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And the heavens showered Earth with gold
PARIS, September 7, 2011 (AFP) – Were it not for meteorites striking Earth some four billion years ago, humans would never have laid eyes on the gold that has raised and ruined civilisations, according to a study published Thursday. Two hundred million years earlier, during the violent throes of planetary formation, Earth was a mass […]
Rights group urges Sri Lanka to end detention laws
September 8, 2011 (AFP) – The Human Rights Watch lobby group on Wednesday urged Sri Lanka to scrap draconian detention laws and free thousands of people held under the regulations. The New York-based body said Sri Lanka’s ending of a decades-long state of emergency last week would have little effect as separate anti-terror laws still […]
Sri Lanka currency peg defence by interest rates not advisable: IMF
Sept 08, 2011 (LBO) – The International Monetary Fund is not in favour of mounting an interest rate defence of Sri Lanka’s currency peg, but would like to see exchange rate flexibility instead, an official said. Sri Lanka’s interest rate policy has been largely passive since a currency crisis ended with the float of the […]
Sri Lanka rupee peg weakens, treasuries flat
Sep 07, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s dollar peg weakened by another 10 cents to 110.20 rupees in the spot market, amid continued pressure on the domestic currency, dealers said. The monetary authority’s unofficial two way quote was dropped to 109.70/110.10 Wednesday, in the wake of an earlier drop of 10 cents Monday. In the […]
Sri Lanka stocks end up 0.6-pct
Sep 07, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed higher Wednesday, with several private deals in conglomerate John Keells Holdings boosting turnover and speculative trades continuing in other shares, brokers said. HVA Foods was also heavily traded, closing at 77. 60 rupees, up 2.50, with 2.85 million shares done. There was a sole crossing of […]
Electronic Transfer
Sep 07, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank is offering companies an electronic payment service for Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) payments via its ˜Paymaster’ system. “Payments via Paymaster can be made by simply uploading a file to Commercial Bank’s web platform,” a statement said. “There are no limits to the number of transactions and […]
Sri Lanka UK researchers in bid to save rare loris
Sept 07, 2011 (LBO) – Researchers from Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom are devising ways to save a rare primate that is threatened with extinction from habitat loss, including a species that was ˜rediscovered’ two years ago. The University of Colombo, Open University of Sri Lanka and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is […]
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NEW DELHI, September 7, 2011 (AFP) – For advertising executive Govind Nair, working in India’s outsourcing industry for a California telecoms firm means burning the candle at both ends for his customers. “They try to be considerate. They know there’s a 12-and-a-half-hour time difference between India and San Francisco but we still end up getting […]
Ford building $1bn manufacturing complex in India
NEW DELHI, September 6, 2011 (AFP) – US auto giant Ford has started construction on a $1 billion manufacturing and engineering complex in India as it bets on the country to help drive global growth, a company statement said Tuesday. The Detroit firm still has a long way to go to make the region a […]
” war probe
September 7, 2011 (AFP) – Amnesty International on Wednesday said Sri Lanka’s inquiry into its military victory over Tamil rebels was “flawed at every level” and no substitute for an international war crimes investigation. The human rights watchdog issued a 69-page report slamming the work of the government’s Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission (LLRC) ahead […]