Sri Lanka tourist arrivals up in June

July 09, 2009 (LBO) – Tourist arrivals in to Sri Lanka rose in June 2009, just one month after the ethnic war ended and the first monthly growth in over a year, the tourism promotion office said. The number of visitors to the island went up 8.1 percent in June 2009 to 30,234 from a […]

Come Back

July 09, 2009 (LBO) – A former Sri Lankan Treasury secretary, P B Jayasundara, who was removed by the Supreme Court, might return to his old job if he is allowed to by a new bench, a senior minister said. Court said conglomerate John Keells Holdings (JKH) which bought the ship fuel business had secured […]

Submarine Links

July 09, 2009 (LBO) – Lanka Bell, a Sri Lankan wireless telecommunications operator, said its investment in an undersea fibre-optic cable had helped increase business and reduce rates.The company said in a statement the rapid expansion of the FLAG (Fiber-optic Link Around the Globe) high-speed submarine cable network has opened up new markets and opportunities […]

Sri Lanka can balance growth with environment: expert

July 09, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan policy makers should not over emphasize on pollution control as the economy is still at a early development stage, as it may hinder economic growth and slowdown job creation, a leading expert on carbon finance said. “Right now I think developing the economy and creating jobs should be […]

Sri Lanka tells foreign aid agencies to scale down

July 9, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has directed all international relief agencies, including the Red Cross, to scale down operations following the defeat of the Tamil Tiger rebels, the human rights minister said Thursday.Mahinda Samarasinghe said the directive was not solely aimed at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) which had first […]

” operations

July 9, 2009 (AFP) – The International Committee of the Red Cross said Thursday it had been ordered by Sri Lanka to scale down relief operations in the island where it has been helping civilian war victims. As a result, the ICRC said it was withdrawing expatriate staff from the battle-scarred northeast which was the […]

Sri Lanka says US assured no blocking of IMF loan

July 9, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has received an assurance from a US diplomat that its application for a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF)) would be viewed on economic factors alone, the island’s foreign ministry said. Yesterday the government presented more ‘supplementary estimates’ to parliament to increase spending. Officials say Sri Lanka […]

Sri Lankan stocks down 0.73-pct

July 08, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares fell for the seventh straight trading day Wednesday as investors took defensive positions, while some of the plantation companies were pushed up by retailers, brokers said.Commercial Bank of Ceylon closed at 130.50 rupees, down 1.50, while Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka closed at 86.00 rupees, down 1.50. […]

Terminal Bid

July 08, 2009 (LBO) – A consortium made up of Sri Lankan conglomerate Aitken Spence and China Merchant Holdings are the sole bidders to design and build a new container terminal in Colombo port, officials said.South Asia Gateway Terminals, which operates Colombo’s private container terminal, and China Harbour Engineering Company, which is building a port […]

Land Deal

July 08, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court is to hear fresh arguments from petitioners seeking to revise a judgement last year that reversed a controversial transfer of state land to a private developer in a landmark case. Counsel for another group that had bought land in the property development project said they had […]

”’ Sangakkara

July 8, 2009 (AFP) – Pakistan captain Younus Khan Wednesday hailed the ‘brilliant’ leadership of his counterpart Kumar Sangakkara after the Sri Lankan led his side to victory in his first Test as captain.Sri Lanka pulled off a dramatic 50-run win in the first Test at Galle Tuesday after Pakistan faltered in the second innings […]

” by Tigers to inflate Sri Lanka tolls

July 8, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan doctors arrested for allegedly spreading rebel propaganda before the defeat of the Tamil Tigers told reporters here Wednesday that they were pressured to inflate death tolls. A five-member team of doctors who worked inside the shrinking rebel-held territory during the final stages of the war have been in […]

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