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Sri Lanka navy sinks rebel boats to foil port attack
Jan 27, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s navy attacked and destroyed three Tamil Tiger boats on Saturday as the rebels launched their first assault on the port of Colombo in 10 years, the defence ministry said.Naval craft blew up one boat after the three were spotted near a restricted zone before chasing and sinking the […]
Sri Lanka rejects child soldier allegations
COLOMBO Jan, 26 (AFP) – Sri Lanka rejected Friday allegations by a human rights group that its security forces supported recruitment of child soldiers, but pledged an “independent” probe into the charges.The government said New York-based Human Rights Watch lacked evidence to backup its allegations of military support for enlisting child soldiers, relying instead on […]
Sri Lanka money rates ease after hitting a 7-year high; volatility may worsen ahead
January 26, (LBO) – Overnight call rates eased to 14.5 percent Friday after a hitting a 7-year high of 23.5 percent two days ago, but dealers expect greater volatility in overnight rates, as liquidity curbs begin to bite.“The Central Bank has restricted the use of reverse repo facility to six times a month, this force […]
Positive Move
January 26, (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has upgraded National Development Bank’s credit outlook to positive from stable, but left the larger Commercial Bank’s outlook unchanged after the two firms said they were in talks to merge. It has 157 branches in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. NDB has assets of 59 billion rupees and is now […]
Get Set
Jan 25, 2007 (LBO) – Mobitel is almost doubling its capacity to sign up 750,000 new subscribers, getting ready to cash in on a booming mobile phone market that saw 60 percent growth last year. Sri Lanka’s mobile market is estimated to have grown by 60 percent to 5.4 million subscribers in 2006. Mobitel, 100 […]
Packet Search
January 26, (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom is investing 100 million dollars this year as part of a medium-term strategy to boost revenues from IP based services, migrate rapidly towards a packet-switched network, and drum up international business volumes, a top official said. “We want to increase business from non-traditional business to 70 percent over […]
Blair, Bill and Bono take Davos spotlight
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 26, 2007 (AFP) – Davos regulars Bill Gates, Tony Blair and Bono sought Friday to stir the collective conscience of the annual huddle of global leaders over the plight of the developing world.Bono, the U2 frontman — a rare exception to the bar on celebrity delegates at this year’s gathering of the […]
Only three percent Indians understand economic reforms: poll
NEW DELHI, Jan 26, 2007 (AFP) – India may be registering blistering rates of growth but only three percent of its people understand the economic reforms being implemented and most think they have benefitted only the rich, said a survey published Friday.“Seventy-two percent of Indians were unaware of the economic changes that the country has […]
Roadside blast kills three in Sri Lanka
Jan 26, 2007 (AFP) – Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels set off a Claymore mine in northern Sri Lanka Friday, killing two security personnel and a civilian, police said. The powerful roadside bomb was exploded in the district of Vavuniya as troops and police were on a routine patrol, a police official in Vavuniya town, 260 […]
Petrol Tug
January 26, (LBO) – Ceylon Petroleum Corporation will purchase a tug to support tanker operations at its offshore petroleum unloading facility, a top official said.CPC Chairman Asantha de Mel says the tug is estimated to cost five million US dollars. “We will save about two million dollars a year that we are now paying to […]