Category:
Capital Question
Dec 15, 2009 (LBO) – Capital investment in Sri Lanka’s telecom infrastructure has plummeted amidst a price war and high taxation, which will crimp expansion in the future and broadband roll out in the island, top telecom operators said.“Before the price war each operator was spending about 150 to 200 million (US dollars) a year […]
‘s green fightback
KAVRE, December 15, 2009 (AFP) – Thirty years ago, Nepalese farmer Badri Prasad Jangam realised that the once thickly-wooded hillside that overlooks his home had been transformed into a barren slope.Decades of deforestation had taken their toll, stripping away the topsoil, affecting vital underground water sources and threatening to bring disaster to a community entirely […]
India stop Sri Lanka in high-scoring thriller
RAJKOT, December 15, 2009 (AFP) – India overcame a brilliant century by Tillakaratne Dilshan to defeat Sri Lanka by three runs in a dramatic start to the five-match one-day series on Tuesday. Dilshan made 160 off 124 balls as the tourists made a spirited effort to surpass India’s highest one-day total of 414-7, before falling […]
Sri Lanka post-war recovery hit by graft, violence: watchdog
December 15, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s recovery from its decades-long civil war has been marred by graft, violence and a culture of lawlessness, a global watchdog said Tuesday.Transparency International rapped the government — which crushed the Tamil Tiger separatist rebels in May — for a lack of democracy, accountability and transparency. “The latter half […]
Sri Lanka Galle literary festival 2010 to showcase crime, pulp literature
Dec 15, 2009 (LBO) – Famous, if fictional detective John Rebus, finely illustrated graphic novels and sensational pulp fiction are billed to make Sri Lanka’s next literary festival a tourist draw card. South Asian writers including Mohamed Hanif, (A Case of Exploding Mangoes), Rana Dasgupta (Tokyo Cancelled), Amit Varma (My Friend Sancho) will attend the […]
Fuel Market
Dec 15, 2009 (LBO) – A planned ship fuel business off a new port being built in southern Sri Lanka, will target small vessels sailing past the island and lure them with break-even prices, officials said.Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) intends to start sales of bunkers in the first quarter of next year off Hambantota, […]
Sri Lanka forum to help politicians help people
Dec 15, 2009 (LBO) – A public seminar is to be held to educate politicians and their economic advisors on how best to meet the needs of people, ahead of scheduled elections in January. The seminar – ‘Unleashing the people’s potential: what should be done?’- will present the findings of a study and policy recommendations […]
Sri Lanka women key beneficiaries of rural road project: ADB
Dec 15, 2009 (LBO) – The Asian Development Bank said it has approved a project to build roads linking isolated rural villages in Sri Lanka that will employ poor villagers, especially women. “At least 50 percent of the workers will be women, with opportunities extended to war widows and female heads of households.” The two […]
Sri Lankan stocks close 0.55-pct down
Dec 14, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed down Monday as retail investors stayed away owing to political uncertainty, while a large tranche of Asiri Hospital and John Keells Holdings (JKH) shares boosted market volumes, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 3,039.78 down 0.55 percent (16.86 points) while the Milanka Price […]
Box Moves
Dec 14, 2009 (LBO) – Container volumes at a Colombo port terminal controlled by Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings have almost reached last year’s levels but those at the state-run facility are still lagging behind, latest figures show. The November 2009 volumes at South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT) were up 10.4 percent to 153,793 TEUs […]
Farming Message
Dec 14, 2009 (LBO) – Mobile phone message services like one deployed by the financial news agency Reuters to over a million farmers in India, could help Sri Lankan farmers earn more for their produce, experts said. Ranjit Pawar of Reuters Market Light, India said their SMS (short message service) in India provide farmers timely […]
India inflation hits 10-month high, surprises analysts
NEW DELHI, December 14, 2009 (AFP) – India’s inflation rate jumped to its highest level in 10 months, according to official data Monday, increasing pressure on the central bank to begin reversing aggressive interest rate cuts.The wholesale inflation rate, India’s closest watched inflation measure, increased by 4.78 percent in November from a year earlier after […]