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At least 125 dead as bombs target Bhutto
KARACHI, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) – A suicide bombing targeting former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto killed at least 125 people, turning her emotional homecoming parade after eight years in exile into a scene of carnage Friday.Bhutto was unhurt, escaping with her life as the blast ripped through the police escort for the parade in […]
Strauss axed for England tour to Sri Lanka
LONDON, Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) – England opener Andrew Strauss has been dropped for his country’s forthcoming Test tour of Sri Lanka.England squad for Test series in Sri Lanka: Michael Vaughan (Yorkshire, capt), James Anderson (Lancashire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Ravi Bopara (Essex), Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire), Paul Collingwood (Durham), Alastair Cook (Essex), Matthew Hoggard (Yorkshire), Philip […]
‘s Angelo Matthews wins 2006 Prince of Wales cricket trophy
Oct 19, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan schoolboy cricketer Angelo Matthews, named the island’s best player in the 2006 under 19’s world cup, has won the 2006 Prince of Wales trophy, British High Commissioner, Dominick Chilcott announced Friday. Matthews of St Joseph’s College, Colombo, has been a regular member of the Sri Lanka under 19’s […]
Sri Lanka spring Atapattu surprise
Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s selectors on Thursday named former captain Marvan Atapattu as a surprise late inclusion for the upcoming trip to Australia, nearly two years after his last Test match.The 36-year-old veteran, who has the support of Sri Lanka’s sports minister, was added almost two weeks after the initial 16-man squad […]
Sri Lanka military says 41 Tamil rebels killed
Oct 18, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military said Thursday its troops killed 41 suspected Tamil Tigers in renewed clashes in the island’s north, although the rebels said some of the victims were civilians.The Sri Lankan navy fired early Thursday at a cluster of Tamil Tiger boats off the northwest coast. They recovered an abandoned […]
Sri Lanka urged to resume talks with Tigers
Oct 19, 2007 (AFP) – An international counter-terrorism expert Thursday urged Sri Lanka’s warring parties to return to the negotiating table to end decades of bloodshed.Gerard Chaliand said Colombo’s military push was not the answer to the rebels’ violent campaign for autonomy for minority Tamils in the island’s north and east. “I believe generally, terrorist […]
Sri Lanka, middle income countries, in line to get more World Bank aid
WASHINGTON, Oct 19 2007 (LBO) – World Bank chief Robert Zoellick’s new push to lend to middle income nations is opening up new opportunities for countries like Sri Lanka to tap low cost funding, if good economic policies are followed. Zoellick said the bank was already working with the Gates Foundation. He said approaches by […]
Sri Lanka says debut bond issue three times oversubscribed
Oct 18, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Thursday said the government’s first international sovereign bond issue of 500 million dollars was more than three times oversubscribed.The bonds have a five-year maturity and a coupon of 8.25 percent per annum, the bank statement said. The issue carries a “junk bond” or below investment grade […]
Sri Lanka credit-default swaps start trading after bond sale
Oct 18, 2007 (LBO) –Credit-default swaps tied to Sri Lanka’s debt started trading Thursday after the government sold 500 million dollars in bonds to foreign investors for the first time, Bloomberg newswire reported. Five-year contracts used to speculate on the South Asian nation’s ability to repay debt were quoted at 375 basis points as of […]
Migrant Votes
Oct 18, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan migrant workers who account for as much as 12 percent of voters are still denied the right to vote although they constitute the island’s second biggest foreign exchange earner. Commissioner of elections Dayananda Dissanayake told LBO migrant workers remain without the ability to vote because successive governments remained […]