All Blogs
Sri Lanka lose toss and fields in cricket World Cup final
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, April 28, 2007 (AFP) – Australia captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to bat against Sri Lanka in the World Cup final at Kensington Oval here Saturday. Rain delayed the scheduled 09.30am local (1330GMT) start time but with the match due to get underway at 10.15am (1415GMT) the game remained a […]
Sri Lanka skipper says Aussies can be beaten
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, April 27, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene believes that Australia can be beaten in the World Cup final here on Saturday because they are human, not supermen.“Obviously they are a very good side, but they are also humans and in 100 overs people do make mistakes and we need to […]
”’ holding 194 child soldiers: UNICEF
April 28, 2007 (AFP) – A pro-government Tamil militant group is holding at least 194 child soldiers despite promises it would free underage combatants, UNICEF said Saturday. The UN agency for children said the Tamil Tiger faction known as the “Karuna group” was failing to honour its public promises not to recruit child soldiers. Out […]
Sri Lanka capital sealed off amid fears of Tiger attack
April 28, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police and security forces sealed off the capital on Saturday, searching every vehicle entering and leaving the city amid fears of a Tamil Tiger attack, officials said. Huge traffic jams were reported at every entry point to Colombo with motorists spending several hours before they could be allowed […]
Sri Lankans splurge on snacks and drinks for all night match viewing
April 28, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankans were stocking up on snacks, soft drinks, ice cream and liquor on Saturday to watch their home team battle Australia at the cricket World Cup finals in the Caribbean. Supermarkets, grocery and wine stores were reporting brisk sales as customers stood in lengthy queues. “It took us nearly […]
Small Credit
April 27, 2007 (LBO) – The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has joined hands with six Sri Lankan private banks to educate small and medium enterprise (SME) owners on getting loans to finance their business. Local banks are heavily weighted towards collateral-based lending, instead of project-based lending, which makes it difficult for smaller firms to access […]
Dollar Deal
April 27, 2007 (LBO) – State-owned Bank of Ceylon’s syndicated dollar loan has been able to raise more money than originally envisaged. (US Dollar = 110 rupees) Updated There had been substantial interest from prospective lenders allowing the loan size to be enhanced, an official said. The deal, arranged with bookrunner HSBC, was earlier scheduled […]
Sri Lanka plans performance based incentives to push value-added tea exports
April 27, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state tea promotion agency is planning a new initiative based on performance incentives to boost flagging valued added tea exports, an official said. The incentive is to be based on exporters performance in increasing the volume and value of such teas, Sri Lanka Tea Board Chairman Lalith Hettiarachchi told […]
Extra Year
April 27, 2007 (LBO) – International students graduating in Britain would be able to work for one year, helping them gain valuable work experience, the UK High Commission in Colombo said. International students bring many benefits to the UK. After the United States, the UK is the country which attracts the most international students and […]
Slave Records
LONDON, April 27, 2007 (AFP) – Britain said Friday it was putting colonial slavery records online for the first time, an archive which will eventually cover three million slaves in South Africa, Sri Lanka and the Caribbean. The collection on the ancestry.co.uk website is taken from registers lodged between 1812 and 1834. Britain has been […]