Author: lbostgadmin
Rights report slams Sri Lanka over child soldiers
Jan 24, 2007 (AFP) – A leading human rights group Wednesday slammed Sri Lanka for conscripting hundreds of child soldiers to fight against Tamil rebels, saying the police had turned a blind eye to the practice for years.New-York based Human Rights Watch (HRW) accused the government of “hypocrisy”, saying in a 100-page report that Colombo […]
India plans to announce 3G policy by March
NEW DELHI, Jan 24, 2007 (AFP) – India, one of the world’s fastest-growing mobile phone markets, said Wednesday it plans to announce its next generation — 3G — policy by March that telecom players expect will ease congestion. “The policy will be ready by March 2007,” Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran said on the sidelines of […]
Climate change, Middle East top agenda in Davos
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 24, 2007 (AFP) – The world’s business and political elite kicked off its annual retreat in Davos on Wednesday, with climate change and the Middle East riding high on the agenda — at least in public.The four-day gathering of movers and shakers in the Swiss ski resort boasted the usual impressive guest […]
Loud Call
January 24, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan mobile phone operator Celltel Lanka Ltd Wednesday said it hoped to increase its subscriber base by 50 percent to 1.5 million users by the end of the year. Sri Lanka had over 5.8 million cellular subscribers as at end 2006, , according to Central Bank figures, with four […]
‘s tourism sector
COLOMBO, Jan 24, 2007 (AFP) – A mass gathering of Islamic pilgrims, who are jamming Sri Lanka’s hotels and shopping malls, has unexpectedly boosted the island’s war-hit tourism sector, officials said Wednesday.Sri Lanka’s 24-billion dollar economy earned 380.3 million dollars from tourism between January and October last year, retaining its place as one of the […]
Ceylon Hotels Corp to woo more locals after earnings gets hit last year
Jan 24 (LBO) – Ceylon Hotels Corporation, which runs a chain of state owned hotels and rest-houses around the island, is trying to woo more local travellers after earnings took a beating last year. Operating a chain of 19 guesthouses in Sri Lanka, the group was hit by an escalating local conflict and a spate […]
Big Merger
January 24 (LBO) –Commercial Bank of Ceylon and National Development Bank has entered into merger talks, the banks said Wednesday. “In the event the negotiations are successful, and the manner in which the merger may be achieved is agreed upon, the proposal for such merger will be submitted to the Monetary Board of the Central […]
Fund Change
Jan 25, 2007 (LBO) – Ceylon Theatres Group which has bagged 70 percent of Commercial Fund Management says it is looking to increase the group’s interests in financial services, by acquiring a fund managing firm. CT Capital now has to acquire the balance 30 percent of the shares which are held by Austalind, an overseas […]
Regional Aspirations
January 24 (LBO) – The proposed merger of Sri Lanka’s National Development Bank and Commercial Bank will give the merged entity more clout to spread its wings in the region, officials said. “We want to create a large bank to go regional,” says Harris Premarathne Senior DGM of Commercial Bank. “The challenge we have is […]
Talking Up
MUMBAI, Jan 23, 2007 (AFP) – India’s largest private phone company, Bharti Airtel, posted Tuesday a third quarter net profit surge, which more than doubled and was above analyst forecasts as demand for telecom services rose.The company said net profit was up to 12.15 billion rupees (274 million dollars) in the quarter ended December 31, […]
Roadside blasts kills 2 in northern Sri Lanka
Jan 23, 2007 (AFP) – Two roadside bombs exploded in northern Sri Lanka Tuesday, killing two people and wounding 10, while suspected Tamil Tiger rebels hijacked a truck with six construction workers, police said.The blasts occurred in the besieged government-controlled Jaffna peninsula, while the workers were kidnapped by suspected Tiger rebels in the northern town […]
Graft-buster campaigns to track down Sri Lanka tsunami corruption
Jan 23, 2007 (AFP) – An international graft-buster Tuesday kicked off a campaign for survivors of Sri Lanka’s December 2004 tsunami to report allegations of corruption involving local and international aid. Transparency International, an international anti-corruption group, set a five-month timetable to give tsunami victims a chance to voice any charges of graft when aid […]