Category:
Pension Hit
February, 9 (LBO) – A one-off pension charge hit Commercial Bank of Ceylon’s earnings in the last quarter, dragging down annual profits despite capital gains from equity sales, draft accounts released Friday said. The bank lost 276 million rupees in the December quarter as a 1,738 million rupee charge to a restructured pension scheme took […]
Political Storm
February 9 (LBO) – Three ministers in President Mahinda Rajapakse’s government has been removed from their posts, officials and state television said.Anura Bandaranaike lost the tourism ministry in last month’s cabinet re-shuffle and has been publicly expressing his displeasure. Bandaranaike is former President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s brother. Sri Lanka Freedom Party strongman Mangala Samaraweera who held […]
Feed Line
February 09 (LBO) – A ship carrying essential foodstuff from India is due to reach the Jaffna peninsular next week, an official said. The first ship had brought of 3,200 tonnes of essential foods and this ship would have 1,000 tonnes of rice, 500 tonnes of sugar among its cargo, Nalin Fernando, chairman of the […]
Health Cover
Feb 03 (LBO) – Large numbers of refugees in Sri Lanka are at increased risk of insect borne diseases and failing health, with officials looking for new and novel ways to fight off infection. The number of Sri Lanka™s internally displaced people (IDP) has gone up by 2.8 percent between April 2006 and the end […]
Hello Hello
February 09 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom’s profits surged in the last quarter by 160 percent driven by strong revenue growth taking annual profits up by 76 percent, results released Friday showed. SLT’s group revenue with mobile services rose 25 percent to 40 billion rupees in the year to December, while profits after-tax grew to […]
More Bangladesh politicians arrested for graft
DHAKA, Feb 9, 2007 (AFP) – Two more Bangladeshi politicians including a former minister have been detained as part of the interim government’s anti-corruption drive, officials said Friday.The arrests bring the number detained to 25, ten of whom are former ministers. The detainees have links to both the main political parties. Outgoing junior energy minister […]
China catching up with India in call centre services
BEIJING, Feb 9, 2007 (AFP) – China is catching up with India in providing call centre services, one of the fastest-growing areas of global outsourcing, Chinese state media and a research firm said Friday. The number of employees at call centres in China is likely to rise 22 percent in 2007 to 158,000, while in […]
Sri Lanka president sacks three ministers in surprise move
COLOMBO, Feb 9, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president Friday sacked three ministers, including the former foreign minister, amid growing dissension within the newly-elected 54-member cabinet, officials said. With last month’s defections, Rajapakse’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) enjoys a majority and the sacking of the three ministers will not immediately cause any problems for […]
Sri Lanka town shuts down to mourn slain Hindu priest
Feb 9, 2007 (AFP) – A town in Sri Lanka’s embattled east shut down Friday as a sign of respect for a Hindu priest gunned down four days after he welcomed President Mahinda Rajapakse to a former guerrilla stronghold.Military officials said shops closed and transport was halted in Valachchenai to mourn Selliah Parameswar, who was […]
Alternative Fund
February 09 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will set up an agency to administer the renewable energy sector in Sri Lanka and also establish a fund to support newer forms of energy, a senior minister said. Sri Lanka’s cabinet of ministers had approved the setting up of Sustainable Energy Authority, but the draft law would have […]
Sri Lanka wants grow oil-bearing jatropha plants for bio-diesel
Feb 08, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is studying the feasibility of growing a new oil-bearing plant in marginal state land to make bio-diesel with private sector partners, an official said.Countries such as the United States have given tax-breaks for alternative fuels, and blended bio-diesel such as B5 with 5 percent vegetable based diesel is already […]
Jumbo Records
February 8, 2007 (LBO) – Guinness World Records could start a new record category on jumbo sized cabinets of ministers if a formal request is made, a Guinness official said. Rajapakse’s former ally, the Marxist JVP or People’s Liberation Front, said the huge cabinet for a country of 19.5 million people had made Sri Lanka […]