Author: lbostgadmin
Healthy Spat
June 13 (LBO) – Sri Lankan employers are to work with trade unions to build dialogue in key areas like health, education and power, under a European Union funded project. The 12 month project will work with three government sector departments and four private sector agencies on tools for negotiation, social dialogue and governance, a […]
Small Umbrella
June 13, 2006 (LBO) – Hatton National Bank, Sri Lanka’s second largest privately owned lender by assets, has stepped up its micro credit programme by offering subsidized insurance policies to customers, officials said Tuesday. By passing on the credit risk to an insurance, HNB also gets a chance to reduce the statutory capital set aside […]
Wage Bank
June 13, 2006 (LBO) – State bank employees will get a salary hike of up to 20 percent under a new agreement with trade unions. Bank of Ceylon, People’s Bank, National Savings Bank and State Mortgage and Investment Bank is due to sign the deal next week, sources said. The wage rise has also been […]
Simmering Heat
SINGAPORE, June 12, 2006 (AFP) – Oil prices were easier in Asian trade Monday, with the market waiting for the next lead on tensions over Iran’s controversial nuclear programme after a fresh spike Friday, dealers said. At 10:30 am (0230 GMT), New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for July delivery, was down 11 cents […]
Top Secret
June 12, 2006 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government is to ink a deal with Lanka Indian Oil Corp, towards the end of this month, to amend the petroleum pricing formula, officials said. “The small changes to the pricing formula are part of the agreement we reached with the Sri Lanka government on settling the […]
”s flight path
June 12, 2006 (AFP) – Air Vice Marshal Roshan Goonetileke took command of Sri Lanka’s air force Monday, 25 years after his father retired from the post.Goonetileke, 50, inspected an honour guard before being handed the command at a ceremony in Colombo. Among those attending was Goonetileke’s father, retired air vice marshal Harry Goonetileke, 76, […]
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OSLO, June 12, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera on Monday accused the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of intransigence after the recent breakdown in talks between the two sides.The rebels on Thursday aborted a two-day meeting in Oslo with Colombo representatives arranged by Norway to discuss the safety of […]
Mine blast kills soldier in Sri Lanka
June 12, 2006 (AFP) – One soldier was killed and five civilians wounded Monday in two mine blasts in northern Sri Lanka as troops exchanged fire with Tamil Tiger rebels, the military said.More than 60,000 people have been killed in Sri Lanka’s drawn out Tamil separatist conflict in the past three decades.The soldier was killed […]
Bad weather, strong demand to keep rubber prices up this week
June 12 (LBO) – Rubber prices in Sri Lanka are expected to stay strong this week as bad weather and a resulting supply crunch drive prices upwards, brokers say.Annual monsoon rains until August is affecting tapping on plantations, with supplies usually falling by as much as fifty percent at this time of the year. Brokers […]
‘s Central Bank likely to freeze main interest rates
June 12, 2006 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s central bank is likely to keep its benchmark interest rates unchanged for the sixth month in a row, preferring a wait-and-see policy over the economy amid deteriorating security situation and a gradual rise in inflation. “There is at the present time no room for a Norwegian initiative in […]
Indo-Lanka trade relations slip on oily issues
June 11, 2006 (LBO) – Two kinds of oil. One fires up vehicles, the other adds flavour to cooking. The two have managed to create a nasty oil spill between Sri Lanka and India, with trade relations between both countries simmering to boiling point. The spat between Colombo and Indian Oil Corp’s local unit over […]
Sri Lanka peace hopes falter after talks collapse
June 11, 2006 (AFP) – Hopes for peace in Sri Lanka have all but vanished after peace broker Norway’s failure to bring the opposing parties to the table, diplomats say.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) refused to negotiate with Sri Lanka’s government last week after travelling to Oslo. Diplomatic sources say Norway is now […]