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Sri Lanka gets World Bank funds for rural village
Dec 28, 2009 (LBO) – The World Bank (WB) has approved 75 million dollars to fund the second stage of community development and livelihood improvement targeting 875 of the poorest villages in the country, a government minister said. The community development project would be implemented under the Ministry of Nation Building and Estate Infrastructure Development, […]
Sri Lanka-India one-dayer abandoned over poor pitch
NEW DELHI, December 27, 2009 (AFP) – Unfit pitch conditions at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium forced the fifth and final one-day international between India and Sri Lanka to be abandoned on Sunday. Sri Lanka, sent in to bat, were 83-5 in the 24th over when the umpires stopped play after a ball from debutante seamer […]
Sri Lankan migrant dies in Indonesia: official
JAKARTA, December 27, 2009 (AFP) – The body of an asylum seeker who died of a suspected stomach infection in Indonesia will be returned to Sri Lanka this week, a foreign ministry official said Sunday. The man, identified by Indonesian authorities as Jacob Samuel Christian, 29, died last Wednesday in hospital. His body will be […]
‘s decade reoriented the world: analysts
HONG KONG, December 27, 2009 (AFP) – Explosive growth in economic and political power ensured that the past 10 years set the foundations for what many analysts predict will be the Asian Century as the world tilts firmly eastwards.Many dangers lie ahead, but observers say the world’s two most populous countries — China and India […]
Graft Wave
December 26, 2009 (AFP) – Nearly half a billion dollars in tsunami aid for Sri Lanka is unaccounted for and over 600 million dollars has been spent on projects unrelated to the disaster, an anti-corruption watchdog said Saturday.Berlin-based Transparency International demanded an audit of the money received by the Sri Lankan government to help victims […]
Asia remembers day ocean unleashed its fury
BANDA ACEH, December 26, 2009 (AFP) – People across Asia paused Saturday to remember the day five years ago when an undersea earthquake unleashed a devastating wave that killed more than 220,000 people. A solemn day of prayers and remembrance to mark one of the world’s worst natural disasters was held in Indonesia’s Aceh province, […]
Sri Lanka labour force growth to lag region
Dec 26, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s labour force has grown an average 1.0 percent from 1990 to 2008, and is projected to grow by only 0.3 percent a year till 2020 trailing other Asian nations, with low female participation, a government report has said. “This is driven by expected declines in the adult male […]
Sri Lanka opposition presidential candidate defends economic prowess
Dec 26, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s opposition presidential candidate, a former military general, defended his ability to manage the economy in a future administration saying he had the backing of the main opposition United National Party.The suffering of the people under a 1970s administration, where money printing led to price controls and shortages, largely […]
Port Industries
Dec 25, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s cabinet of ministers has kicked off the process to bring private enterprises to a new industrial port in Hambantota in the south of the island, the government’s information office said.The first phase of the port, which is being financed and built by China also includes a bunker terminal […]
Steady State
Dec 24, 2009 (LBO) – Rating agency Fitch confirmed Union Bank of Colombo Limited’s long term rating of ‘BB+(lka), reflecting the bank’s moderate asset quality and lack of a broad deposit base. Several equity infusions occurred between 2003 and 2007 from both existing and new shareholders, which increased equity to 1.5 billion rupees as at […]
Arms Allegation
SINGAPORE, December 25, 2009 (AFP) – A Singapore opposition party member has been extradited to the United States where he stands accused of trying to supply arms to Sri Lanka’s defeated Tamil Tiger rebels, according to a report Friday.Balldev Naidu, 47, a businessman and co-founder of the Reform Party, was extradited on December 18, the […]
Sri Lanka gets Chinese funds to build international airport
Dec 25, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has signed up 410 million US dollars of funding from China including money to build an international airport in the south of the island, a foreign ministry statement said.Sri Lanka’s finance ministry secretary P B Jayasundera and China’s vice minister of commerce, Chen Jian had signed thee deals […]