Category:
Better Terms
July 21, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka may still keep its duty free benefits to Europe when an EU trade deal ends in 2008, with the scheme to be extended for a further seven years. Under the Generalised System of Preferences plus (GSP+) scheme, Sri Lanka gets duty free access for exports to the European […]
Weary foreigners ramp up mass exodus from Lebanon
NICOSIA, July 21, 2006 (AFP) – Thousands of foreigners huddled in makeshift transit centres Friday, weary but relieved, as governments around the world ramped up a mass evacuation from the raging conflict in Lebanon. Warships, cruisers and ferries criss-crossed the eastern Mediterranean from ports in Lebanon toward Cyprus and Turkey, packed with refugees, while planes […]
Former Sri Lanka captain prefers cricket to politics
July 21, 2006 (AFP) – Former Sri Lanka cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga said on Friday his love for the sport forced him to resign from the post of deputy minister in the government.“I love cricket above everything else and I am what I am today because of the game,” said Ranatunga, who resigned as deputy […]
Two more killed as Sweden envoy attempts to save Sri Lanka truce
COLOMBO, July 21, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels Friday rejected a call from Sweden to reconsider a September 1 deadline for truce monitors from European Union member states to quit, a pro-rebel website said. Deaths are reported almost daily, mainly in the island’s troubled northeast where troops and rebels clash and where […]
Tigers reject Swedish call to reconsider kicking out EU monitors
COLOMBO, July 21, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels Friday rejected a call from Sweden to reconsider a September 1 deadline for truce monitors from European Union member states to quit, a pro-rebel website said. The Tamilnet.com website said Tigers told a visiting Swedish envoy that ceasefire monitors from EU member states Denmark, […]
Going Up
LONDON, July 21, 2006 (AFP) – Oil prices firmed on Friday but remained below recent record peaks as traders paused for breath after a week of volatile trading, dealers said. New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in September, added 10 cents to 74.37 dollars per barrel in electronic deals before the official […]
Mental Block
July 20, 2006 (LBO) – Trade union action at Sri Lanka’s main harbour entered its 10th day Thursday, despite a court ruling to restrain striking workers. The government urged striking union workers belonging to Sri Lanka Ports Authority to resume work despite union allegations that the Colombo District court order issued Wednesday is yet to […]
Tea exporters in cash and logistics crunch due to port strike
July 20, 2006 (LBO) – A backlog of tea shipments and falling prices due to trade union strikes at the Colombo port has vessels bypassing Sri Lanka and tea exporters worried over tight cash flows. Trade union action and go-slows at the port over a wage hike entered its tenth day on Thursday, with no solution […]
Countdown
July 20, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka™s treasury secretary is to give a ruling on Friday over the controversial tax slapped on television stations airing English content, following a meeting with broadcasters late Thursday. The tax, which also applies to Hindi language content, largely affects English language viewers who account for around 5-percent of total […]
Desperate Measures
July 20, 2006 (LBO) – Top multinationals like Unilever have pulled out imported advertising on local television stations, after all foreign commercials were slapped with a one million rupee tax. With effect from July, all broadcasts of foreign television commercials are taxed at one million rupees a year, per ad, per language of broadcast and […]
Completely Clueless
July 20, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s media minister Thursday indicated that his ministry has not been consulted before a controversial tax on television stations airing foreign content, was implemented. “It is a decision under the Finance Act. We are just the implementing authority,” minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa told reporters. From July 16, all television […]
Stolen Loot
July 20 (LBO) – The British High Commission Thursday warned Sri Lankans of being duped by lottery scams, especially if asked for money or personal bank details to claim winnings. The British High Commission says it gets letters from many Sri Lankans who have received authentic looking letters claiming they have won prizes in UK […]