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Sri Lanka palm oil firm sees demand growing
May 21, 2010 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan business group with palm oil plantations in east Asia has said demand for the edible oil is likely to grow, driven mainly by China and India, with prices having stabilized at more realistic levels. The Carson Cumberbatch group controls palm oil plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia through […]
‘s Dilshan to lead in Zimbabwe
May 20, 2010 (AFP) – Batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan has been appointed to lead the squad to Zimbabwe for a tri-nation one-day international series that also involves India, Sri Lanka Cricket said Thursday. Several senior players including captain Kumar Sangakkara, former skipper Mahela Jayawardene, Lasith Malinga and Sanath Jayasuriya, who had a dismal World Twenty20 tournament […]
Rights group offers new evidence of Sri Lanka war crimes
May 21, 2010 (AFP) – A global human rights monitor said Friday it had fresh evidence of possible war crimes committed in Sri Lanka during the final phase of the government’s war against Tamil Tiger rebels. The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it had examined over 200 photos taken on the front lines […]
Sri Lanka may get IMF funds in 4-6 weeks: official
May 21, 2010 (LBO) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is likely to release the next tranche of its program loan to Sri Lanka in 4-6 weeks if its management and board are satisfied with the island’s budget deficit for 2010, an official said. Policy talks were encouraging, visiting IMF mission chief Brian Aitken told […]
Sri Lankan stocks close 0.11-pct up
May 20, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed up Thursday despite investors taking profits on selected shares, while considerable interest in banking stocks boosted turnover, brokers said. The All Share Price Index closed at 4,248.37, up 4.83 points, while the more liquid Milanka index fell 0.09 percent (4.13 points) to close at 4,788.58. Turnover […]
Donor Funding
May 20, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to get 133.9 million dollars from the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to repair four rural roads, the cabinet office said in a statement. Sri Lanka will also get a loan of 50 million dollars from International Development Association (IDA) to support local government […]
Off Curve
May 20, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s HDFC Bank’s profits for the March 2010 quarter soared to 224 million rupees turning around from a loss of 52 million a year earlier, as the firm recovered defaulted loans backed by pension fund balances. HDFC provided 40 million rupees for loan losses in the quarter up from […]
Sri Lanka floods could get worse: minister
May 20, 2010 (LBO) – Floods in Sri Lanka are expected to get worse with the arrival of south-west monsoon rains over the weekend, and residents close to river banks in low lying areas are most at risk, a senior minister said Water levels in two rivers in the southern Ratnapura district are rising, A […]
Facebook may make prophet page inaccessible in Pakistan
WASHINGTON, May 20, 2010 (AFP) – Facebook is disappointed at being blocked in Pakistan over a contest that encourages users to post caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed and may make the offending page inaccessible to users there, the social network said late Wednesday. “We are very disappointed with the Pakistani courts’ decision to block Facebook […]
Sri Lanka vows to prevent Tiger revival, one year after defeat
May 20, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka must strengthen its intelligence-gathering to stop Tamil Tiger rebels regrouping abroad a year after they were defeated, a top defence official said Thursday. Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse, who is President Mahinda Rajapakse’s younger brother, said Tiger sympathisers outside the country were trying to revive the Tamil separatist movement. […]