Sri Lankan cricketers hurt in Pakistan attack: police

LAHORE, March 3, 2009 (AFP) – Masked gunmen opened fire on the Sri Lankan cricket team’s bus in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Tuesday, killing at least eight people and wounding six team members, police said.Sri Lankan officials said six team members — five players and a coach — were wounded and that […]

Three Sri Lanka cricketers wounded in Pakistan shooting: minister

March 3, 2009 (AFP) – At least three players in the Sri Lankan cricket team were hurt in a gun attack while being driven to the Lahore cricket stadium in Pakistan on Tuesday, Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge said. The team bus came under fire as the players headed to the Gaddafi stadium for the third […]

Sri Lanka comes under IMF microscope

Mar 03, 2009 (LBO) – The International Monetary Fund has sent a mission to Sri Lanka to look at the country’s “near-term outlook”, the global monetary watchdog said, as the island is grappling with the worst balance of payments crisis in a decade. The binges brought minor currency crises in 2004, 2006 and 2007 as […]

Sri Lanka negotiating more forex swaps, Jan intervention U$251mn: Central Bank

Mar 02, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank says it is negotiating two swap agreements with central banks to boost the country’s flagging foreign reserves, as interventions continue to pressure the rupee. Sri Lanka’s gross official reserves fell to 1,753 million US dollars in December. The latest official data shows that the Central Bank […]

Sri Lankan stocks close down

Mar 02, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares took a beating on Monday as investors preferring to stay away in the wake of poor corporate results published during the weekend, analysts said. Fixed line giant Sri Lanka Telecom was down 75 cents to close at 35. Foreign buying was at 17.5 million rupees, while foreign […]

Banking Woes

March 02, 2009(LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Seylan Bank said it made a loss of 709 million rupees in the December 2008 quarter compared with group net profit of 199 million a year ago with a sharp rise in bad loans and a slowdown in deposits.Total capital adequacy ratio at bank level has slipped to 8.32 […]

Sri Lanka Dilshan hits ton after Samaraweera double

LAHORE, March 2, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka continued to pile the pressure on Pakistan as Tillakaratne Dilshan followed up Thilan Samaraweera’s double century with a ton of his own in the second Test here Monday.Pakistan’s experienced leg-spinner Danish Kaneria was once again a major disappointment, conceding 174 runs without taking a wicket in his […]

Global warming could delay, weaken monsoons: study

CHICAGO, March 1, 2009 (AFP) – Global warming could delay the start of the summer monsoon by five to 15 days within the next century and significantly reduce rainfall in much of South Asia, a recent study has found.“These circulation changes decrease moisture flow over the land, and we see longer periods without rain, along […]

Sri Lanka rejects truce calls as Tigers resist

March 1, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka Sunday rejected fresh calls for a ceasefire with Tamil Tigers rebels as security forces hit stiff resistance in their efforts to secure final victory in the island’s ethnic conflict.Foreign Secretary Palitha Kohona said any ceasefire would be unnecessary if the Tigers accepted international appeals to surrender. “When the […]

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