Author: lbostgadmin
Rights group says 43 aid workers killed in Sri Lanka
Sept 6, 2007 (AFP) – At least 43 aid workers have been killed in Sri Lanka since early last year amid an escalation of fighting between troops and Tamil separatists, the Asian Human Rights Commission said on Thursday. The AHRC said that another 14 people had gone missing since January 2006 as the government and […]
‘s best but cannot end drought
NEW YORK, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) – Andy Roddick has tested Roger Federer, even forced the world number one to make some astonishing shots.But for the 14th time in 15 matches, the top US player could not beat the Swiss tennis magician. Three-time defending champion Federer beat Roddick for the 10th time in a row […]
Massive Myanmar quake, tsunami could kill millions around Bay of Bengal
PARIS, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) – The northern tip of the Bay of Bengal, home to tens of millions of people, faces a potential double whammy from an earthquake and tsunami, a scientist warned on Wednesday.He says the peril does not appear to be immediate but says there are many unknowns and further work is […]
West worried India would tip APEC power balance: official
SYDNEY, Sept 6, 2007 (AFP) – Western countries are behind moves to keep India out of an Asia-Pacific grouping because they are concerned that its entry would tip the balance of power towards Asia, an official said Thursday. India was among a group of nations frozen out after foreign and trade ministers of the group […]
Roaming Call
Sept 06, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan mobile operator Mobitel has launched two international roaming services for customers travelling overseas. One service is the loyalty programme for in-bound international roaming customers, launched in collaboration with Travelling Connect, a global provider of loyalty management services to the telecommunication industry. A statement by Mobitel, a subsidiary of […]
More Cash
Sept 06, 2007 (LBO) – Massachusetts-based Virtusa Corp., an IT services firm with operations in Sri Lanka that raised 57 million dollars from a NASDAQ listing last month, said its first quarter profit fell slightly. “The company’s effective tax rate increased from 3.6 percent in the first quarter of fiscal 2007 to 20.4 percent in […]
Regressive Tax
Sept 06, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has dropped a controversial fixed levy from mobile phones which would have hit the poorest phone users the hardest, but slapped a 7.5 percent tax on calls, telecom minister Rauf Hakeem told parliament Thursday. The government initially proposed a fixed 50 rupee charge which would have hit the […]
Sri Lanka to encourage cashew cultivation, consumption
Sept 06, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has started a programme to encourage the cultivation and consumption of cashew nuts, saying it is good for health and has a good export potential. “Cashew is a crop that will help eradicate poverty as it grows in difficult areas and is easy to grow, not needing much […]
Sri Lanka leisure firms asked to list in Maldives
Sept 06, 2007 (LBO) – Maldives has asked Sri Lankan firms operating resorts in the atoll nation to sell a part of their stake through a stock market flotation, a senior minister said. Two of Sri Lanka’s top leisure groups — Aitken Spence & Co. Ltd and John Keells Holdings Ltd — have significant presence […]
Eyes Skinned
Sept 05, 2007 (LBO) – Fitch Sri Lanka said it was maintaining a rating watch on six regional banks which was imposed following a government announcement that they would be merged with two other newly created state banks. Fitch put five regional banks on rating watch ‘evolving’ indicating that the rating could be changed after […]
Sri Lanka politicians oppose taxes, while promoting inflation and money printing
Sept 05, 2007 – Sri Lanka’s opposition, including a Marxist party which engineered fuel subsidies and mass state recruitment forcing the government to print money and push inflation up, is now opposing taxes and demanding higher wages. In 2004, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna called for fuel subsidies to remove what it labeled ‘a plug’ to […]
Seismic Eye
Sept 05, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will shortly tender for two-dimensional seismic surveys off the southern tip of the island to look for new oil deposits, officials said. “Then we can get better terms for the remaining blocks,” Fowzie said. Three out of eight off-shore oil exploration blocks in the Northwestern Mannar basin which […]