Author: lbostgadmin
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 […]
New Life
July 31, 2007 (LBO) – The failed Pramuka Bank had been given the nod by the Central Bank to re-open for business from August 01, as the state owned Sri Lanka Savings Bank Ltd, the regulator said. The new bank will settle the liabilities of Pramuka to depositors and creditors according to a scheme to […]
India-Sri Lanka peace accord marks 20 years with war
July 30, 2007 (AFP) – When India and Sri Lanka signed a peace pact two decades ago it was hailed as a landmark that could end Asia’s longest running civil war. But since then, the bloodshed has only got worse. The 1987 accord envisaged the disarming of Tamil Tiger separatists by India, which had armed […]