Author: lbostgadmin
Sri Lanka rebel lawmaker dies in car crash
Feb 09, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan rebel lawmaker Sripathi Sooriyaarachchi who broke away from the ruling party of President Mahinda Rajapakse last year, died in a car crash Saturday, police said. Police spokesman DIG NK Illangakoon said the car had crashed near the north-central town of Galgamuwa. His two police guards were also killed, […]
Ranatunga looks to revamp Sri Lanka cricket
COLOMBO, Feb 8, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s legendary former cricket captain Arjuna Ranatunga, who recently took over the running of the island’s troubled governing body in the sport, Friday announced a major revamp of the administration. The outspoken Ranatunga, who won the World Cup in 1996, had been critical of those who had run […]
OPEC could ditch dollars for euros
LONDON, Feb 8, 2008 (AFP) – OPEC could switch the pricing of oil from dollars into euros within a decade, secretary general Abdullah al-Badri told a weekly magazine. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries could adopt the euro to combat the decline of the dollar, Badri told the Middle East Economic Digest (MEED), published […]
Wall St. tumbles depite economic stimulus nod from Congress
NEW YORK, Feb 8, 2008 (AFP) – US stock markets tumbled heavily in the week to Friday, giving Wall Street a fresh battering, despite Congress granting a green light to a giant economic stimulus package sought by the White House. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions. The plan, worth around 150 billion dollars, […]
Sri Lankans ponder Aussie dominance
SYDNEY, Feb 9, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka were the second best side at last year’s World Cup but captain Mahela Jayawardene has admitted that a continuing inability to beat Australia is becoming a major concern.Another loss would make it hard for Sri Lanka to reach the finals of the tri-series. On Friday, in the […]
EU money chief talks down the Euro
TOKYO, Feb 9, 2008 (AFP) – The euro is still above its fair value, EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner Joaquin Almunia said Saturday. There may be calls however behind closed doors from European ministers for action to try to stem the dollar’s decline against the euro, which is hurting exporters in the eurozone, analysts […]
G7 finance chiefs see growing risks to global economy
TOKYO, Feb 9, 2008 (AFP) – Top world finance ministers warned Saturday that the global economy faces growing threats from a US housing slump and credit crunch, urging banks to come clean on their subprime loan losses.The role of ratings agencies, which have been criticised for not flagging up the impending global credit woes, is […]
IMF chief says countries should consider fiscal boost
TOKYO, Feb 9, 2008 (AFP) – The head of the IMF on Saturday renewed his call for countries to consider fiscal measures to boost demand in the face of slowing economic growth caused by the US subprime loan crisis.International Monetary Fund director general Dominique Strauss-Kahn also urged the world’s financial authorities to work together closely […]
Port Race
Feb 09, 2008 (LBO) – Colombo port has a good chance of enhancing its status as a container transhipment hub with its expansion plans and compliance with international maritime security codes, a container security expert has said. Stefaan Vermeire, Director General of the International Container Security Organization based in Brussels said Colombo’s location in the […]
Slow Going
Feb 08, 2008 (LBO) – A multi-million dollar project to build a new container port in Colombo is on track despite lengthy delays, a Sri Lankan government minister has assured the island’s shipping community. The government plans to build a new deep-water port next to Colombo, called the Colombo South Port, as well as build […]
Sri Lanka says 39 Tamil Tigers killed in fresh fighting
Feb 8, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops smashed bunkers of Tamil Tiger rebels in the island’s embattled north and kept up attacks elsewhere leaving 39 guerrillas dead, the island’s defence ministry said Friday. In the clashes along the front lines in Vavuniya district, security forces killed 22 guerrillas while destroying three of their bunkers […]
Last Sri Lankans freed as Australia dismantles Pacific detention centres
SYDNEY, Feb 8, 2008 (AFP) – Australia’s widely criticised “Pacific Solution” policy of holding asylum seekers on remote islands ended Friday when the last detainees flew out of Nauru, the government said.The 21 Sri Lankans who had been held on the tiny island in the South Pacific for nearly a year would be resettled in […]