Author: lbostgadmin
Middle East WEF to promote peace, economic diversification
SHUNEH, Jordan, May 18, 2007 (AFP) – Jordan’s King Abdullah II on Friday opened a three-day Middle East World Economic Forum, urging political and business leaders to help end violence and prepare for the “day after peace.” Representatives of the G11 group of developing countries are also due to meet on the sidelines of the […]
Technology Edge
May 19, 2007 (LBO) – Information technology has a component that gives the technology a competitive advantage in business, IT specialists say. That component gets commoditised but companies must come up with new components to stay on the top, they say. œThere is definitely a component of IT which is really giving the competitive advantage […]
Money printing Zimbabwe central bank push inflation to 3,714% in April
HARARE,, May 17, 2007 (AFP) – Zimbabwe’s annual inflation surged to 3,714 percent in April, ahead of a new pricing and incomes law approved by President Robert Mugabe in a fresh bid to rein in the inflation spiral. “The… annual inflation rate at the end of April rose to 3,713.9 percent,” the state-run Herald newspaper […]
Sri Lanka fighting kills 20 Tamil rebels
May 17, 2007 (AFP) – Security forces shot dead at least 20 Tamil Tiger rebels in northern Sri Lanka in a fresh outbreak of fighting, the defence ministry said Thursday.More than 4,800 people have been killed in the latest upsurge of fighting that began in December 2005.Troops on Thursday recovered bodies of six of the […]
Wolfowitz to resign as World Bank chief end-June
WASHINGTON, May 17, 2007 (AFP) – World Bank president Paul Wolfowitz bowed to weeks of pressure Thursday and agreed to step down June 30 to end a favoritism scandal that had rocked the poverty-fighting institution. Wolfowitz, 63, said he was resigning in the “best interests” of the bank, thus ending a scandal over a generous […]
Extra Time
May 18, 2007 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s telecom watchdog has given the island’s first Internet service provider, Lanka Internet Services Ltd., extra time to restore services to thousands of customers currently stranded offline, after the company halted services, a top official said. Lanka Internet hit financial difficulty in March with the senior management disappearing without […]
New Deal
May 18, 2007 (LBO) – A new deal between the buyer of Japan’s NTT stake in Sri Lanka Telecom and the government is being hammered out in a way that will protect the interests of the 49 percent state holding, a top government official said. Treasury Secretary P B Jayasundera told reporters there was no […]
Bonus Status
May 18, 2007 (LBO) – Colombo Stock Exchange has withdrawn the approval for bonus issues of some companies, and asked twelve firms to submit fresh applications after checking compliance with a new company law, in a circular issued to brokers and listed firms. The new company law came into effect on May 03. CSE said […]
Copy Not
May 18, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankans are still not aware of the gravity of copyright violations, according to Viinod Nair, representative of top photo agency Getty Images, which has just entered the local market. Nair is president of sales marketing and strategy for Visage Media Services, based in Hyderabad, India which has tied up […]
Sri Lanka tea industry slams plan to hike export cess
May 18, 2007 (LBO) – The Colombo Tea Traders’ Association (CTTA) said Friday the industry was strongly opposed to government plans to increase the tea export cess.Funds could also be used for promoting Sri Lankan owned brands, stimulating value-added exports, facilitating food hygiene initiatives and supplementing research programmes.It also accused the government of violating the basic […]
”’ guerilla air force will face losses within months: analyst
May 17, 2007 (LBO) – The Tamil Tiger guerilla air wing will bear losses before the year-end as the military gains technology and experience to counter the little intruders, a former Sri Lanka air force commander said. Related Third Dimension: Sri Lanka’s battle for air supremacy and the Tamil Tiger ‘Bedcheck Charlie’ strategy . The […]
Suspected Sri Lanka arms smuggling trawler sunk in Maldives
COLOMBO, May 17, 2007 (AFP) – A trawler suspected of smuggling weapons, possibly for Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels, has been sunk by the coastguard of the Maldives, the latter’s foreign minister said Thursday.“Five people in the trawler jumped overboard when it was attacked and we are going to question them,” Maldivian Foreign Minister Ahamed […]