Category:
On Paper
June 23, 2006 (LBO) – Malaysia will build Sri Lanka’s Colombo-Kandy Highway, with an agreement for a feasibility study signed by the two sides this week, the government said Friday.The two countries met this week for the inaugural session of the Sri Lanka-Malaysia Joint Commission on bilateral relations, investments and trade. “At the conclusion of […]
Humble Abode
June 23, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s housing authority is to set up a low income housing fund to help re-locate people in Colombo’s under-served areas, run-down state flats and shanties.Run by the Urban Development Authority, the Fund is to be set up with seed capital from the Treasury and partly through internal funds. “We […]
Seamless Access
June 23, 2006 (LBO) – Over a dozens firms have responded to the telecom watchdog’s call to take up a WiMAX license and offer services islandwide, the regulator said Friday. WiMAX or Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access uses the 3.5 gigahertz frequency band to provide cost effective broadband technologies. The telecom regulator will initially set […]
Giant crude producer Iran to ration petrol, stop imports
TEHRAN, June 23, 2006 (AFP) – Iran said Friday it will stop importing petrol in September and begin rationing it, ironic for a country that is OPEC’s number-two exporter of crude oil.“As there is nothing provisioned for petrol imports in the second half of this (Iranian) year’s budget …the imports will naturally stop and petrol […]
Letting your hair down, with a little help
PARIS, June 23, 2006 (AFP) – Forget designer handbags and couture frocks, these days style-conscious women are spending big on the latest luxury accessory, human hair extensions. Hot on the heels of celebrity torchbearers like Victoria Beckham and Paris Hilton, women are paying up to 1,000 euros (1,250 dollars) to have someone else’s hair stuck […]
Sri Lankan president to visit Bangladesh
DHAKA, June 23, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse will visit Bangladesh next month, the foreign ministry said Friday. Rajapakse would hold talks with Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia during the three-day visit from 12 July, the ministry said. “The president’s visit will be significant in both bilateral and regional aspects. Both the […]
‘s capital
June 23, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo was thrown into panic Friday after sonic booms caused by jet fighters were mistaken for bomb blasts off the coast, the military and police said.Defence Ministry spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said Israeli-built Kfir jets were on a training mission and may have broken the sound barrier causing […]
Bank of Ceylon may double foreign loans to boost Sri Lanka’s balance of payments
June 22, 2006 (LBO) – The Bank of Ceylon is to increase foreign borrowings to 400 million dollars this year, to boost Sri Lanka’s balance of payments and give more fiscal space for the government, a senior government source said.The bank has already called for proposals from foreign banks to raise 200 million dollars through […]
Hemas Holdings may jointly develop hotels with Thailand’s Minor International
June 22, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hemas Holdings Ltd may partner with Thailand’s largest quoted resort and fast food operator Minor International Public Company Ltd., to develop hotels here. Minor International also manages properties in the Middle East and runs hotels in Thailand under international brands names like Anantara and J W Marriot. Both […]
Most common nouns in English? I wouldn’t give them the time of day
LONDON, June 22, 2006 (AFP) – A new list of the most common nouns in the English language published in the latest Oxford dictionary reveals that English speakers are obsessed with time, Oxford University Press (OUP) researchers said Thursday.The word “time” topped the list, with “year” in third place and “day” in fifth position and […]
Tigers’ demand on EU truce monitors ‘impractical’: Sri Lanka
June 22, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka Thursday labelled as “impractical” a demand by Tamil Tiger rebels that European Union truce monitors on the troubled island be replaced within a month, saying more time was needed.“We are concerned that the LTTE has informed the Norwegian facilitator that the change…should be effected within one month, instead […]
‘s balance of payments
June 22, 2006 (LBO) – The Bank of Ceylon is to increase foreign borrowings to 400 million dollars this year, to boost Sri Lanka’s balance of payments and give more fiscal space for the government, a senior government source said.The bank has already called for proposals from foreign banks to raise 200 million dollars through […]