India police release sketches of suspected temple bomber

PATNA, July 16, 2013 (AFP) – Indian police investigating bomb blasts at one of Buddhism’s holiest sites released sketches of a suspect on Tuesday and offered a reward for information about the attacks.Buddhists are rarely targeted in India but there have been tensions in the wider region recently following clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in […]

British arms exports under fire in parliament

LONDON, July 17, 2013 (AFP) – Britain has issued export licences worth £12 billion ( billion, 14 billion euros) for the sale of military equipment to states deemed possible rights violators including Syria, Iran and China, lawmakers said Wednesday.But the report also raised concerns about a further five countries for which licences were issued: Argentina, […]

SriLankan Airlines feted for services to Indian Ocean tourism

July 17, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run SriLankan airlines has been given an award for special services to tourism in the Indian Ocean at a regional hospitality event of a global tourism award scheme. The World Travel Awards held its Indian Ocean ceremony in Maldives earlier this week where SriLankan received the new award. […]

‘s Piramal Glass unit sells more land

July 17, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Piramal Glass Ceylon Plc, a unit of India’s Piramal group said it was selling a second tranche of its former factory premises in a Colombo suburb for 415 million rupees.The company said in a stock exchange filing that the land had been sold to Ideal Motors (Pvt) Ltd. […]

Krrish given more time to pay for Sri Lanka land: report

July 17, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has given another extension to pay for state land in the capital Colombo for a proposed real estate project by India’s Krrish group, a media report said. Sri Lanka’s The Island newspaper said the firm had been given till July 31 to pay up the balance due for […]

Sri Lanka cement demand to pick up: Tokyo Cement

July 17, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Tokyo Cement said demand is expected to recover from a contraction in the first quarter of 2013 and medium term growth is estimated at 10 percent a year.Tokyo Cement, a joint venture with Japan’s Nippon Coke and Engineering Company Ltd, operates grinding plants in Trincomalee port in northeastern […]

Sri Lanka mulls scrapping cricket T20 league

July 17, 2013 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s cricket authorities will decide later Wednesday whether to scrap their Twenty20 league after all franchise holders defaulted on payments for the tournament, officials said.He said the franchise holders had also failed to come up with bank guarantees to underwrite match fees for players.Sri Lanka played its inaugural Twenty20 […]

WASHINGTON, July 17, 2013 (AFP) – US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated Wednesday that the Fed stimulus could be wound up next year if economic growth remains steady as forecast.The surge in rates, economists worry, could itself slow the recovery by slowing demand in the recovering housing sector, which has become a key contributor […]

Sri Lanka bets on high-end casinos to boost economy

COLOMBO, July 17, 2013 (AFP) – Multi-million-dollar casinos planned for Colombo have boosted Sri Lanka’s ambitious hopes of becoming Asia’s new gambling hotspot, but the projects still face political and religious opposition. “In the alcohol and tobacco industries, we have a good idea of how much is produced, what the sales are and more importantly […]

Sri Lanka stocks down 0.1-pct, rupee weaker

July 16, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s stocks closed down 0.13 percent on Tuesday with large cap stocks making losses and the rupee weakened in forex markets, brokers and dealers said. Nestle Lanka closed at 1,930.00 up 11.90 rupees and Aitken Spence closed at 125.00 rupees down 1.00 rupees. The benchmark Colombo All Share Index […]

Higher Gear

July 16, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s re-conditioned or imported used automobile registrations hit a 19 month high in June 2012 with Japanese made Toyota and Honda brands in pole position, an analysis by an equities research house shows.Imported used vehicles rose to 1,327 in June 2013, the highest since 1,205 hit in June 2011 […]

Sri Lanka tea promoted at US food fair

July 16, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s ‘Ceylon Tea’ has been showcased at a specialty food fair in the in the US city of New York, the island’s embassy said. Representatives of the US tea trade, officials from the US Tea Council and media had attended a networking dinner on July 01. On July 02, […]

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