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Sri Lanka ruling party claims election victory
April 9, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s ruling party claimed victory Friday in parliamentary polls, as counting showed them well ahead after a ballot marked by record low turnout and reports of voter intimidation. With more than a fifth of ballots counted, President Mahinda Rajapakse’s United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) had secured 62. 1 percent […]
Sri Lanka ruling party leading in parliament vote
April 9, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s ruling party is running well ahead of the fractured opposition, early results showed Friday, in a vote marked by record low turnout and reports of violence and voter intimidation. President Mahinda Rajapakse’s United People’s Freedom Alliance was leading in 21 out of 28 polling divisions declared so far […]
Sri Lanka lose 39,000 industrial jobs
Apr 09, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has lost 39,700 industrial jobs and 136,000 agricultural jobs in the fourth quarter of 2009 from a year earlier but gained 56,200 service jobs, a government survey showed. There was a 16,600 nnet gain in non-farm jobs in the last quarter from a year earlier, a quarterly labour […]
Sri Lanka stocks close 0.77-pct up
Apr 08, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks continued to rally and closed at a new high Thursday, as investors bought hotels and selected high value shares despite a shorter trading day owing to general elections, brokers said. Colombo’s All Share Price Index closed at 3,939.62, up 30.01 points, while the Milanka index of more […]
Sri Lanka March tourist arrivals up 53.7-pct
Apr 08, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s March 2010 tourist arrivals rose 53.7 percent to 52,352 from a year earlier with more visitors from Western Europe, Middle East and South Asia, tourist promotions office data showed. Arrivals from Western Europe was up 52.3 percent to 69,877, Middle East 106 percent to 7,352, South Asia 53.4 […]
India corporate fraud rising: KPMG report
NEW DELHI, April 7, 2010 (AFP) – Corporate fraud, particularly involving financial statements, is on the rise in India as executives struggle to meet earnings targets, global consultancy KPMG said Wednesday. Forty-five percent of the 1,000 managing directors, chief financial officers and other top executives of leading Indian businesses declared fraud had increased within their […]
Indian space programme advances with satellite plan
BANGALORE, April 8, 2010 (AFP) – India plans to put a satellite into orbit using its indigenously built cryogenic rocket engine, marking another step in the nation’s ambitious space programme, officials said. Cryogenic rocket motors, which use supercooled liquid fuel, have been built by only six countries or regions in the world, with India joining […]
Sri Lanka exports down in January as apparel shipments fall
Apr 08, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s exports fell in January 2010 owing to a sharp fall in apparel shipments, the island’s main industrial export, despite higher agricultural export earnings, interrupting a recovery in the export sector, the Central Bank said. The bank said in a statement that exports fell 3. 9 percent to 472 […]
Sri Lanka vote marred by violence, intimidation: monitors
April 8, 2010 (AFP) – A shooting incident and reports of intimidation — mostly by ruling party supporters — marred Thursday’s parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka, independent election monitors said. The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) reported 160 incidents of poll-related violence during the first four hours of balloting across the country. A shoot-out […]
‘s hold
April 8, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lankans were voting Thursday in a parliamentary poll that is widely expected to see President Mahinda Rajapakse’s ruling party march to a comfortable win over the fractured opposition. For many Sri Lankans, it is the first parliamentary election in which they can vote without fear of Tamil Tiger violence […]
Sri Lanka expects leisure to loom larger in FDI
Apr 08, 2010 (LBO) – Telecom and power sectors which accounted for 65 percent of foreign direct investment to Sri Lanka in recent years will play a less dominant role as cash pours into leisure with an upturn in tourism, an official said. In the first quarter of this year around 250 million US dollars […]
Sri Lankans wireline phones drop with mobile growth
Apr 17, 2010 (LBO) – Use of wireline phones, supplied only by the listed Sri Lanka Telecom, a former state monopoly, is on the decline, with subscribers shifting to mobile phones, the latest official data showed. The number of mobile connections increased by 25.9 percent to 13.9 million in 2009 from the year before, while […]