Author: lbostgadmin
Indian anti-graft activist ends 13-day fast
NEW DELHI, August 28, 2011 (AFP) – Indian anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare ended his 13-day hunger strike on Sunday triggering wild celebrations among supporters after parliament agreed to consider his demands. Hazare’s fast at an open-air venue in New Delhi attracted tens of thousands of people every day as a nationwide protest movement emerged to […]
‘s killers to hang next month
CHENNAI, August 27, 2011 (AFP) – Three men convicted of the 1991 assassination of then Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi will be hanged early next month, a senior jail official has said. The announcement late Friday that the executions would be carried out on September 9 came after India’s president rejected mercy pleas from the […]
Sri Lanka investors stumped by low labour productivity in tea estates
Aug 27, 2011 (LBO) – Investors are losing interest in Sri Lanka’s plantations as rising wages without productivity gains are making companies reluctant to invest in the replanting needed to sustain the industry, a business group has warned. Sri Lanka™s competitiveness as a tea producer has declined with each successive wage hike with no commensurate […]
Sri Lanka scraps emergency laws, US cheers
August 25, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president announced on Thursday that he was scrapping draconian emergency laws imposed nearly 30 years ago to deal with the armed Tamil separatist movement. The move, which was welcomed by the United States, comes as Sri Lanka faces growing pressure — led by Washington — over its human […]
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August 26, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s main opposition, which is bedeviled by a string of electoral defeats and an internal battle to oust its leader, says its door-to-door campaign is haunted by a phobia among voters about ‘grease devils’. ‘Grease devil’ is a colloquial term used to describe peeping toms and other mischief makers […]
US envoy to press Sri Lanka over alleged war crimes
August 26, 2011 (AFP) – The United States is dispatching a top envoy to Colombo for talks next week ahead of a crucial UN meeting to discuss alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, diplomats said on Friday. US Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake will be visiting Sri Lanka for a second time in four […]
Sri Lanka stocks end up 0.2-pct
Aug 26, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s main share index closed marginally higher Friday with some interest in a finance company and a motor firm and continued speculative trade in certain shares, brokers said. There was again speculative trade in Colombo Land & Development Company which ended at 63.60 rupees, down 50 cents with over […]
Sri Lanka rupee under steady pressure
Aug 26, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s rupee came under steady pressure as the spot dollar rate was held at 110.00 rupees with forex sales by monetary authorities, with interest rate pressure also resisted earlier in the week, dealers said. To repay holders the central bank has to either print money, worsening the balance of […]
Legend
SAN FRANCISCO, August 24, 2011 (AFP) – Apple’s legendary co-founder and top ideas man Steve Jobs resigned as chief executive Wednesday, the company said, in a long expected move after he began a dramatic fight with cancer. In a written statement, Apple, the world’s second biggest company by market capitalization, announced that chief operating officer […]
Fugitive Tipster
NEW YORK (AFP) – US regulators have levied a $34.5 million fine against alleged Galleon case insider trading tipster Deep Shah, who is believed to be hiding in India, a court filing showed Wednesday. Shah is the only one who remains at large. The Sri Lankan-born billionaire founder of Galleon Group, Raj Rajaratnam, was convicted […]
Another Step
Aug 25, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will end nearly three decades of emergency rule, President Mahinda Rajapaksa told the island’s parliament, which has to renew the law every month to give extensive arrest and detention powers to authorities over citizens. President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a special address to parliament said lawmakers would not have […]
‘s record
Aug 25, 2011 (LBO) – Although Sri Lanka’s tea crops have fallen in recent months, the island is likely to match last year’s record production with output seen reviving later in the year, a broker said. “Despite a downturn in production in the month of July, tea production is on course to achieve last years […]