May 16, 2009 (AFP) – The president of Sri Lanka declared Saturday that the island’s separatist Tamil Tiger rebels have been “defeated militarily” after decades of bitter ethnic bloodshed.Defence officials said the massive offensive against the rebel army was all but complete, with the entire island under government control for the first time in years […]

‘s Bharti Airtel sees 100-million mobile subscribers

NEW DELHI, May 15, 2009 (AFP) – India’s top mobile phone company Bharti Airtel announced Friday it had crossed the 100-million subscriber mark and expected to double that number within the next three years. The New Delhi-based company announced a 26 percent jump in net profit for last year to 84.69 billion rupees (1.68 billion […]

Congress set to return to power in India

NEW DELHI, May 16, 2009 (AFP) – India’s ruling Congress-led alliance was set to return to power after taking a clear and commanding lead Saturday in vote counting from the country’s marathon general elections.Congress spokeswoman Ambika Soni said party leaders and their allies would meet later in the day to discuss how they would go […]

IMF loan for Sri Lanka not appropriate right now: Clinton

WASHINGTON, May 14, 2009 (AFP) – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said here Thursday it “is not an appropriate time” to consider a massive International Monetary Fund loan for Sri Lanka. Clinton told reporters that the United States has been “trying to convince both sides,” the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tiger guerrillas, […]

Sri Lanka needs IMF loan: Strauss-Kahn

May 15, 2009 (LBO) – International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said Sri Lanka needs the help of the multilateral lending agency and talks were still underway on the IMF loan.He told a news conference Friday that Sri Lanka, which has asked for a 1.9 billion dollar IMF loan, was a “special situation”. Strauss-Kahn […]

‘s 2008-09 profit slumps

May 15, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hayleys MGT Knitting Mills said net profit slumped 45 percent to 3.2 million US dollars in the 2008-09 financial year from a year ago as orders and profit margins fell. The firm, the cotton and synthetic fabric manufacturing unit of the Hayeys group, said in a statement that […]

Sri Lanka vows to defeat Tamil Tigers in 48 hours

May 15, 2009 (AFP) – The Sri Lankan government vowed Friday to finish off the Tamil Tigers within 48 hours, defying international calls for a truce and warnings of a “humanitarian catastrophe” inside the rebel-held zone. The signal that a final offensive against the beleaguered separatist guerrillas was imminent came as United Nations Secretary General […]

Sri Lanka captures family of top Tiger commander: officials

May 15, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s navy on Friday captured the wife and two children of a top Tamil Tiger military commander while they tried to escape the island by boat, a navy spokesman said. Their capture came as the Sri Lanka government said it was poised to seize the last patch of land […]

” fight: military

May 15, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers are “slowly giving up” their fight against advancing government troops, the island’s military said Friday as it appeared poised to capture the last tiny strip of rebel territory.A military spokesman told AFP around 10,000 civilians had managed to flee to government areas, and that there was […]

Cost Savings

May 15, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Dialog Telekom said it expects to make an annual cost saving of 500 million rupees by shedding staff through a voluntary retirement scheme in an effort to stem losses. Nushad Perera, Dialog’s Chief Marketing Officer, told ETV’s Lanka Business Report programme in a recent interview that the VRS […]

Sri Lanka tea prices fall as crop increases

May 15, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices fell at the Colombo auctions this week but brokers said there was better demand for the increased volumes on offer.They said that despite the generally lower prices some well-made teas fetched record prices. Tea industry officials said production had recovered from the effects of drought earlier […]

Sri Lankan shares up, Asia Capital stake sold

May 15, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares went up across-the-board Friday on news the war would end in the next few days, while 26.83 percent of Asia Capital shares changed hands in a local to foreign deal, broker said. The All Share Price Index of the Colombo stock exchange rose 1.23 percent (23.25 points) […]

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