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Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka picks up AA3 rating
August 2, 2006 (LBO) – Merchant Bank of Sri Lanka Wednesday picked up an AA3 rating from Lanka Rating Agency for their long-term senior debt, the agency said.MBSLs liquidity position had also improved significantly during the year whilst its gearing ratio had been maintained at 1.25 times its shareholders’ funds. The agency, which gave the […]
Going Nowhere
August 02 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s first toll road is still on the shelf without funding, with the government saying they will even consider commercial loans just to get the project going. The project was to go ahead with Chinese government funding lent on concessionary terms, built by a Chinese contractor. The country’s Road Development […]
’s Nest
August 2, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Wednesday said balances of dormant accounts taken over by can be claimed back by their rightful owners. According to bankers there are around 30 million dollars worth of unclaimed property and goods waiting to be claimed. In July the government announced it was taking possession of […]
India bans employment of children below 14
NEW DELHI, Aug 2, 2006 (AFP) – Employing children under 14 in households, roadside eateries and hotels will be illegal in India from October, the government has announced, saying it hopes to improve the plight of millions. But rights activists held out little hope that the lot of child labourers would change. A labour ministry […]
South Asian ministers fail to resolve India-Pakistan tariff row
DHAKA, Aug 2, 2006 (AFP) – India accused Pakistan of jeopardising a fledgling South Asian free trade deal by failing to fully implement key tariff cuts as a regional ministerial meeting wound up in Dhaka on Wednesday. India said that a Pakistani move to limit tariff concessions for Indian goods was a breach of the […]
Cricket proves welcome distraction from bloodshed in Sri Lanka
Aug 2, 2006 (AFP) – As the bloody ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka escalates, people in the island nation are turning to their top-flight cricket team to provide a balm for the misery.When Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels were locked in the bloodiest ground battle since 2002 on Monday, the nation’s cricketers were […]
Norwegian mediator calls for immediate end to Sri Lanka fighting
OSLO, Aug 2, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka peace mediator Norway on Wednesday called on the warring parties in Sri Lanka to immediately end all hostilities, which have claimed more than 100 lives in the past week.“We very strongly appeal to the two parties to stop the offensive operations immediately,” Norwegian Development Aid Minister Erik […]
Sri Lanka port city rocks as neighbourhood battles rage
TRINCOMALEE, Sri Lanka, Aug 2, 2006 (AFP) – The sounds of explosions in this northeastern Sri Lankan port town were more muffled Wednesday than during an intense artillery attack a day earlier, but residents found them just as scary.“We had no sleep from midnight because of the explosions at a distance,” said housewife H.P. Bandumathi, […]
Tigers open new front as battle for water claims more lives
Aug 2, 2006 (AFP) – Tiger rebels attacked three army camps and a town in Sri Lanka Wednesday, sparking fierce fighting which killed at least 47 by official count and opened new fronts in a week-long battle over water.The deaths — which now total at least 118 since Monday — have made a mockery of […]
47 killed in Sri Lanka fighting: military
COLOMBO, Aug 2, 2006 (AFP) – At least 40 Tiger rebels, five troopers and two civilians were killed when troops repulsed an attack by the guerrillas on army camps and the town of Muttur in northeastern Sri Lanka Wednesday, the defence ministry said. “During the whole incident, troops attacked the terrorists in retaliation causing them […]