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UN charges of civilian killings unsubstantiated: Sri Lanka minister
March 14, 2009 (AFP) – Charges by the United Nations that 2,800 civilians had been killed in Sri Lanka in recent weeks were “unsubstantiated,” Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe said on Saturday.The minister denied that government forces were firing into a demarcated “safe zone” for civilians and accused UN human rights chief Navi Pillay of […]
” deaths
WASHINGTON, March 13, 2009 (AFP) – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa on Friday to express her “deep concern” over mounting deaths in a government safe zone, a US official said.With the exception of the International Committee of the Red Cross, aid agencies face many restrictions in their efforts […]
Sri Lanka stocks becalmed as market awaits IMF support
Mar 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed almost flat Friday with a fall in the local unit of Nestle pulling down the main index in thin trade as investors stayed out of the market owing to uncertainty. Brokers said investors were disappointed by the slowdown in the war against Tamil Tigers after government […]
Supply Chain
March 13, 2009 (LBO) – Global logistics firm DHL said it will invest eight million dollars in Sri Lanka to set up a joint venture for supply chain services, including those tailored for the island’s apparel export industry.The investment of just over 800 million rupees in three years will go towards the joint venture, employee […]
Overseas Outlook
Mar 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank (HNB) said it is going ahead with overseas expansion in South Asia and the Middle East despite a global economic crunch and political turmoil. HNB had gone into Oman to push remittances through Majan Exchange LLC, which is 40 percent owned by the bank. “We […]
Sri Lanka tea prices up as crop plunges
March 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices rose again at this week’s Colombo auction mainly because volumes had fallen sharply owing to drought but crops are expected to revive with the onset of some rains. Forbes and Walker Tea Brokers said Sri Lanka’s tea production in January 2009 was the lowest in 15 […]
Bucket Pricing
Mar 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan fixed access telco, Lanka Bell has started two packages with batches of free outgoing minutes, intensifying competition in the fixed telephony sector, with market oriented pricing strategies, officials said. It has started a 1,000-minutes-free package for 999 rupees branded ‘Infinity Plus’, where the customer can call any time […]
Tech Ideas
March 13, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s software industry has teamed up with the British Council to promote technology entrepreneurship among university students. The “Graduate Enterprise Challenge 09” is a contest aimed at grooming the next generation of ‘technology entrepreneurs’, the British Council and Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies (SLASSCOM) said in […]
Sri Lanka conflict: UN chief fears war crimes on both sides
GENEVA, March 13, 2009 (AFP) – United Nations’ human rights chief Navi Pillay said Friday she feared both sides could be guilty of war crimes in the Sri Lanka conflict and that more than 2,800 civilians could have been killed since late January. “Certain actions being undertaken by the Sri Lankan military and by the […]
Sri Lanka troops claim 32 Tigers killed
March 13, 2009 (AFP) – At least 32 Tamil Tiger rebels have died in the latest push by Sri Lankan government troops into the rebels’ shrinking fiefdom, the island’s defence ministry said Friday.It has rejected calls for another truce, saying troops now have the upper hand in the decades-old conflict and are close to crushing […]