Lanka to import 30,000 tonnes of Indian rice

Sri Lanka has decided to import immediately 30,000 tonne of non-basmati pooni rice from India to fight the high inflation rate which is in double digits now owing to a rise in the cost of essential commodities.

"The government will import 30,000 tonne of Indian rice that could be brought from Singapore as the export price charged by the Indian traders could touch 500 dollars a tonne," an official said here.

The Lankan government is to import the quantum of rice in two weeks to reduce the domestic prices.

According to statistics, the high wheat flour prices have brought about a decline in its consumption by about 40 per cent in the past two weeks.

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Two new ships for Sri Lanka's Mercantile Shipping

The Sri Lankan-German joint venture Mercantile Shipping Company has announced that it has ordered two 7,800dwt multi-purpose vessels worth a combined €25m ($36.5m) from a Netherlands based yard. The vessels, which will boast their own cranes for handling break bulk and container cargo, will be funded by a cobination of the company’s own resources, international loans and a shipbuilding grant from the Dutch government.

"The ships will fly the Sri Lanka flag and will be crewed by Sri Lankans so they are going to be Sri Lankan ships,” Stephan Kuehl, Mercantile Shipping Company general manager told Lanka Business. “I believe this is the first time a private shipping company in Sri Lanka is getting new buildings."

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http://www.seatradeasia-online.com/News/2220.html

Aussies needed taste of their own medicine, says Ranatunga

Sri Lanka cricket chief Arjuna Ranatunga was amused to see the boot on the other foot after Australia complained about the on-field behaviour of the Indian team.

Sledging has become a hot topic in world cricket since the row which erupted after India spinner Harbhajan Singh was found to have racially abusing Australia all-rounder Andrew Symonds in the Sydney Test this month.

The actions of the Australians have also come under scrutiny in the wake of the incident with criticism levelled at them for their over-competitiveness and aggression.

Former Sri Lanka skipper Ranatunga was no stranger to the acid tongues of the Australians in his playing days and, while he took some pleasure from seeing their barbs returned in kind, he believes it is time for the International Cricket Council to step in.

"I think this is the first time after I gave it back, that Australia is now being paid back with their own coin," Ranatunga told Sri Lankan newspaper The Island. "Now, even Australia is complaining.

"I think it's important for the administrators to clean up the game. I think they should stop shouting and sledging on the field.

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CID probes misappropriation of euro 145,000 from several bank accounts

The Financial Investigations Unit of the Criminal Investigations Department is probing the misappropriation of a total of euro 145,000 from several bank accounts.

The CID is seeking Court permission to get the details of three accounts at Seylan Bank (Ambalangoda), Nations Trust Bank (Colombo Fort) and Commercial Bank (Bristol Street branch) in this regard.

A complaint in this connection has been lodged by A.G. Strarwicks from Liechtenstein, who has been living in Sri Lanka for the last 22 years.

The complainant has told Police that he owned a hotel in Ambalangoda and sold it in 1997 for Rs. 30 million. His residence visa expired.

However, he wanted to stay on in Sri Lanka after investing the funds from the sale of the hotel.

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http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/01/19/news02.asp

Russia's Foreign Ministry recommends Russians to cancel trips to Sri Lanka

Russia's Foreign Ministry has issued a recommendation to Russian citizens to refrain from trips to Sri Lanka in the wake of growing terrorist activity on the part of Tamil Eelam Liberation Tigers.

"This organization has noticeably stepped up its terrorist activity of late," a source at the Foreign Ministry said Friday. "There've been four terrorist acts in succession and they carried away many human lives."

"In the light of it, the Foreign Ministry recommends Russian citizens to refrain from trips to Sri Lanka until the situation in that country returns to normal," the source said.

Extracted from,
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=12270912&PageNum=0

Sri Lanka plans fiber optic cable network using railway reserves

The Sri Lanka government has decided to call for tenders to set up a fiber optic cable network running along the country's railway tracks. The goal is to build a mass media cable network covering a large part of the country.

This was disclosed at the weekly media briefing on Cabinet decisions, held in Colombo yesterday evening.

The government said the decision was taken considering the requests made by several media technological institutions to set up a fiber optic cable network to cover the country’s main towns. Media Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa said a preliminary study on the project’s viability has been done with the assistance of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission.

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http://www.colombopage.com/archive_08/January18163833JR.html