Author: lbostgadmin
Gold price hits record high as dollar wanes
LONDON, November 9, 2009 (AFP) – Gold prices hit a record above 1,100 dollars on Monday with the dollar weakening after a pledge by G20 countries to keep economic recovery pumped up with easy money.In morning trading here, gold struck an all-time peak of 1,109.50 dollars an ounce as the euro rose to 1.50 dollars […]
Sri Lanka vows to help Australia on illegal migrants
November 9, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka pledged in talks with Australia Monday to step up intelligence sharing and arrest people traffickers, President Mahinda Rajapakse’s office said.Seventy-eight Sri Lankans were rescued from a sinking boat in Indonesian waters last month.They have insisted on remaining on the Australian customs ship that picked them up, refusing to […]
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MARKAPAR, November 9, 2009 (AFP) – In a rural Maoist stronghold in central India, off limits to the police and government officials, people are queuing for photos they hope might save their lives.Indian security forces are set to launch a major offensive against Maoist rebels whose insurgency has escalated across the country, posing a challenge […]
Flu Victim
November 8, 2009 (AFP) – A 16-year-old Sri Lankan boy became the first victim in the country of influenza A(H1N1), or swine flu, doctors said Sunday.“The boy had a history of respiratory problems and he died four days after admission to Kandy hospital,” Samarasinghe said. The Medical Research Institute in Colombo confirmed the boy, whose […]
Sri Lanka stocks fall again
Nov 09, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares fell Monday, failing to maintain Friday’s gains which interrupted a sharp slump in the market in recent days in which a downward slide was worsened by forced selling, brokers said. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 The […]
”: CB governor
Nov 09, 2009 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka rupee strengthened Monday at a time when the US dollar is weakening against most other currencies, and an ‘exact peg’ with the greenback may no longer be maintained, the Central Bank said. The rupee broke its customary 114.80 peg to the US dollar Monday when state banks […]
Sri Lanka asked by France to end emergency, probe war crimes
November 7, 2009 (AFP) – A top French envoy Saturday asked Sri Lanka to end its state of emergency and probe war crimes ahead of a key European Union ruling on trade concessions to the troubled island. Ambassador for Human Rights, Francois Zimeray, said he hoped Colombo will signal the ending of its war with […]
‘s fast-growing telecom sector dials up trouble
NEW DELHI, November 8, 2009 (AFP) – India is still adding a staggering 15 million new mobile phone connections a month but the world’s fastest-growing cellular market has hit rough waters.A cut-throat price war is hammering down call charges, putting pressure on telecom companies’ earnings and share prices, and threatening a bruising shakeout in a […]
Sri Lanka passes IMF loan hurdle, despite failing fiscal target
Nov 07, 2009 (LBO) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a 413.4 million US dollar tranche under its stand by loan, despite the government failing to meet a key budget constraint, the lender said. Under the original deal, a net international reserve target, which excluded borrowed reserves other than that of the IMF […]
South Asian trade portal seen boosting regional trade
Nov 07, 2009 (LBO) – A trade portal launched for the south Asian region should improve trade within the region and especially help small businesses, the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce said in a statement. The portal www.saarctrade.info – gives importers, exporters and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of the South Asian region access to important […]
Keel Laying
Nov 07, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shipyard Colombo Dockyard said it has laid the keel for construction of the fourth Multipurpose Platform Supply Vessel for Greatship India.The vessel is meant to support the offshore oil and gas industry, the yard said in a statement. The occasion was attended by the owner’s representatives, officials from […]
‘s stay
JAKARTA, November 6, 2009 (AFP) – Indonesia extended by a week on Friday a deadline for an Australian customs ship loaded with 78 protesting Sri Lankan asylum seekers to leave its territory.The extension would allow the Oceanic Viking, which has been moored on Bintan island since last month, to stay while a solution is found […]