All Blogs
Sri Lanka edge Bangladesh out of T20
JOHANNESBURG, Sept 18, 2007 (AFP) – Bangladesh were dumped out of the World Twenty20 championships on Tuesday after slumping to a 64-run defeat to Sri Lanka whose miserly attack quashed early fears of an upset.Their remaining match is against Pakistan, also in Cape Town on Thursday. Veteran seamer Chaminda Vaas, who took two for 14 […]
Sri Lanka conflict exacerbates malnutrition: charity body
COLOMBO, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s lengthy separatist conflict is compounding problems of malnutrition on the island, an international charity said Wednesday.“The prevailing conflict and the frequency of droughts, floods and landslides have further increased poverty and reduced people’s access to food,” Action Aid senior official Rohitha Rajindra said in a statement. Nearly […]
Sri Lanka president appoints brother to parliament
COLOMBO, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse Wednesday appointed his younger brother as a member of parliament, officials said, in a move which tightens the family grip on power.Basil Rajapakse, senior adviser to the president, replaced a ruling party legislator who died last week, parliamentary officials said. Sri Lanka’s parliamentary system […]
Sri Lanka rights probe is flawed, top panel says
COLOMBO, Sept 19, 2007 (AFP) – A top international panel on Wednesday accused Sri Lanka of failing to honour promises to investigate grave human rights violations and accused the government of a virtual cover-up.The 11-member International Independent Group of Eminent Persons (IIGEP) said a government probe into 16 high-profile cases, including mass murder, had failed […]
Sri Lanka opposition accuses govt of misusing public funds
Sept 19, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe Wednesday accused the government of illegally channeling state funds to a new budget airline and a bank.He said the right of the Parliament to control public finances is a fundamental principle of democracy. The transfer of funds to set up the new state-owned budget […]
Sri Lanka rupee edges lower on state name buying
Sept 18, 2007 (LBO) – Strong buying interest from a state name that usually represent government accounts pushed the rupee lower in late afternoon trading with deals done at 113.60 against the greenback, dealers said. Sri Lanka’s cash markets have been tight with some market participants were seen generating rupees through dollar swaps. The rupee […]
Reality Time
Sept 18, 2007 (LBO) – Bad debts in Sri Lanka’s banks are rising and loan to deposit ratios are deteriorating as the lagged effects of a credit bubble driven by loose monetary policy are beginning to be felt, the latest emerging data shows. Loan growth last year was 29 percent and has slowed slightly to […]
Sri Lanka tea broker warns against unethical practices
Sept 18 (LBO) – A top tea broker has warned the industry not to take short cuts to get high prices at the Colombo auctions and instead to play strictly by the rules. “It is not advisable to turn a blind eye or encourage the achievement of prices by hook or by crook and instead […]
World oil price tops 81 dollars
SINGAPORE, Sept 18, 2007 (AFP) – Oil prices topped 81 dollars a barrel for the first time on Tuesday, setting another record high amid fears of critically tight supplies for the winter season in the United States.OPEC’s announcement last week that it would pump an extra 500,000 barrels per day from November has failed to […]
Mobile Deal
Sept 18, 2007 (LBO) – Bharti Airtel Lanka, a unit of India’s Bharti Airtel Tuesday announced a 150 million dollar alliance with China’s Huawei Technologies Co. to build and manage its mobile network. “We’d like to share infrastructure with other operators. We’d like to maximise the terms of sharing. We believe sharing is the way […]