All Blogs
Oil Slump
SINGAPORE, Sept 25, 2006 (AFP) – Oil prices fell back below 60 dollars in Asian trade Monday to their lowest level in six months, before regaining some ground, partly on easing concerns over Iran’s nuclear program, dealers said. At 2:40 pm (0640 GMT) New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for November delivery, was down […]
Safe Funds
LONDON, Sept 24, 2006 (AFP) – Islamic finance is soaring around the world owing to an influx of petro-dollars from the Middle East and growing demand by investors, both Muslim and non-Muslim, according to analysts. The Islamic finance sector, compatible with Sharia law based on the Koran, is now worth between 300 and 500 billion […]
Fighting picks up in Eastern Sri Lanka despite peace efforts
Sept 24 (AFP) – Tamil rebels and Sri Lankan troops waged artillery duels Sunday in the embattled east, the military said, in continued fighting despite a push by Norway to restore a ceasefire ahead of talks. The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fired artillery and mortar bombs at the Kiran and Vavunathivu army […]
Condoleezza Rice urges Sri Lanka to push ahead with peace talks
NEW YORK, Sept 23, 2006 (AFP) – US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged her Sri Lankan counterpart here Saturday to make a concerted effort in planned peace talks with rebels from the country’s Tamil minority, a senior US official said.Meeting with Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaweera on the sidelines of the UN General […]
More democracrazy in the Maldive Islands?
COLOMBO, Sept 22 (AFP) – The Maldivian government freed a top political dissident from house arrest Friday, opening the door for talks with the opposition on democratic reforms, both sides said.At the same time, the government warned that the released leader Mohamed Nasheed, better known as Anni, would continue to face terrorism charges unless he […]
Human rights group demand probe of abuses in Sri Lanka
GENEVA, Sept 22 (AFP) – International and Sri Lankan human rights campaigners on Friday called for a United Nations inquiry into abuses against civilians by Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces on the strife-torn island.They urged the UN Human Rights Council, the world body’s top watchdog forum, to launch a probe as soon as possible […]
Self Service
Sept 22 (LBO) – Some Sri Lankan banks that are shifting traffic off its counters and to self service channels like teller machines and home banking, are doing better than other South Asian countries. Sri Lanka became the eleventh country in the world to accept bulk cash deposits in large denominations, which are instantly credited […]
Lucky Strike
Sept 22 (LBO) –Savers in Sri Lanka, who are losing money because of negative real interest rates in the country, stand to recoup their losses if they get lucky in a lottery that has now become a standard feature of bank deposits. The country’s largest private bank, Hatton National Bank is offering a Mercedes Benz […]
In-Shoring
Sept 22 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan telecom firm shifted its call centre out of the capital to a lower-cost central region of the island, in a trendsetting move that other firms could follow to their advantage. Suntel, unit of Sweden’s Telia which runs a wireless fixed network in the island, shifted its customer service […]
Asia must boost infrastructure investment: ADB boss
JAKARTA, Sept 22, 2006 (AFP) – Asia must dramatically boost investment in infrastructure in the next decade or risk losing its global competitive edge, the president of the Asian Development Bank warned Friday. According to a copy of a draft speech, Haruhiko Kuroda told an emerging markets forum in Jakarta that Asia would need to […]