Category:
Sri Lanka military says 27 Tamil rebels killed
COLOMBO, Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military said Thursday that its troops killed 27 suspected Tamil Tigers in renewed clashes in the island’s north, although the rebels dismissed some incidents as attacks on civilians.The Sri Lankan navy fired early Thursday at a cluster of Tamil Tiger boats off the northwest coast. They recovered […]
Sri Lankan media watchdog slams military censorship
Oct 18, 2007 (LBO) – The Free Media Movement (FMM), a Sri Lankan media watchdog, Thursday sharply criticised heavy-handed action by military personnel in censoring media coverage of an accident involving a truck carrying ammunition. It said in a statement that the state security forces had censored media and deleted photos taken by photojournalists on […]
Offshore Business
Oct 18, 2007 (LBO) – Two of Sri Lanka’s top listed conglomerates, John Keells Holdings and Hayleys are positioning themselves to exploit business opportunities expected to emerge from an anticipated oil strike offshore. The aim of sending the business delegation to Norway was to widen the scope for business collaborations in new sectors with high […]
Sri Lanka trade fair draws foreign interest
Oct 18, 2007 (LBO) – Trade delegations from 12 countries have already confirmed their participation at IMEXPRO 2008, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce said Thursday. The event is an international import – export promotion fair to be held from 14-16 February 2008 in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, it said in a statement. The Ceylon […]
Port Bids
Oct 17, 2007 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Wednesday dismissed conflicting claims by rival bidders for a new terminal contract, saying they were inaccurate as bids were still being evaluated. “No one can claim to be the highest bidder,” said Nalin Aponso, deputy chief manager for communication and PR at the SLPA. […]
Sri Lanka tourism slumps throws thousands out of work
Oct 17, 2007 (LBO) – Five thousand experienced hotel workers are out of work due to the tourism downturn, according to the managers of Sri Lanka’s top hotel school who are now training people to find work abroad. Hotels are unable to hire new staff as tourist arrivals have fallen 22 percent in the first […]
Poor Health
Oct 17, 2007 (LBO) – Lanka Hospitals Corporation said its net loss for the first quarter of the 2008 financial year ended June 30 shot up 148 percent to 35.5 million rupees from 14.3 million in the same period last year. The Harry Jayawardene controlled company, which owns the Apollo Hospital, said in results reported […]
High Stakes II
Oct 17, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence conglomerate Wednesday defended its claim to have made the highest bid for Colombo port’s new container terminal in partnership with PSA Corp. An Aitken Spence spokesman said a statement by rival bidder Hutchison Port Holdings (HPH) was misleading and an attempt to change the rules for […]
New Products
Oct 17, 2007 (LBO) – Software and IT educational institute OpenArc released products for business and management sectors of companies in Sri Lanka, following its 15 year anniversary celebrations. ‘Open Arc SkyBank’, is an enhanced web-based solution to enhance efficiency of merchant banks and finance companies which use online real time Integrated General Ledgers, OpenArc […]
‘s dollar millionaires are getting richer: report
HONG KONG, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) – The number of dollar millionaires in Asia has swelled by 8.6 percent, with Japan home to more than 1.47 million, a report published Wednesday found. Japan has 43.7 percent of the region’s High Net Worth Individuals (HNWI) — those with assets of more than one million dollars excluding […]
Zimbabwe inflation surges to 7,892 percent
HARARE, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) – Zimbabwe’s inflation rate, already the highest in the world, rose to a new peak of nearly 8,000 percent last month, figures released by the central statistics bureau showed on Wednesday.“The year-on-year inflation rate in September 2007 was 7,892.1 percent, gaining 1,389.3 percentage points on the August rate of 6,592.8 […]
Indian shares plunge 9.15 percent on offshore buying restrictions
MUMBAI, Oct 17, 2007 (AFP) – Indian share prices plunged more than nine percent Wednesday, forcing a trading halt, after the market watchdog proposed restrictions on purchases by overseas investors, dealers said.They said the plunge followed a notice by the Securities and Exchange Board of India saying it would consider curbs on the use of […]