Author: lbostgadmin
Maldives saves for new homeland amid flooding fears: report
LONDON, November 10, 2008 (AFP) – The Maldives’ newly-elected president said in an interview Monday that his government will begin saving to buy a new homeland in case global warming causes the country to disappear into the sea.Beloved by tourists for their white sandy beaches, palm trees and clear waters, the 1,192 coral islands that […]
Sri Lanka shares slump, Sunshine Holdings trading props up turnover
Nov 10, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares ended lower Monday, despite opening firmly in the morning, as investors stayed away from trading owing to uncertainty about the economy and company profits, brokers said. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 The All Share Price Index […]
Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam most at risk of a credit downgrade: report
Nov 10, 2008 (LBO) – Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam are most at risk of a credit downgrade in Asia by the rating agency Standard and Poor’s (S&P), amid global economic turmoil, a media report said. The island has been hit by withdrawing foreign hot money brought into bridge fiscal deficits. Okorotchenko was quote as […]
Sri Lanka recent policy has crippled domestic industry: opposition
Nov 09, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s current economic framework has crippled domestic industry and protectionist taxes announced in the 2009 budget are contradictory and are aimed simply at raising revenue, the island’s main opposition has charged.The Mahinda Chinthana economic framework while paying lip service to domestic industry, is undermining its competitive strengths, opposition United […]
Sri Lanka shrine praying for pilgrims
MADHU, November 9, 2008 (AFP) – One of Sri Lanka’s holiest Catholic shrines stands idle and neglected — an unlikely victim of a decades-long internal conflict that the government says it is close to winning.Standing two feet (60 centimetres) tall, the 450-year-old pale yellow statue of the Virgin Mary, draped in golden robes, is especially […]
Sri Lankan troops close to capturing key road: govt
November 9, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops were close to capturing a key road to the northern peninsula of Jaffna after months of heavy fighting, the defence ministry said Sunday.Heavily armed units have pushed along the coastal road to Jaffna, which had been cut off from the rest of the island by Tamil Tiger […]
Unstable Policy
Nov 08, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has defended state manipulation of fuel prices which has de-stabilized the economy, brought high inflation and endangered the country with foreign borrowing, while rejecting formula based pricing. The island scrapped a fuel price adjustment formula in 2004, and printed money to keep prices low, pushing the country into […]
Sri Lanka TV censorship condemned by media watchdog
Nov 08, 2008 (LBO) – Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontiers or RSF) has condemned what it called live censorship on a Sri Lankan government television station amid criticism of a new broadcasting law. After receiving representatives of journalists’ organisations and media owners, media and information minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa announced that implementation […]
Sri Lanka air force helicopters hit Tiger islet
November 8, 2008 (AFP) – Helicopter gunships launched a rare night assault against a suspected Tamil Tiger base located on a small islet off Sri Lanka’s Jaffna peninsula, the defence ministry said on Saturday.The air force Mi-24 gunships attacked a “gathering point” of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at Palaitivu, just on the […]
Sri Lanka spends US$587mn to prop up rupee in October
Nov 08, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has spent 587 million dollars to prop up the rupee in October, pushing the total to 790 million dollars over past two months, the latest official data showed. On Thursday and Friday the rupee strengthened against the 110 rupee peg maintained by the island’s central bank with credit […]
Sri Lanka budget cuts taxes, but imposes new one
Nov 07, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan accountants say the proposed cut in Value Added Tax (VAT) in the government’s 2009 budget would not provide much relief as a new tax and higher import duties would make up for the reduction. The budget presented to parliament by President Mahinda Rajapaksa proposed to reduce VAT, the […]
Sri Lanka troops near Tiger stronghold amidst heavy fighting: military
November 7, 2008 (AFP) – Intense battles gripped Sri Lanka’s northern Wanni region as government forces stepped up pressure on the Tamil rebel political capital, the defence ministry said Friday. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 Scores of rebels were killed and many more wounded […]