Author: lbostgadmin
Off Air
Jan 18, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka stopped mobile phone services for nearly half a million users in the island’s embattled east as government troops were locked in combat with Tiger rebels, an official said Thursday.More than 60,000 people have died during the 35-year ethnic conflict as minority Tamils fight for an independent homeland. Despite […]
Indian Visitor
January 18, 2007 (LBO) – India’s Bharti Airtel Ltd has been tentatively picked to take up a slot as Sri Lanka’s fifth mobile phone operator, the island’s telecom watchdog said Thursday. “We have issued an offer letter to Bharti, who have a month to make a 4 milllion dollar payment to collect the license,” Telecommunications […]
Herbal Remedy
Jan 18, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is promoting the cultivation of herbs used in indigenous medicine, through a network of farm villages, in a bid to cut down the cost of imports, a government minister said. Sri Lanka has a separate ministry for indigenous medicines which runs a network of Ayurvedic hospitals, medical centres […]
In a stroke
January 18 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is banning the import of three-wheeler taxis that use two-stroke piston engines from next year, to reduce pollution in urban areas, a senior minister said.Two stroke engines emit particles and unburnt hydrocarbons that are polluting the environment,†Information Minister Anura Yapa said. The air-quality in Colombo has deteriorated with […]
Sri Lanka stays pat on key interest rates
January 18, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank Thursday left its key policy rates at current levels, amidst soaring inflation, which is giving savers negative returns. The repurchase rate stays at 10.0 percent while the reverse repurchase rate, which it pumps cash into the system remains at 11.5 percent, the bank said following its […]
Sri Lanka claims rebel base as both sides count heavy losses
COLOMBO, Jan 17, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tigers counted heavy losses Wednesday after a day of intense fighting, as police commandos reported capturing another rebel base.Casualty tolls varied wildly from a maximum of 85 to a minimum of 16 combatants dead on both sides during Tuesday’s battles. The long-range artillery exchanges […]
South Asian lifestyle leads to high early heart attack risk: study
WASHINGTON, Jan 16, 2007 (AFP) – People native to South Asia are at greater risk of heart attack at a younger age than other people because of factors that include lifestyle choices such as smoking, a study published in the US journal JAMA said Tuesday. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal account for about […]
Airbus beaten by Boeing in 2006, but promises fightback
PARIS, Jan 17, 2007 (AFP) – Airbus said on Wednesday it had lost first place to Boeing in the battle for orders in 2006, but said it would increase deliveries in 2007 and would launch a cargo version of its A330-200 plane. Airbus has led US-based Boeing for new orders since 2001, but the European […]
African Wings
Jan 16, 2007 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan firm, which has built a freight forwarding network spanning eight coastal African nations plans to rapidly expand further into the African hinterland this year. “But we have to spread our wings outside Sri Lanka to grow.”
Disabled Friendly
Jan 17 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan companies should do more to make it easier for physically challenged customers to work with them, an activist body has said. “An environment of this nature welcomes people.Winning people is definitely a potential business opportunity,” Ajith Perera from the Idiriya organization said. A customer lost is a lost […]
Unit Gains
Jan 17, 2007 (LBO) – Investors in mutual funds with an equity component have managed to beat raging inflation last year, with Sri Lanka’s youngest fund, the Ceylon Index Fund showing the highest returns, its managers said. “We will have a marketing campaign in English, Sinhala and Tamil,” says Ceylon Asset Management CEO, Sharmini Ratwatte. […]
Graft costs Sri Lanka a billion dollars a year: whistle-blower
Jan 16, 2007 (AFP) – Kick-backs and crooked deals cost Sri Lanka over a billion dollars last year amounting to about a fifth of tax revenue, the country’s top official whistle-blower said. The head of the parliamentary Committee on Public Enterprises, or COPE, told AFP corruption and fraud runs deep in the main foreign investment […]