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Rains delay Sri Lanka victory parade, 200,000 displaced
May 17, 2010 (AFP) – Heavy rains forced the indefinite postponement of Sri Lanka’s military parade marking the first anniversary of its defeat of Tamil rebels, officials said Monday as flash floods killed four people. The island’s two main monsoon seasons run from May to September and December to February. The victory celebrations scheduled for […]
Euro plunges to 19-month low in Asia
TOKYO, May 17, 2010 (AFP) – The euro slid to its lowest level since October 2008 in volatile Tokyo trade Monday as persistent fears over eurozone debt continued to pressure the single currency. The euro fell to as low as 1.2332 dollars in Tokyo trade from 1. 2358 in New York Friday, before recovering to […]
Sri Lanka stocks close 0.23-pct down
May 17, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed down Monday as investors took profits to re-invest in those that offer higher value, while trading volumes were hit as retail investors stayed away owing to heavy rain which caused floods in the capital, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 4,242. 49, down […]
Yard Trends
May 17, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan ship builder Colombo Dockyard’s net profit for the March 2010 quarter fell sharply as ship repair revenue came down despite an increase in earnings from ship building, a stock exchange filing said. The yard, which is majority owned by Japan’s Onomichi Dockyard, said net profit fell 48.7 percent […]
Box Trade
May 17, 2010 (LBO) – Cargo volumes at a Colombo port private terminal run by an associate firm of John Keells Holdings surged 25 percent in April 2010 to 166,797 containers from a year ago as trade recovered from recession, latest data showed. It was South Asia Gateway Terminals’ second highest-ever monthly volume, although down […]
Forex Hit
May 17, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Bank of Ceylon March quarter profits fell 13.2 percent to 664.7 million rupees from a year ago on lower foreign exchange income, while interest margins widened from lower interest expenses, its accounts showed. In the March quarter the group made a general provision of 334.4 million rupees, up […]
‘s Agalawatte Plantations buoyed by high rubber, palm oil prices
May 17, 2010 (LBO) – High rubber and palm oil prices helped Sri Lanka’s Agalawatte Plantations make a net profit of 36 million rupees in the March 2010 quarter compared with a loss of 68 million rupees the year before, latest accounts showed. Agalawatte Plantations’ tea business made a small gross profit of 1.9 million […]
Outsource Trends
May 17, 2010 (LBO) – Massachusetts-based Virtusa Corp., an IT services firm with operations in Sri Lanka, said net profit for the March 2010 quarter stayed flat at 3.6 million US dollars from the previous year. A company statement said the March quarter result was an improvement on the 2.9 million dollar profit earned in […]
Sri Lanka monsoon rains displace 75,000
May 17, 2010 (AFP) – At least three people were killed and about 75,000 people were driven out of their homes as monsoon rains lashed Sri Lanka on Monday, the disaster management centre said. Some roads in the capital and in worst-hit central and southern Sri Lanka have been rendered impassable, the centre’s assistant director […]
Sri Lanka seeks harmony between elephants and humans
LUNUGAMWEHERA, May 17, 2010 (AFP) – In the early hours of a hot dry day, four orphaned elephants begin a bumpy truck ride back to the jungles of southern Sri Lanka where they had been rescued from near certain death. The four baby jumbos — now aged five and six — are ready to leave […]
Maldives offers to take two Guantanamo Bay prisoners
May 16, 2010 (AFP) – The Maldives has offered to take two detainees held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba, in what it described as a humanitarian gesture, the foreign minister said Sunday. US President Barack Obama, who has vowed to close the “war on terror” camp, has asked […]
Europe to lose 1,000 flights to volcanic cloud: Eurocontrol
BRUSSELS, May 17, 2010 (AFP) – The volcanic ash cloud playing havoc with airline schedules will mean the loss of 1,000 flights in Europe on Monday with airports in Britain and the Netherlands hit, the Eurocontrol agency said. The cloud was however expected to disperse over the day, Europe’s intergovernmental air traffic coordinating agency said, […]