Category:
Sri Lanka stocks close up 0.2-pct
Nov 18, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka stocks closed higher with diversified stocks picking up amid strong foreign buying, brokers said. The Colombo benchmark All Share Price Index closed 13.51 points higher at 5,824.48, up 0.23 percent. The S&P SL20 closed 25.63 points higher at 3,200.31, up 0.81 percent. Turnover was 936.44 million rupees, up […]
Yameen takes power in Maldives after vote turmoil
MALÉ, November 17, 2013 (AFP) – Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen was inaugurated Sunday, a day after his shock election victory that ended nearly two years of turmoil that threatened to turn the honeymoon islands into an international pariah.Yameen, the half-brother of the islands’ long-time strongman ruler, was sworn in by the chief justice at a […]
Commonwealth puts on united front after summit rifts
COLOMBO, November 17, 2013 (AFP) – Commonwealth leaders agreed Sunday on steps to tackle high debt and poverty as they staged a show of unity after a summit in Sri Lanka dominated by a bitter dispute over war crimes.Following a three-day meeting in Colombo, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse announced that a communique had been […]
Sri Lanka consumer durables group, sales, profits drop
Nov 18, 2013 (LBO) – Profits and revenues at Singer (Sri Lanka) Plc, a top consumer durables seller dropped 67 percent to 62 million rupees in the September 2013 quarter from a year earlier, amid tight economic conditions.Furniture, transport and agro products also dropped. But communications sector rose to 871 million rupees from 338 million […]
Yameen to be sworn in as Maldives leader after shock win
MALÉ, November 16, 2013 (AFP) – Abdulla Yameen was to be sworn in as the Maldives new president Sunday after his shock win over former leader Mohamed Nasheed, drawing a line under a bout of turmoil on the paradise islands. Yameen secured 51.3 percent of the popular vote compared to 48.6 percent for ex-president Nasheed […]
Colombo Declaration after Sri Lanka Commonwealth summit
Nov 17, 2013 (LBO) – Leaders of Commonwealth nations have issued a declaration after meeting in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo calling for ‘equitable’ growth, better education and inclusivity for women, youth and the disabled.The full statement is reproduced below:- Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 15-17 November, 2013 Colombo Declaration on Sustainable, Inclusive and Equitable […]
Small states seek Commonwealth backing for cheap credit at Sri Lanka meet
Nov 17, 2013 (LBO) – Small states are seeking endorsement from Commonwealth leaders at a in their bid to regain access to cheap finance from multilateral lenders, at a summit meeting in Sri Lanka. Without the ability to depreciate the currency, rulers lose the principle ability to impoverish the population and their path is clear […]
Sri Lanka tourist arrivals reaching a million in November: official
Nov 16, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tourist arrivals have topped 904,000 and is reaching towards a million tourists by the end of November 2013, an official said. The average spend per day was 109 US dollars compared to 65 in 2009, Jayaweera said. Sri Lanka’s arrivals have been boosted by reasonably priced accommodation and […]
Campus Launch
Nov 16, 2013 (LBO) – A campus of UK’s University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) launched in Sri Lanka this week will strengthen links between the two countries, British foreign secretary William Hague has said.The British High Commission said about 8,000 Sri Lankans gain UK education qualifications each year, while 35,000 more get professional qualifications through […]
Maldives hopes for new leader after scuttled votes
MALÉ, November 16, 2013 (AFP) – Organisers of a troubled presidential election in the Maldives said they hoped to name a winner of a run-off contest Saturday after previous attempts were scuttled.Chief Elections Commissioner Fuwad Thowfeek told reporters that he hoped they will be able to declare a final winner in an election where former […]
Crisis-hit Maldives vote again
MALÉ, November 16, 2013 (AFP) – The Maldives Saturday began voting in a run-off presidential election held under intense international pressure to elect a new leader and end months of political unrest.Polling booths across the Indian Ocean archipelago opened at 7:30am (0230 GMT) with the 239,000 electorate given eight and a half hours to choose […]
Sri Lanka rejects international war crimes probe
COLOMBO, November 16, 2013 (AFP) – A top minister rejected pressure Saturday for an international probe into alleged war crimes at the end of Sri Lanka’s ethnic conflict, saying the government would “definitely” not allow one.“Why should we have an international inquiry?We will object to it … Definitely, we are not going to allow it,” […]