Author: lbostgadmin
In Tune
CANNES, France, Jan 22, 2007 (AFP) – Music fans, watch out. The hot new music-enabled phones being launched by top cellphone makers are going head-on with the stand-alone MP3 players that are now a way of life for the millions who prefer them over an Apple iPod. Key entertainment industry player Brad Duea, who heads […]
Secret World
KYOTO, Japan, Jan 22, 2007 (AFP) – In these days of the Internet, cellphones and iPods, few Japanese girls still dream of becoming a geisha with a strict life of training and duties. Facing growing competition from nightclubs and karaoke, Kyoto’s geisha are having to adapt to survive.At one tea house in Japan’s ancient capital, […]
Cool Chat
January 22, 2007 (LBO) – Motorola Inc plans to introduce a low budget handset next month to popularize the use of cellular phones among less affluent people, officials said Monday. As at end last year, bank estimates around 5.8 million people were connected to the local cellular network. Updated-weekly sales Sri Lankans can pick up […]
High Alert
January 22, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans probe deeper into the financial activities of non-governmental organizations, by beefing up its financial intelligence unit, Central Bank governor, Nivard Cabraal said Monday. Operating since July last year, the unit was set up to track foreign exchange dealings in excess of 5,000 dollars, to ensure unscrupulous people […]
Sri Lanka hits road to raise US$ 200 mn from overseas investors this year: Central Bank
January 22, 2007 (LBO) – Top Central Bank officials will hit the road next month to drum up overseas investor support to raise 200 million dollars in government bonds this year, officials said Monday. The bank’s Assistant Governor, Y M W B Weerasekera is due to fly off to Singapore and Hong Kong early next […]
Sri Lanka troops take Tiger town
Jan 19, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan security forces Friday captured the main rebel stronghold in the island’s embattled eastern province after weeks of heavy fighting, the defence ministry said.z The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fled the town of Vakarai in the face of the military advance, the defence ministry said in a […]
Switching Channels
January 19, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to abort contracts of greenfield radio station operators and instead offer them to new investors, in a crowded market that currently has around 30 channels, the Secretary to the Media Ministry said. “Around five to six investors have got the license, some have secured the frequencies but […]
Tight Control
Sri Lanka limited Friday the ownership of banks to prevent individuals or groups making hostile takeover bids that could destabilise the country’s small financial market. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka said an investor will be allowed to hold a maximum of 15 percent equity of any commercial bank and those who own more than […]
Sri Lanka amends law to attract foreingn investors to buy sovereign bonds
January 19, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to amend laws allowing foreigners to invest in government bonds, as they are too restrictive to overseas investors, the island’s treasury secretary said. The government opened five percent of the treasury bond market last November allowing overseas investors to buy rupee-denominated sovereign debt carrying tenures of two-years […]
Sri Lanka bids to recover swindled millions
Jan 18, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka plans to sue heads of state agencies where crooked deals and kick-backs are believed to have cost the government over a billion dollars, the government’s chief whistle blower said Thursday. The head of the parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises, or COPE, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe, said the state will try […]
Jaffna Power
January 18, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s power utility has signed up a new independent power supplier for the northern Jaffna area, and extended the contracts of two existing emergency suppliers, a senior government minister said. Sri Lanka based Cool Air has operated a 15 MW plant in Jaffna from 2002. Agrekko set up its […]
Sri Lanka violence claims two more lives
Jan 18, 2007 (AFP) – A soldier and a civilian were killed in fresh violence in Sri Lanka’s north as troops and Tamil Tiger rebels traded mortar fire in the restive east, the defence ministry said Thursday.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) killed one soldier with a rocket-propelled grenade fired at troops manning a […]