Author: lbostgadmin
Bailed Out
COLOMBO, January 11, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s court of appeal on Monday freed on bail a Tamil editor whose 20-year prison sentence last year for supporting “terrorism” drew international criticism, a court official said. Official figures show nine journalists have been killed and another 27 assaulted in the past three years in Sri Lanka […]
Finance Trend
Jan 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s finance company profits would pick up in 2010 as deposit rates falls, helping offset some credit losses, but asset quality may remain until the economy strengthens, Fitch Ratings has said. A recent sharp fall in bank deposit and lending rates had now started to spread to the finance […]
Northern Links
Jan 11, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka and India has inked a deal to rebuild part of a railway link to the island’s north while negotiations are under way to China to complete the balance, an official said. “India has extended a 425 million dollar concessional credit line and this is part of Indian government […]
Sri Lankan shares close flat
Jan 11, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed flat Monday as investors continued to bet on hotel, property and plantation stocks while retailers took profits on selected blue chip companies, brokers said. Balangoda Plantations closed at 25.75 rupees, up 75 cents, Bogawantalawa Tea Estates closed at 40.75 rupees, up 1.50, Horana Plantations closed at […]
Sri Lanka water supply expansion contract to Chinese firm
Jan 10, 2010 (LBO) – A contract to upgrade the water supply in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo valued at 1,895 million rupees has been awarded to China Geo Engineering Corporation, the government’s information office said. China Geo will construct ground reservoirs at Maligakanda and Elie House, a water tower at Gothatuwa, a transmission lone from […]
Sri Lankan president woos Tamils on re-election trail
January 10, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president on Sunday took his re-election campaign to the Tamil heartland of Jaffna for his first visit to the peninsula since troops crushed separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in May. “There is no transparent basis for the release,” JVP spokesman Anura Kumara Dissanayake told reporters. “We want to know […]
Europe freeze strands travellers, cuts power
BERLIN, January 10, 2010 (AFP) – The Arctic freeze gripping Europe left hundreds of people stuck in vehicles in deep snow or stranded at airports with scores of flights cancelled and power cuts to thousands of homes on Sunday. The treacherous conditions cut off villages in northern Germany and on the Baltic islands, and disrupted […]
Higher Education
Jan 10, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan university education despite being available only to the brightest students ranks well below its peers in Asia although academics vow to improve syllabi and facilities to climb the rankings. Academics said the universities have to pay to get the rankings done by various independent organizations. The best known […]
Sri Lanka presidential hopeful plugs petroleum inflation theory: report
Jan 09, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s opposition presidential candidate had promised to cut diesel prices in the hope that it would bring consumer prices down, media reports said, echoing the failed 2004 petroleum pricing policy that sent inflation rocketing up. Opposition common candidate retired military general Sarath Fonseka has promised to cut diesel by […]
Sri Lanka insurance sector sees skills shortage: rating agency
Jan 09, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s insurance business is set for growth as the economy recovers from a war but is constrained by a shortage of skilled people and lack of awareness among the public, RAM Ratings Lanka said. The lack of qualified insurance personnel is a constraint on the industry’s growth, the rating […]
Pressure Point
January 8, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka was under new pressure Friday to submit to a war crimes investigation after the United Nations authenticated a video allegedly showing prisoners being executed by troops last year. The government in Colombo has faced repeated calls for a probe from Western countries and rights groups ever since it […]
Free
January 9, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Saturday released more than 700 former Tamil Tiger fighters from military custody following a rehabilitation program, an official said. The Tamil Tigers, who fought for a separate homeland from 1972, were defeated by Sri Lankan troops in mid-May when the military killed the top guerrilla leader Velupillai […]