Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka up 14.7-pct in April

May 27, 2013 (LBO) – Tourist arrivals to Sri Lanka rose 14.7 percent to 79,829 in April 2013, with Eastern Europe, China and Maldives showing gains but India and the Middle East weakening, official data showed.Arrivals from Western Europe, the top generating region rose 10 percent to 27,531, and was up 12.1 percent to 156,658, […]

Indian police arrest six bookies over IPL cricket bets

PANAJI, India, May 27, 2013 (AFP) – Indian police said Monday they have arrested six bookmakers in Goa state who were part of an syndicate betting on Indian Premier League cricket matches. This year’s IPL tournament ended on Sunday night. The tournament has been reeling from a spot-fixing scandal which has led to the arrest […]

Sri Lanka cricket team sponsored by Dialog Axiata for Rs753mn

May 27, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Dialog Axiata, the island’s largest mobile operator said it will sponsor the men and women’s national cricket team for three years in a 753.9 million rupee deal. The team sponsorship will start on June 01, the firm said in a stock exchange filing. It will cover tours both […]

Umpire reveals attempt to fix Sri Lanka – Pakistan match

LONDON, May 26, 2013 (AFP) – Former umpire John Holder alleged Sunday he was offered £10,000 (,139) to help sway the course of a one-day international in the United Arab Emirates. “He told me his syndicate were involved in making money as the game fluctuates. “I said, ‘You’ve got the wrong person’.Players and umpires who […]

Sri Lanka President to boost economic, political ties with China visit

May 27, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa has begun a state visit to China meeting top leaders on wide ranging issues including economic, international affairs and defence, his office in Colombo said. President Rajapaksa will also attend inaugural ceremonies of the Global Service Forum Beijing Summit and the 2013 International Conference of […]

Sri Lanka not revealing fiscal data according to law: legislator

May 27, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka current administration is breaking the law in withholding information that should be filed in parliament under a fiscal responsibility law, which should be corrected from this year, a legislator has said.In the first three months of the year state and SOE borrowings from the banking system rose to […]

Sri Lanka post-war growth shift smaller

May 27, 2013 (LBO) – A post-war growth spurt is temporary and there was no ‘structural shift’ to eight percent a year from six, needing policy changes, an economist said, echoing a call by the International Monetary Fund to improve policy. Harsha De Silva, who is also a legislator for the opposition said while there […]

China offered to make Sri Lanka coal plant an IPP: minister

May 26, 2013 (LBO) – China offered to make a 300 MegaWatt coal fired power plant, which has been hit by a series of shutdowns, an independent power producer (IPP), a government minister said.Power sector officials have said that the frequent ‘breakdowns’ were partly due to the relative inexperience of engineers operating the plant as […]

‘s top producer

May 25, 2013 (LBO) – Ceylon Tea is being promoted in China giving a chance for citizens in that country to enjoy the beverage, though freely consuming foreign tea is a liberty that citizens of the island no longer posses. Sri Lanka’s consulate in Shanghai had also had a launched a promotional campaign on tea. […]

‘s last rites spark Sri Lanka protest

COLOMBO, May 26, 2013 (AFP) – About 200 Sri Lankan Buddhists blocked traffic in the capital Colombo on Sunday to protest after authorities rejected a state funeral for the country’s first ever monk to self-immolate.More than 110 Tibetan Buddhists have set themselves ablaze since 2009 to protest China’s rule of the Tibetan plateau, rights groups […]

Sri Lanka monk dies after self-immolation

May 25, 2013 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan Buddhist monk died Saturday of severe burns a day after setting himself on fire to protest the slaughter of cattle, an official said.Bowatte Indaratna, 30, succumbed to his injuries at the National Hospital in Colombo where he was rushed Friday after his self-immolation bid in front of […]

Sri Lanka state, SOE, bank borrowings top Rs100bn in March

May 26, 2013 (LBO) – Bank credit to Sri Lanka’s state enterprises and central government surged to 100.6 billion rupees in March 2013 from 36.7 billion a month earlier, official data shows, perhaps the highest ever in a single month.But the broader public sector deficit with loss making energy enterprises was 8.6 percent of GDP […]

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