All Blogs
‘s tense east to vote under shadow of the gun
BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka, March 9, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s restive east will hold local elections on Monday against a backdrop of fear, even though Tamil Tiger rebels were pushed out of the area months ago.The government has poured nearly 6,500 security personnel into the coastal district of Batticaloa, 300 kilometres (190 miles) from Colombo, […]
Sri Lanka media rights body concerned over journalist arrests
Mar 09, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Free Media Movement (FMM) expressed concern over the arrest of several journalists connected to a news website and called on authorities to follow due process. “The right to retain lawyers at police stations while statements are being recorded and their right to inform family and colleagues as to […]
Gas Play
March 09, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-owned petroleum utility will enter the liquid petroleum gas (LPG) market by June using fuel dealerships, a top official said, while plans are underway to boost gas production. Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) now produces about 60 metric tonnes of LPG a day or about 10 percent of the […]
Saving Grace
Mar 08, 2008 (LBO) – State-run Sri Lanka Savings Bank, started to take over operations of defunct Pramuka Bank, will get a 1.5 billion rupee government guarantee to meet minimum regulatory capital, officials said. . “The capital requirement is met out of government funds, we are in a comfortable position to offer capital of 1.5 […]
Brand Values
Mar 08, 2008 (LBO) – Local brands will have to boost their image to compete against experienced and focused international manufacturers, who now having a larger market share in Sri Lanka, a branding expert has said. International manufactures are well focused and equipped to provide the goods that will have high appeal among consumers. “International […]
Private Call
March 08, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), the island’s dominant fixed line operator, has invested over 100 billion rupees in the business since it was privatized a decade ago, the company says in its 2007 annual report. The firm has also given more than a million connections since then, with its fixed access […]
” to seek British apology for brutality: report
NEW DELHI, March 8, 2008 (AFP) – British brutality during colonial rule in India cannot be forgotten but the nation is too polite to ask for an apology, India’s vice president Hamid Ansari said, according to a report on Saturday.“The amount of brutality by the British cannot be forgotten,” Ansari was quoted as saying by […]
Searching questions as Fed printing fuels inflation rather than growth
WASHINGTON, March 7, 2008 (AFP) – As more signs point to a US economy that is sinking fast, the Federal Reserve is struggling to find ways to reignite growth even as confidence wanes among consumers, businesses and banks, analysts say.“Perhaps the ultimate resolution to the problem might have to come from some governmental action not […]
Sprinter Marion Jones reports to jail
FORT WORTH, Texas, March 7, 2008 (AFP) – Former Olympic champion Marion Jones, sentenced in January to six months prison for lying about using steroids, Friday reported to a Texas jail, US Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Traci Billingsley said. All Jones’ results since September 1, 2000, have been stricken from the records and Jones has […]
Feb expands credit facilities for distressed banks
WASHINGTON, March 7, 2008 (AFP) – The US Federal Reserve on Friday announced moves to pump 200 billion dollars into the financial system to try to contain contagion from a housing-related credit crunch that is pummeling the economy. “And there is a real possibility, given the escalating turmoil in credit markets, that the cut will […]