Category:
Sri Lanka war wounded face long fight to recovery
RAGAMA, April 18, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s leaders have hailed the end of the island’s long civil war as the start of a new era, but for soldiers injured in battle, the future is far from rosy. In a hospital outside the capital Colombo, Manju Lakshman, 32, lies on a bed staring at the […]
Sri Lanka state railways lose Rs4.7bn in 2009
Apr 18, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run railways lost 4,768 million rupees in 2009 up 4. 7 percent from the a year earlier, which was more than its annual revenues, while carrying lower volumes of cargo and passengers, the latest official data shows. Sri Lanka Railways operated 4,568 million passenger kilometres in 2009, down […]
Sri Lanka tea producers say need support for replanting
Apr 17, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s plantations companies needs financial support to replant ageing trees as production costs rose, an industry official said as the state held back proceeds from an industry development levy. Dhamitha Perera, chairman of the Planters’ Association which represents corporate tea producers, said the costs of replanting estates with old […]
No Entry
NEW DELHI, April 17, 2010 (AFP) – The ailing mother of Sri Lanka’s slain Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran has been denied entry to India for medical treatment, the Press Trust of India reported Saturday. Vallipuram Parvathi travelled from Malaysia to the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu on Friday night, but was prevented from […]
Clerical Probe
LA HAYE, April 16, 2010 (AFP) – A Catholic priest in the Netherlands has come under investigation over allegations of child abuse and embezzlement in Sri Lanka, Church officials and the police said Friday. The Rotterdam diocese said in a statement it had contacted the police and dismissed the priest. Rotterdam police spokesman Karel van […]
Wireless Vogue
Apr 17, 2010 (LBO) – Use of wireline phones, supplied only by the listed Sri Lanka Telecom, a former state monopoly, is on the decline, with subscribers shifting to mobile phones, the latest official data showed. The number of mobile connections increased by 25.9 percent to 13.9 million in 2009 from the year before, while […]
Sri Lanka US military in disaster readiness exercise
April 17, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s military and the US Navy and conducted joint exercises on disaster readiness and medical response in the Eastern port city area of Trincomalee, the US embassy in Colombo said. “The joint exercise helped members from our two militaries to exchange best practices on how to address complex humanitarian […]
Flight bans extended into next week as ash cloud lingers
LONDON, April 17, 2010 (AFP) – Millions of people faced worsening travel chaos Saturday as a volcanic ash cloud from Iceland, which risks lingering over Europe for up to five more days, forced countries to extend flight bans. France decided to shut the three airports in the Paris area and others in the north of […]
Sri Lankan stocks end 0.28-pct up, Keells Hotels heavily traded
Apr 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed up Friday on price gains on mid- and small-cap stocks despite price drops in selected high value shares, while high institutional interest on John Keells Hotels pushed turnover past a billion rupees, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 3,966.87, up 11.04 points, while […]
Water Losses
Apr 16, 2010 (LBO) – A tariff hike improved the finances of Sri Lanka’s state water supplier in 2009 but losses from leaks remain too high while purification costs are growing as pollution increases, the Central Bank said. “Revision of water tariff with effect from February 2009 has had a significant positive impact on the […]
Name Change
Apr 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s dominant wireless operator Dialog Telekom intends to change its name to Dialog Axiata, following the renaming of its Malsyaian parent firm, a stock exchange filing said. Dialog Telekom said the name change is subject to approvals from shareholders and the company registrar. The proposed name “will accurately reflect […]
EU directive could stump cricket – report
LONDON, April 16, 2010 (AFP) – Cricket could be facing a world shortage of bats as a result of a European Union directive, according to a report in England on Friday. The bizarre crisis follows an EU decision to outlaw before export the chemical methyl bromide, which is an insecticide used to treat the wood […]