Author: lbostgadmin
Audit Rider
July 7, 2006 (LBO) – A parliamentary body which oversees public finances, plans to bring a law to beef up the office of Sri Lanka’s Auditor General, a senior legislator said. Meanwhile a parliamentarian has made statements claiming to be from another report due to be tabled shortly, that 360 billion rupees have disappeared to […]
Sri Lankan rupee strengthens; shares close narrowly mixed
July 7, 2006 (LBO) – Colombo share prices closed little change in moderate trade Friday, but the rupee rallied a touch on some dollars sales by state banks, dealers said.They said the benchmark finished in the positive territory thanks to local retail interest in few smaller cap stocks, with institutional interest in selected bluechip counters. […]
Strangers in their own land, Tamil refugees in limbo amid rising violence
MALLAVI, Sri Lanka, July 6, 2006 (AFP) – Former vegetable vendor Dharmaselan lost his leg and arm in an aerial bombing over strife-torn northern Sri Lanka several years ago.But he says government soldiers did not believe him when they began harassing him again earlier this year as violence escalated in the region. “The army kept […]
Tiger supremo pays homage to 273 suicide bombers
July 6, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s elusive Tamil Tiger supremo has paid tribute to 273 suicide bombers known as Black Tigers who have carried out devastating attacks in the past 19 years, the guerrillas said Thursday. Six photographs were released of Velupillai Prabhakaran, 51, meeting with his current band of suicide bombers and lighting […]
Warming Up
July 6, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to issue spectrum for third generation or next generation mobile technology to cellular phone operators next week, the telecom watchdog said Thursday. Priced at 5-million dollars, third generation or 3G licenses allow operators to offer higher speed wireless services on the 2GHz (gigahertz band). “All four existing […]
Deep Cut
July 6, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s biggest mobile-phone operator Dialog Telekom Thursday slashed outgoing call charges by as much as 50 percent as the firm stepped up its expansion drive in the country. Call charges within the network from 11.00 pm to 6.00 am will go down by 50 percent to 2.00 rupees, while […]
It™s a Wrap
July 6, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has slapped a controversial tax on foreign commercials, Hollywood and Bollywood blockbusters, dramas and sitcoms from July 1, with funds collected ploughed back to develop the local film industry. The taxes range from 90,000 rupees for a 30 minute dubbed episode to a million rupees for each foreign […]
Nit Picking
July 6, 2006 (LBO) – India’s Commerce Minister has raised the red flag on Sri Lankan shipments of vanaspati, pepper and marble, as they are threatening to destabilise the giant neighbour’s domestic industry, the Indian embassy said in a statement Thursday. The statement comes as both nations last week concluded trade talks on forming a […]
Mortgage Crisis
July 6, 2006 (LBO) – A top Sri Lankan housing bank has asked the government to exempt housing mortgage lenders from upcoming law aimed at helping smaller defaulters, as it will curtail the growth of the entire housing loan market.HDFC Bank, a publicly listed bank originally set up by the government, is facing the threat […]
Colombo stocks close flat on uninspiring trade; rupee dips marginally
July 6, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lankan rupee dipped marginally while stock market closed virtually flat on Thursday in subdued trade, dealers said. The benchmark All Share Price Index crept up 0.13 percent or 2.75 points to close at 2,116.15 on volumes of 19.1 million shares worth 95.09 million rupees, according to Colombo Stock Exchange […]
Tigers accuse Sri Lanka of preparing for war
KILINOCHCHI, Sri Lanka, July 5, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels run a de facto state in this northern town, but face increasing isolation and deadly battles with the Sri Lankan government which they contend is preparing for war.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have been stung by a ban slapped on them by […]
Mine attack kills Sri Lanka soldier
July 5, 2006 (AFP) – Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels set off a mine in northern Sri Lanka on Wednesday, killing a soldier, the defence ministry said.The victim was on a routine patrol along a main road in the district of Vavuniya when he was hit by a Claymore mine, defence ministry spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said.The […]