Category:
Sri Lanka tourist arrivals up 24.6-pct in Sept 2010
Oct 08, 2010 (LBO) – Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka rose 24. 6 percent to 47,339 people in September 2010 from a year ago, driven by sharp increases from traditional European markets, tourism office data showed. The island’s peak tourism season coincides with the northern hemisphere winter. In the January-September 2010 period, tourist arrivals were […]
Sri Lanka govt to import chicken, eggs
Oct 08, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government is to import chicken and eggs during the traditional festive seasons in November-December and the traditional new year in April, according to a Cabinet decision. The import programme is to be reviewed monthly. Sri Lanka imposed price controls on chicken and also pushed up import duties […]
Better Marks
Oct 08, 2010 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has upgraded Sri Lanka’s Dialog Axiata’s (Dialog) national long-term rating to ‘AAA(lka)’ from ‘AA(lka)’, and revised the outlook to stable from negative, a statement said. This is to help mitigate potential currency risk on the scheduled repayments of its US dollar debt, which fall due between 2011 and […]
Sri Lanka national carrier to list flight kitchen
Oct 08, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run national carrier SriLankan Airlines is planning to divest a part of its fully owned catering unit through a public listing, Chairman Nishantha Wickramasinghe said. Earlier this week the government said it will divest a 49 percent stake in a gas distributor it planned to buy back from […]
Sri Lanka to liberalise civil aviation
Oct 08, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to further liberalise its civil aviation sector and remove flying restrictions with the end of its ethnic war, an official said. The private sector will be given more opportunities to operate hot air balloons, float planes and helicopters, the Civil Aviation Authority director-general H M C Nimalsiri […]
Bangladesh apparel exports surge as EU buyers shift from Sri Lanka: report
Oct 08, 2010 (LBO) – Bangladesh’s exports of apparel are surging beyond projections as buyers from the European Union shifted orders ahead of Sri Lanka losing preferential duty concessions, a media report said. Sri Lanka has exported 268.1 million US dollars of apparel in July 2010, down 11 percent from 301.3 million US dollars a […]
Australia renews push for regional immigration centre
SYDNEY, October 8, 2010 (AFP) – Australia will urge Indonesia, Malaysia and East Timor to back its proposal for a regional centre to process asylum-seekers during talks next week, Immigration Minister Chris Bowen said Friday. Bowen, who will leave Monday for Dili to begin high-level discussions on people-smuggling and border security in the three countries, […]
Canada to unveil law to deter illegal migrants
OTTAWA, October 7, 2010 (AFP) – Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Thursday his government would soon unveil a law to deter illegal immigration in response to the arrival of rickety cargo ships carrying Tamil refugees. Harper said current legislation does not go far enough to deter human smuggling, which “will increase in the years […]
Sri Lanka official forex reserves exceed US$7bn: central bank
Oct 07, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s gross official reserves surpassed the seven billion US dollars level on October 04, the central bank said in a statement. The level of reserves is equivalent to over 6. 8 months of imports and is the highest ever reserves level of Sri Lanka, it said. On October 05 […]
Sri Lanka stocks close down 1.34-pct
Oct 07, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed lower Thursday, down for the fourth straight day, after a roller-coaster ride that saw the market plunge steeply on opening, bounce back and then fall on profit-taking, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 6,770.74, down 1.34 percent (91.93 points) while the more liquid […]
Arrest Move
October 6, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police said Wednesday they were seeking the arrest of men and women who had starred in locally-made pornographic movies and would soon publish headshots in the newspapers. The Children’s and Women’s Bureau of the police said it planned to send photographs of the local porn stars to the […]
Sad State
KUWAIT CITY, October 6, 2010 (AFP) – Abuse of domestic workers in Kuwait is rising, and maids in the Gulf emirate face prosecution when they try to escape, Human Rights Watch said on Wednesday. The New York-based rights group said migrant domestic workers have minimal protection from employers who withhold salaries, force them to work […]