Sri Lanka July inflation up sharply

July 31, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s consumer prices shot up to 17.6 percent in the year to July with the index growing 2.8 percent in the past 30 days, the government’s statistics office said Tuesday. . In the year to June inflation was only 13.0 percent, but monthly inflation has been edging up on […]

Sri Lanka north blast kills three soldiers

July 31, 2007 (AFP) – Three soldiers died in a bomb attack in northern Sri Lanka Tuesday, while the military said it had uncovered a new Tamil Tiger weapons cache in the island’s east.The three security personnel were killed by a roadside bomb set off by suspected rebels in the northern peninsula of Jaffna Tuesday, […]

Sri Lanka names new cricket selection panel

July 31, 2007 (AFP) – Former Sri Lanka fast bowler Asantha de Mel was re-appointed chief of the national cricket selection committee which was reshuffled by the sports minister on Tuesday. De Mel and Don Anurasiri were retained from the previous selection panel and will be joined by Mahes Goonathilake and Ranjith Madurasinghe in the […]

News Corp. bid for Dow Jones on brink as deadline passes

NEW YORK, July 30, 2007 (AFP) – Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. late Monday awaited a decision from the family that controls Dow Jones & Co. on its five-billion-dollar offer for the company and its crown asset, The Wall Street Journal. A reported deadline for members of the Bancroft family — which controls 64 percent of […]

India tightens monetary policy further with inflation 4.41% in mid-July

MUMBAI, July 31, 2007 (AFP) – The Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday hiked its cash reserve ratio for banks by 50 basis points to seven percent, but kept short-term borrowing rates unchanged.The central bank said in a quarterly review that while inflation had fallen below its five percent forecast for the year to March […]

Bollywood star Dutt jailed for six years

July 31, 2007 (AFP) – Bollywood movie star Sanjay Dutt was Tuesday sentenced to six years in jail for illegal weapons possession in connection with serial bombings in Mumbai in 1993. Dutt was also the last of the 100 people convicted in the long-running court case to be sentenced.Of them, 12 were given death sentences […]

Maldives heads for referendum on political system

July 31, 2007 (AFP) – The Indian Ocean tourist paradise of the Maldives will hold a referendum to decide the future role of its powerful presidency held by Maumoon Abdul Gayoom for the past 29 years, officials said Tuesday.The main opposition party welcomed the move to hold a plebiscite next month on whether the presidency […]

Digital Divide

July 31, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government ICT Agency has expanded its telecentre network to 400 points all over the island to help communities improve their knowledge and access global information. The 400th telecentre or Nenasala was set up Tuesday at the Colombo District Secretariat to provide the public access to internet, phone and […]

Saudi Clearance

July 31, 2007 (LBO) – The tribal leader of a victim’s family will only intervene on behalf of a teenaged housemaid on death row once clearance is given by the Saudi foreign ministry, Sri Lankan officials have been told. Rizana Nafeek who was 17 years old at the time of the incident has been convicted […]

Economic Parley

July 31, 2007 (LBO) – The annual sessions of the Sri Lanka Economic Association (SLEA) will look at regional inequalities, employment and social safety nets, health education and infrastructure, its organizers said. “The slow growth of the economy, inequity of income distribution is a major cause of this poverty”, SLEA President A Indraratne said. The […]

Sri Lanka agribusiness firms reach out to farmers

July 31, 2007 (LBO) –Sri Lanka’s agribusiness companies have started a programme to get corporate executives to volunteer their services help farmers improve productivity, reduce waste and get better access to markets. The aim of the programme, launched under the aegis of the National Agribusiness Council (NAC), is to get member firms to provide two […]

Sri Lanka sugar firm reports losses

July 31, 2007 (LBO) – Pelwatte Sugar group has reported a loss of 75.6 million rupees for the June quarter while sales also fell 53 percent to 161 million rupees, the firm’s results released to the Stock Exchange showed. Last year it reported 341 million rupees in sales and 109 million in profits. International sugar […]

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