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Bangladesh garment workers rampage in Dhaka: police
DHAKA, July 30, 2010 (AFP) – Thousands of Bangladeshi garment workers blocked highways, attacked factories and looted shops in Dhaka on Friday, police said, after rejecting the terms of a government wage hike. An estimated 5,000 workers, who stitch clothes for leading Western brands, blocked the city’s main Tejgaon link road and attacked dozens of […]
India wants Kohinoor diamond back. Cameron says no
NEW DELHI, July 29, 2010 (AFP) – The real jewel in Britain’s actual crown will not be returning to India, Prime Minister David Cameron said Thursday, as he ruled out any repatriation of the famed Kohinoor diamond. The 105 carat gemstone set in the coronation crown of the British royals was mined in the southern […]
Sri Lanka decides against more coal power
July 30, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government has decided to change its coal-based power generation plan and not go for more coal plants and instead shift towards renewable energy, power minister Patali Ranawaka said. The previous generation plan envisaged adding about 200 megawatts a year of coal based power plants, he said. A […]
Sri Lanka-Japan free trade deal possible: statement
July 30, 2010 (LBO) – Japan is willing to consider a request by Sri Lanka for a free trade deal between the two countries, a foreign affairs ministry statement said. Japan has also been one of Sri Lanka’s biggest donors and lenders, helping to fund infrastructure like ports and highways. “The government of Japan will […]
Sri Lanka private TV station torched
July 30, 2010 (AFP) – Unidentified attackers set fire to a private television station in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo Friday after smashing editing equipment, police said. Friday’s attack was the first targeting a private television station since an identical torching of another private TV network near the capital in January last year. No one […]
Sri Lanka inflation slows to 4.3-pct in July
July 30, 2010 (LBO) – Consumer prices in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo rose 4. 3 percent in July 2010 from a year earlier, down from 4. 8 percent in June, the fifth straight monthly fall, the government statistics office said.But the 12-month moving average, which is a lagging indicator spread over two years and has […]
Sri Lanka to lean on banks to lend, cut taxes: official
July 30, 2010 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government intends to reduce taxes further and put pressure on commercial banks to lend more to the private sector, Sarath Amunugama, Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, said. With the island’s agriculture and services sectors expanding very fast, there is a need to pay much more attention […]
Sri Lankan stocks close down 0.39-pct
July 29, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed lower after hitting fresh highs in intra-day trade Thursday, as investors continued to buy amidst some profit taking, while retail investors chased after ‘penny’ stocks, brokers said. Hemas Holdings closed at 42.00 rupees, up 2.00 with 3.32 million shares traded, Aitken Spence closed flat at 1,900. […]
Compliance Call
July 29, 2010 (LBO) – Informal entities that have been operating as Islamic financiers in Sri Lanka will have to get their houses in order and become fully compliant with supervisory regulations ahead of a new law on deposit taking, an industry official said. “Some IFIs (Islamic financial institutions), because the owner is a well […]
Northern Reach
July 29, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Commercial Bank has opened two more branches in the former northern war zone of the Jaffna peninsula where economic activity is reviving, a statement said. “Residents of the Northern Province are now served by 11 Commercial Bank branches and service points with the simultaneous opening of two new […]