” – minister

May 31, 2010 (AFP) – The governing body for cricket in Sri Lanka is the island nation’s third-most dishonest institution, the country’s new sports minister said on Monday. “The first and second are education and police. Sri Lanka Cricket is the third-most corrupt institution in the country,” minister Chandrasiri Bandara Ratnayake told reporters in Colombo. […]

Sharma ton seals India win 0ver Sri Lanka

BULAWAYO, May 30, 2010 (AFP) – A chilly day in Africa but not for Indian cricketers as batsman Rohit Sharma hit his second century in successive matches to secure a seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in a tri-nation series. Sharma’s first century was against Zimbabwe on Friday in a match which the home side won […]

Sri Lanka needs international probe: UN rights chief

GENEVA, May 31, 2010 (AFP) – The United Nations human rights chief maintained Monday that Sri Lanka needed an international probe into the government’s final offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels last year. Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, noted that the Sri Lanka government had created a post-war reconciliation commission to look […]

Sri Lanka inflation slows to 5.3-pct in May

May 31, 2010 (LBO) – Consumer prices in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo rose 5.3 percent in May 2010 from a year earlier, down from 5.8 percent in April, the third straight monthly fall, the government statistics office said. The 12-month moving average, which has been on the rise since March, rose to 3.6 percent from […]

” in new twist to defend state excesses

PARIS, May 30, 2010 (AFP) – As European governments rush to cut budget deficits with draconian austerity measures, experts are warning that the fallout could mean a shutdown in Europe’s tentative economic recovery. The IMF’s chief economist, Olivier Blanchard, has said there is “a risk… of austerity zeal in some countries under pressure from the […]

Leaking Profits

SINGAPORE, May 30, 2010 (AFP) – Entrepreneur Binod Hariharan has big plans for his southern Indian firm, which develops astrology-based computer software to help users find a suitable spouse or plot their career paths. Similarly ambitious is Somporn Maneeratanakul, managing director of Thai Software Enterprises, and Nguyen Minh Duc, director of BKIS Security, a Vietnamese […]

Standard Chartered raises 530 million dollars in India

MUMBAI, May 30, 2010 (AFP) – British bank Standard Chartered on Sunday said it had raised 530 million dollars through a first-of-a-kind sale of shares in India. The lender, which makes most of its profits in Asia, will issue 240 million Indian Depository Receipts (IDRs) at a price of 104 rupees each, the bank said […]

NEW DELHI, May 30, 2010 (AFP) – Sanjay Malhotra, the owner of an Indian travel company, knows his target market — so he seeks out and recruits gay-friendly guides, taxi drivers and hotel managers. “Nobody who works for me laughs or passes a silly remark if two men are obviously partners. They treat gays as […]

Sri Lanka flights to start in June says Dubai budget carrier

May 30, 2010 (LBO) – Dubai-based budget carrier Flydubai will fly to Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo from June 23, offering one way tickets starting from 13,000 Sri Lanka rupees, media reports and the company website said. The airline is offering a Dubai-Colombo fare for 450 UAE dirhams (1 UAD Dirham = 31.1 Sri Lanka rupees). […]

Sri Lanka ex-Tiger combatants in apparel jobs: report

May 30, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Tri-Star Apparel Exporters group has recruited a batch of ex-Tamil Tiger combatants to work at its garment factories and has expressed willingness to employ more, a media report said. There had been fears of Sri Lanka losing competitiveness as well as loss of trade concessions from Europe later […]

‘s northeastern coastline

SINGAPORE, May 29, 2010 (AFP) – An oil slick from a damaged tanker has spread from beaches on Singapore’s southeastern coastline to a marine nature reserve and other beaches, environment officials said Saturday. “Definitely, where we’re talking about Changi Beach and Chek Jawa, these areas have a high level of biodiversity,” said Louis Ng, executive […]

Sri Lanka conservationists in push to restore mangrove eco-system

May 29, 2010 (LBO) – Large swathes of abandoned shrimp farms in a coastal lagoon in Sri Lanka’s western coast could be returned to its former glory as a mangrove eco-systems if an ambitious plan by a conservation charity succeeds, officials said. “When people realized that this is a profitable activity they started, looking for […]

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