Tech Glitch

May 23 (LBO) – Local commercial banks with a backlog of un-cleared cheques say the operational glitch will be sorted out by the end of this week. LankaClear, the country’s cheque clearing house jointly owned by the Central Bank and licensed commercial banks, rolled out its new cheque imaging and truncation system earlier this month. […]

SriLankan Airlines flies to Goa, expands further into India

May 23 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines will expand services into India, flying to Goa from October this year, with plans to also up frequencies to existing destinations. SriLankan continues to explore further opportunities by increasing our services to India, and we are currently considering launching services to more cities, as well as increasing the frequency […]

India to push the mango to new markets

NEW DELHI, May 23, 2006 (AFP) – India, the world’s largest mango producer, is set for a big push to sell its succulent “king of fruit” to countries like Japan and the United States, officials say. The mango is native to India, which grows 12 million tons (10.8 million metric tonnes) of the fruit, more […]

Chipmaker Intel considers testing facility in India

BANGALORE, India, May 23, 2006 (AFP) – US-based Intel Corp, the world’s largest maker of semiconductors for computers, may build a facility to test its devices in India, the company’s chief executive said Tuesday.“We are in discussion with the Indian government for setting up an ATMP (assembly-test-mark-pack) plant in India with partners,” Paul Otellini told […]

Ritual killings could drive Kenyan lions to extinction: experts

NAIROBI, May 23, 2006 (AFP) – Kenya’s famed lion prides could be driven to extinction because ritual killings by tribal warriors are decimating their ranks in and around the country’s protected game reserves, wildlife experts warned Tuesday.The findings were immediately dismissed by members of the Maasai tribe, which is blamed for most of the deaths […]

Tigers turn down direct talks with Sri Lanka president

May 23, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels Tuesday rejected a call by Buddhist and Christian clergy for a direct meet between the president and the guerrilla leader in a bid to end decades of ethnic bloodshed. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said they told a delegation of priests that […]

EU demands action over Sri Lanka attacks

COLOMBO, May 23, 2006 (AFP) – The European Union on Tuesday demanded action against those responsible for bombing three international charities operating in Sri Lanka’s embattled northeast. The EU said the Sri Lankan government must demonstrate its commitment to ending a “culture of impunity” by bringing to justice those responsible for Sunday’s grenade attacks which […]

Peacebroker Norway concerned about Sri Lanka violence

KILINOCHCHI, Sri Lanka, May 23, 2006 (AFP) – Peacebroker Norway is “extremely concerned” about the high level of violence in Sri Lanka, Oslo’s ambassador said Tuesday after meeting a top Tamil guerrilla leader. “We are extremely concerned and I think it’s very important that international and diplomatic attention continues to be on the high levels […]

‘s flashpoint

MUHAMALAI, Sri Lanka, May 23, 2006 (AFP) – A narrow strip of land in Sri Lanka’s northern peninsula of Jaffna is a flashpoint that could ignite a new war in the country, according to senior military commanders. “Tension is very high, very high,” the officer told AFP on Monday.“Anytime, this can accelerate.” In the past […]

Dire Straits

May 23, 2006 (LBO) – Cash strapped retail fuel supplier Lanka IOC has put a break on future imports, citing an unpaid 7.44 billion rupee subsidy payment at the centre of a dispute with the government. A unit of the Fortune 500 Indian Oil Corp., Lanka IOC says they have sufficient stocks to cover 43 […]

Sri Lanka banks on Europe to tame Tigers amid ‘major war’ threat

May 22, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka was banking on the European Union to tame Tamil Tiger guerrillas as the rebels warned that the killing of their top intelligence operative could force them into a “major war.” Scandinavian truce monitors have said that the February 2002 truce now existed only on paper.The rebel Liberation Tigers […]

Getting Co-operation

May 22, 2006 (LBO) – More than 25 co-operative societies have responded positively to the government’s call to revamp their banking units, Commissioner of Co-operatives Leslie Tissera said. Co-operative banking units have more than 20 billion rupees in public deposits, but the sector is under capitalised and poorly regulated. Tissera’s office has sent out proposals […]

Page 2902 of 3390