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‘s ton frustrates England in first Test
KANDY, Sri Lanka, Dec 4, 2007 (AFP) – Kumar Sangakkara hit an unbeaten century as Sri Lanka tightened the screws on England in the first cricket Test here on Tuesday. Sri Lanka, resuming after lunch on the fourth day at 292-3, moved to 392-5 in their second innings by tea, an overall lead of 299 […]
Australian cricket chief hails Murali
SYDNEY, Dec 4, 2007 (AFP) – Australia’s cricket chief Tuesday brushed aside criticism of Sri Lanka’s record-breaking spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, saying he should be hailed for his “great feats”. Muralitharan, who broke Australian Shane Warne’s world record for most Test wickets by taking his 709th against England in Kandy on Monday, has faced criticism in […]
Activists denounce mass arrests of Tamils in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Dec 4, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan rights groups Tuesday slammed the government arrest of nearly 2,200 minority ethnic Tamils after Tamil Tiger rebels were held responsible for two bomb attacks last week.The Free Media Movement, a press rights group, and the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), a private think-tank, said they were considering […]
Sri Lanka new price index shows 19.3-pct inflation
Dec 04, 2007 (LBO) – A new index to measure inflation in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, showed that prices had risen by 19.3 percent in the past 12 months, a tad lower than the 19.6 percent measured by the existing index. The government’s statistics office which computes price indices says the Colombo Consumer Price Index […]
Sri Lanka urges private sector to spread benefits of export success
Dec 04, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government is trying to better spread the benefits of economic growth and reduce income disparities which have widened in recent years, a senior minister said. The government wants to help the private sector to improve its links with farmers in outlying rural communities, Minister of Export Development and […]
Sri Lanka economic shocks are home grown: IMF
Dec 04, 2007 (LBO) – Recent weaknesses in Sri Lanka’s economy have come from internal policies, and a plan to stop market pricing Diesel and Kerosene in 2008 may destabilize the economy further, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned. “Fiscal consolidation, if delivered without delay, would provide scope for private sector-led growth, reduce debt […]
Leasing Numbers
Dec 03, 2007 (LBO) – Lanka Orix Leasing Company (LOLC) said September quarter net profit fell 48 percent to 86 million rupees from a year ago with a sharp increase in provisioning for bad loans. It also said the company acquired 2,600,000 shares (29.18 percent) of Touchwood Investments Limited and 4,982,953 shares (20 percent) of […]
Finance Profits
Dec 03, 2007 (LBO) – Central Finance, one of the biggest Sri Lankan finance companies, said September quarter net profit rose seven percent to 283 million rupees from a year ago. Total income was up 24 percent to 1.6 billion rupees, according to interim results sent to the Colombo Stock Exchange. Net interest income of […]
Schoolyard bullies expand into internet
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 2, 2007 (AFP) – US researchers warn that bullies are taking their hurtful ways from real-world schoolyards to the “cyber” world by targeting teens with nasty e-mail, text messaging, and online chat. The number of children ages 10 to 17 that say they were abused by “cyber bullies” climbed 50 percent, from […]
Rudd sworn in as Australian prime minister
CANBERRA, Dec 3, 2007 (AFP) – Labor Party leader Kevin Rudd was sworn in as Australia’s 26th prime minister on Monday after a landslide election win nine days ago against long-serving conservative leader John Howard. Rudd took the oath of office before Governor-General Michael Jeffery at Government House in Canberra, launching a new era in […]