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US rebukes Maldives top court as election suspended again
MALÉ, November 10, 2013 (AFP) – The United States sharply rebuked the Maldives’ top court after it suspended a presidential election runoff scheduled for Sunday, blocking a vote for the third time in two months.“Efforts by the Supreme Court to repeatedly and unduly interfere in the electoral process subverts Maldives’ democracy and takes decision-making out […]
New Zealand-Sri Lanka one-dayer called off due to rain
HAMBANTOTA, November 10, 2013 (AFP) – Bad weather forced the first one-day international between New Zealand and Sri Lanka to be abandoned in Hambantota on Sunday, cutting short an impressive display by the hosts.The second of the three one-dayers is scheduled to be played at the same venue on Tuesday. New Zealand were 13-1 from […]
The health of the private sector in Sri Lanka
Nov 11, 2013 (LBO) I was in Fiji a few weeks back. Opening the morning paper, I was struck by a news story which said that the productivity of the Suva and Lautoka container terminals had increased by 35 percent, even before the new shore cranes had arrived. Good The cause: Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence […]
British TV crew behind war-crime film face Sri Lanka demo
COLOMBO, November 11, 2013 (AFP) – Pro-government activists demonstrated outside Sri Lanka’s main international airport Monday denouncing a visit by Britain’s Channel 4 which produced an award-winning documentary on alleged war crimes during the island’s ethnic war.Activists shouted slogans against a crew from the network as they arrived to cover a meeting of Commonwealth countries […]
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WELLINGTON, November 11, 2013 (AFP) – New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said Monday he will attend a Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka despite his Indian counterpart pulling out amid pressure for a boycott over alleged war crimes by Colombo.Key said his presence at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) this week did not […]
India PM to miss Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka
NEW DELHI, November 10, 2013 (AFP) – Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will skip this week’s Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka, the foreign ministry said Sunday, as pressure grows for a boycott of the event over alleged war crimes by Colombo.Singh sent a letter to Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Sunday telling him of […]
Sri Lanka keeps policy rates steady, credit to state easing: Central Bank
Nov 11, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka kept its policy rate corridor steady at 6.50 percent to withdraw excess cash and 8.50 percent to inject money in to the banking system, saying the inflation outlook was benign and state credit demand was reducing. The date for the release of the next regular statement on monetary […]
Political chaos as Maldives Supreme Court suspends run-off vote
MALÉ, November 10, 2013 (AFP) – Presidential elections in the Maldives were thrown into disarray on Sunday after the Supreme Court suspended a run-off vote, denying former president Mohamed Nasheed the chance to return to power 21 months after he was ousted. Despite growing international concerns over the Indian Ocean atoll nation’s failure to elect […]
Elections chief says Maldives run-off on track
MALÉ, November 9, 2013 (AFP) – The Maldives’ presidential run-off will be held Sunday, but with a five-hour delay, the chief elections commissioner announced as the second-placed candidate asked for more time to prepare.The court has begun hearing the case.Ibrahim says he wants more time to tell his supporters which of the two candidates they […]
Gas Gains
Nov 10, 2013 (LBO) – Profits at Sri Lanka’s Laugfs Gas rose 50 percent to 619 million rupees in the September 2013 quarter from a year earlier, amid easing commodity prices, interim accounts showed. Property and leisure units were in losses. The group reported earnings of 1.60 rupees per share. For the 6-months to September […]
Sri Lanka Tobacco monopoly volumes, revenues drop
Nov 10, 2013 (LBO) – Revenues at Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Tobacco Company dropped in the September 2013 quarter from a year earlier amid multiple tax hikes showing that demand for the addictive product is not as inelastic as earlier envisaged.But the state this time as not been able to gain as much taxes as hoped […]
Troubled Maldives holds make-or-break vote
MALÉ, November 9, 2013 (AFP) – Voting got underway in the Maldives Saturday in its third bid to choose a president and end unrest sparked by the toppling of their first freely-elected leader 21 months ago.“God willing, we will win this election in one round,” he said at a rally in the capital Male. Nearly […]