Category:
‘s Ceylinco Life says PDAs to enhance sales
June 19, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan insurance firm Ceylinco Life said it was arming its sales force with Personal Digital Assistants or PDAs in an effort to increase sales using the palm-top devices. The company said in a statement the launch of ˜e-assist’, a PDA-based “mobile insurance sales office”, will improve the way insurance […]
Sri Lanka agro-exports under threat if GSP+ is lost: exporter
June 19, 2008 (LBO) – A top Sri Lankan fruit and vegetables exporter which is pushing commercial agriculture in the poorest areas of the island says a withdrawal of European trade concessions would hit the high value agro export sector. The group also exports Spanish peppers, silver-skin onions as well as other fruits and vegetables […]
EU leaders split on how to tackle soaring oil prices
BRUSSELS, June 19, 2008 (AFP) – Soaring fuel and food prices posed a stiff challenge to EU leaders gathered for a summit in Brussels on Thursday, amid clear divisions over how to respond to growing calls for intervention.Following Irish voters’ rejection of the European Union’s Lisbon Treaty last week, EU leaders are eager to demonstrate […]
World Bank expects Chinese economic slowdown
BEIJING, June 19, 2008 (AFP) – The World Bank said Thursday it expected China’s economic growth to fall to single digits in 2008 for the first time in six years, while inflation would be higher than previously forecast. “China’s economic growth has moderated to a more sustainable pace,” the bank said in its quarterly report […]
Dollar stable as market weighs rate hike prospects
NEW YORK, June 18, 2008 (AFP) – The dollar held steady against other major currencies Wednesday in volatile trade as investors weighed prospects of US and eurozone interest rate hikes to counter rising inflation.The single European currency was at 1.5532 dollars around 2100 GMT, up from 1.5508 dollars late Tuesday. The dollar stood at 107.86 […]
Oil Row
June 19, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has ordered a local unit of Indian Oil Corporation to sell diesel on par with state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation or face sanctions, after the Indian firm raised diesel prices in response to a new tax. Lanka IOC raised the price of diesel by 20 rupees to 130 rupees […]
Ocean Outlook
June 18, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Chamber of Construction Industry is pressing for the setting up of an institutional and legal framework to exploit the island’s offshore resources. “It appears that our economic survival will depend on our ability to exploit our offshore resources,” said Dakshitha Thalgodapitiya, chief executive of the Chamber of Construction […]
Cricket Online
June 18, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s national cricket team captain Mahela Jayawardena has gone online with information technology company Cryptodyne to communicate with the island’s youth and raise funds for a cancer hospital project. “The most important thing for me was to communicate with younger kids,” Jayawardena told LBO at the inauguration of his […]
Italian police arrest 33 Tamils on terror charges
ROME, June 18, 2008 (AFP) – Italian police Wednesday arrested 33 Sri Lankan Tamils charged with belonging to the outlawed Tamil Tigers group fighting a separatist insurgency against the government in Colombo, an official said.Twenty-eight people were arrested in a series of raids on the mainland, suspected of membership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil […]
Heavy fighting kills 26 in Sri Lanka: defence ministry
June 18, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels engaged in heavy fighting in the embattled north, leaving at least 23 rebels and three soldiers killed, the defence ministry said on Wednesday.“Heavy fighting was reported from Navathkulama, Periyamadu, Kayamoddai, Palamodai and Koviltkunchukulam areas according to military reports,” the defence ministry said […]
Malaysia to probe link to Sri Lanka bomb plot: report
KUALA LUMPUR, June 18, 2008 (AFP) – Malaysia will help Sri Lanka track down a suspect believed to be involved in a Tamil Tiger bomb plot in Colombo, a report said Wednesday. Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar, who oversees internal security, said authorities would investigate a report about the arrest of six members of the […]
Lower costs drawing users to mobile Internet: industry
SINGAPORE, June 18, 2008 (AFP) – Lower costs are drawing more and more users to access the Internet via their mobiles, and opening up opportunities for advertisers, industry players said. Flat rates for data are becoming increasingly common, and mobile devices for accessing Internet content are more widely available, said Andre Levisse, of management consulting […]