008 (LBO) – Emirates Airlines is tripling frequent flying miles to business travellers in March on selected destinations, the airline said. Emirates operates 17 services a week from Colombo to Dubai and four services a week from Colombo to Singapore and Jakarta. First class passengers who fly more than 100 flights across its […]
Travel Time
MANILA, March 10, 2008 (AFP) – The Asian Development Bank said Monday it would double its loan commitment for a major highway project in Sri Lanka to 140 million dollars. A 90 million-dollar loan approved in 1999 would be supplemented by a second loan to ensure the completion of the Colombo-Matara-Galle highway and widen it […]
Sri Lanka stocks end flat with SLT trades boosting turnover
March 10, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks ended flat Monday but volumes were boosted to over 700 million rupees on heavy trading in Sri Lanka Telecom after a court ruling cleared a sale of an equity stake to a foreign buyer. The All Share Price Index ended 0.1 percent lower at 2,567.45 while the […]
Sri Lanka rupee gains on greenback; exporters sell forward
Mar 10, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka rupee gained against the greenback in early trading Monday with state names coming in to cap the domestic currency at 107.50/55 levels while exporters scrambled to sell forward, dealers said.Authorities have been holding the rupee at around 107.70/80 levels in the first two months of 2007, but on […]
Gas Play
March 09, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-owned petroleum utility will enter the liquid petroleum gas (LPG) market by June using fuel dealerships, a top official said, while plans are underway to boost gas production. Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) now produces about 60 metric tonnes of LPG a day or about 10 percent of the […]
Sri Lanka media rights body concerned over journalist arrests
Mar 09, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Free Media Movement (FMM) expressed concern over the arrest of several journalists connected to a news website and called on authorities to follow due process. “The right to retain lawyers at police stations while statements are being recorded and their right to inform family and colleagues as to […]