Category:
‘s missing macaws
COLOMBO, April 16, 2014 (AFP) – Four macaws belonging to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse have escaped his tightly-guarded official residence in Colombo, his office said Wednesday as it appealed for help to trace the colourful long-tailed birds. Macaws — a species of parrot — are not indigenous to Sri Lanka, but several pet stores […]
‘s elections
NEW DELHI, April 15, 2014 (AFP) – A war of words erupted among the “first family” of Indian politics on Tuesday as a new poll pointed to a sweeping election win for the Hindu nationalist opposition.Priyanka Gandhi, sister of Rahul Gandhi who is leading the ruling Congress party’s campaign, called the bitterly fought election contest […]
‘s missing macaws
COLOMBO, April 16, 2014 (AFP) – Four macaws belonging to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse have escaped his tightly-guarded official residence in Colombo, his office said Wednesday as it appealed for help to trace the colourful long-tailed birds.Macaws — a species of parrot — are not indigenous to Sri Lanka, but several pet stores import […]
Fuel Sales
Apr 16, 2014 (LBO) – Losses at Sri Lanka’s state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation fell to 7.7 billion rupees in 2013 from 89.6 billion rupees a year earlier, but bank debt was still high, official data showed.The Central Bank in its annual report said other state enterprises owed the CPC 75.1 billion rupees and CPC in […]
Sri Lanka could have credit upgrade on lower budget deficit, external debt: Fitch
Apr 16, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s sovereign credit could be upgraded on a steadily narrowing budget deficit and a lower external debt burden, which were weaker than similarly rated countries, Fitch Ratings has said. Among Fitch rated Asia Pacific sovereigns, Mongolia had a ‘B+’ rating with a negative outlook, Vietnam ‘B+/positive’, Philippines and Indonesia […]
Indian opposition alliance to win majority: poll
NEW DELHI, April 15, 2014 (AFP) – India’s Hindu nationalist opposition party and its allies are on course to win an overall parliamentary majority in the world’s biggest election currently underway, according to a new poll.Another potential partner, a Tamil Nadu-based party led by former actress Jayalalithaa Jayaram, is slated to get 22 seats. The […]
” Commonwealth
COLOMBO, April 15, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Tuesday accused Canada of undermining the Commonwealth to score political points after it announced a suspension of funding while the island nation chairs the group.Colombo has denied the accusations, but the UN Human Rights Council passed a resolution in March to set up an investigation into […]
Canada suspends Commonwealth funding over Sri Lanka rights abuses
OTTAWA, April 14, 2014 (AFP) – Canada’s government announced Monday the suspension of funding to the Commonwealth over rotating chair Sri Lanka’s alleged rights abuses.While Sri Lanka remains chair of the 53-member bloc, Canada’s Can$10 million (US$9 million) annual contribution to the Commonwealth Secretariat will instead go for two years toward combatting the practice of […]
Cricket stars among team owners in new India football league
NEW DELHI, April 13, 2014 (AFP) – Cricket stars Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly and leading Spanish club Atletico Madrid are among the owners of teams in a new India football league set to start this year, organisers said Sunday.The Indian Super League, featuring foreign and Indian talent in teams based in eight cities, is […]
Sri Lanka cautioned on rising renewable energy costs
Apr 14, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank has sounded a note of caution of caution over the rising burden of renewable power on consumers as the proportion of non-conventional renewable power (NCRE) increases in the grid.Mini-hydro feed in tariffs are among the cheapest.Almost all sources non-conventional of renewable power except waste heat are […]
‘s English county stint
LAHORE, April 12, 2014 (AFP) – Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal’s stint with English county Worcestershire may be set for a shorter duration to compensate for his country’s hastily-arranged Test and one-day series against Sri Lanka. “We are still discussing how much time he (Ajmal) can be away as we now have a scheduled series in […]
Sri Lanka firms short of workers, over 10,000 working on tourist visas: President
Apr 13, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lankan firms are asking to employ more foreign workers to fill labour shortfalls, with over 10,000 working in the country on tourist visas, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said.“Some companies come and say, allow us to bring workers from abroad, from India,” President Rajapaksa told a business forum where the annual […]