Five killed in Sri Lanka army attack: rebels

June 7, 2006 (AFP) – Suspected government troops carried out a bomb attack inside rebel-held territory Wednesday, killing at least five civilians and wounding 14, Tiger guerrillas said. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said government troops had carried out the bomb attack against a vehicle transporting civilians. “This is the largest attack […]

Cash Cow

June 7, 2006 (LBO) – Private fixed line operators are among the few trying to lay their hands on the fifth mobile phone license which has come up for grabs in Sri Lanka, industry sources said. Sri Lanka’s Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) Monday invited local and foreign companies with experience in third generation technology to […]

Sealed Link

June 07 (LBO) – Authorities in Sri Lanka shut down pay television channel CBNSat which was using satellite communications technology without proper approval, police said Wednesday. -LBO Newsdesk- CBNSat which rebroadcast a number of local and foreign television channels was scheduled to have a formal launch of its services shortly, with packages priced between 500 […]

‘s tea crop dips 5% in April

June 7, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea crop for the four-months to April grew to an all time high of 2.9 percent or 108.52 million kilos, helped on by good rainfall, a commodity brokering house said Wednesday. Black tea production for April however, slipped 5-percent to 30.59 million kilos, Asia Siyaka Commodity brokers said.   […]

Safe Investment

June 7 (Dow Jones) – Sri Lanka’s Richard Pieris & Co. said Wednesday it would make a capital gain of 125 million rupees (1.2 million dollars) from the sale of a 21 percent stake in listed Associated Motorways. The diversified company sold its entire stake of 1.75 million shares in Associated Motorways for around 578 […]

Government bonds go online in Sri Lanka

June 7, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Wednesday formally launched an electronic trading platform for government bonds, with the aim of broad basing the ownership of treasury securities, the Central Bank said.Developed by Bloomberg, a financial market specialist, Sri Lanka kicked off a soft launch on May 24 to become the second country behind Singapore […]

Oil Strikes

NEW DELHI, June 6, 2006 (AFP) – A sharp hike in Indian fuel prices sparked uproar against the government Tuesday as both its communist allies and the main opposition Hindu nationalist party vowed nationwide protests. Even senior members of the ruling Congress party demanded the rollback of the rise aimed at bringing fuel prices closer […]

Desperate Times

June 06 (LBO) – Lanka Indian Oil Corporation has asked the Treasury for a billion rupees of its unpaid subsidy bill to buy fuel, as petrol stocks threaten to run dry in two days. The government owes the company Rs. 7.44 billion in unpaid subsidies as at end March this year, with the firm saying […]

Bomb blasts rock Sri Lanka navy base amid peace moves

COLOMBO, June 6, 2006 (AFP) – Suspected Tamil rebels exploded bombs outside a naval base near Sri Lanka’s capital Tuesday, wounding two people while three others were killed in a similar attack elsewhere, the military said.More than 60,000 people have been killed in the island’s separatist conflict since 1972 and four previous peace bids have […]

‘s human trafficking woes

WASHINGTON, June 6, 2006 (AFP) – The shattered dream of an Indonesian domestic maid, who lost her fingers and toes, following torture by her employer in the Middle East is being used by the US State Department to illustrate the seriousness of the human trafficking problem. Nour Miyatis dream was simple: To provide a brighter […]

Thailand waives fees to attract budget carriers to new airport

BANGKOK, June 6, 2006 (AFP) – Thailand is offering to waive landing fees at Bangkok’s new international airport to attract low-cost airlines to the facility which is expected to open in late September, officials said Tuesday. Thailand’s civil aviation chief Chaisak Angsuwan said budget carriers could begin running test flights with some passengers at the […]

Big Bucks

BANGALORE, India, June 6, 2006 (AFP) – US technology giant IBM said Tuesday it will triple its investments in India to six billion dollars over the next three years, recognising India’s dominance in the global outsourcing industry. “In the next three years, we will triple our investments in India from two billion dollars over the […]

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