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Ring Cut
COLOMBO, Feb 24, 2007 (AFP) – Working mother Kumari Ranasinghe looks forward every day to a telephone call from someone who hangs up on her immediately — her 12-year-old son who is making the call to let her know he has left school.“It’s also a disaster when the networks are busy and you can’t get […]
‘t be sent home if they face persecution
SYDNEY, Feb 24, 2007 (AFP) – Australia vowed Saturday not to send home a group of 85, mostly Sri Lankan boat people if it meant they would face persecution.The Australian government said the fate of the group, intercepted by a navy ship this week, was being discussed with both Jakarta and the tiny Pacific nation […]
Zimbabwe asked to stop money printing by IMF as Sri Lanka trail 1600:20
February, 24 (LBO) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has asked Zimbabwe not to print money and called for fundamental policy changes to stabilize its economy as inflation hit 1,600 percent in January, echoing advice given to Sri Lanka not so long ago. But Sri Lanka is trailing way behind Zimbabwe with inflation at only […]
Indian Grip
February 22 (LBO) – Diesel and Motor Engineering Company (DIMO), a unit of Sri Lanka’s Hayleys group, is boosting the visibility of TATA passenger cars in a market that is already dominated by another Indian brand, Maruti. DIMO opened a new showroom in a plush shopping business district this week, next to an existing outlet […]
Foreign Money
February 23, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Friday announced plans to raise 100 million dollars by selling development bonds to foreign investors, while a drive to sell rupee bonds to overseas buyers has netted in 31.75 million dollars to date, the public debt office said.Bulk of the funds will be used to bridge the country’s […]
Cricket Post
COLOMBO, Feb 23, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Friday issued two commemorative World Cup stamps in a bid to boost its cricketers ahead of the tournament starting in the Caribbean next month. “What we are trying to do is to encourage the players. We don’t want to put any undue burdens, but just to […]
Sri Lanka Tamil Tigers say truce dead, battle for statehood alive
COLOMBO, Feb 23, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka and the rebel Tamil Tigers marked the fifth anniversary of their truce on Friday, hours after the guerrillas said the deal was all but dead and that they will press ahead for full statehood.The party of nationalist Buddhist monks argued that there was no need for the […]
Sri Lanka rebels say truce dead, monitors leave embattled region
COLOMBO, Feb 23, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka truce monitors pulled out of an embattled northern region where thousands of civilians were on the run fearing a fresh military offensive, as Tiger rebels said the ceasefire was all but dead. The local employees of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) were no longer at their […]
Sri Lanka and South Asia to gain by freeing trade: report
Feb 20 (LBO) – South Asian countries including Sri Lanka could make huge gains by freeing up trade in education, health and tourism and lowering other barriers between themselves, a new report by a regional business forum and the World Bank has said. South Asian countries included in the report include Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, […]
Sri Lanka Central Bank raises interest rates by 0.5% to contain inflation
Feb 23 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank Friday raised its key policy interest rate by 50 basis points to 12.00 percent to dampen rising prices as inflation rose to a record 20.5 percent in January. The bank also said finance, energy and trade ministries have been ordered to co-ordinate their efforts to reduce inflationary […]