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Sri Lanka opposition leader to be convicted next week: party
April 16, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s detained ex-army chief and opposition leader Sarath Fonseka is likely to be convicted early next week to prevent him appearing in parliament, his party said on Friday. Fonseka, who won a seat in parliament while in custody, is in custody in the capital Colombo and faces a court […]
BBC World Service resumes FM broadcasts in Sri Lanka
LONDON, April 15, 2010 (AFP) – The BBC World Service announced Thursday the resumption of FM programming in Sri Lanka, 14 months after they were taken off air due to interference. World Service programmes in English, Sinhala and Tamil language, which had remained available on shortwave, will be reinstated on the SLBC national broadcaster, said […]
Sri Lanka moves to free prime property in capital
Apr 16, 2010 (LBO) – Prime property in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo could be made available to private developers when the government goes ahead with a planned shift of state institutions, including defence, to the suburbs, officials said. “We’re waiting for the green light,” said an official of the Urban Development Authority, which is in […]
Sri Lanka central bank makes record profits
Apr 16, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank has made a record 33 billion rupee profit in 2009 as low yielding foreign reserves were lost and replaced with higher yielding domestic government paper during a balance of payments crisis. Even then yields on dollar and euro assets were also low. The central bank also […]
Sri Lanka gets ADB help to get more taxes, spend better
Apr 16, 2010 (LBO) – The Asian Development Bank said it will give Sri Lanka a 50 million US dollar loan to improve government revenue management, including tax collection, and state spending on infrastructure and the poor. It said in a statement that the ADB and Japan will support Sri Lanka with fiscal reforms to […]
Sri Lanka shares end down 0.07-pct
Apr 15, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed weaker Thursday, easing off record highs on thin volumes as investors took a break for the traditional New Year celebrations in a short trading week, brokers said. To receive instant alerts from LBO on your Dialog mobile type ‘lbo’ and send to 678 The All Share […]
Bus Loss
Apr 15, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state bus service had lost 5,183 million rupees in 2009 despite getting another 4,135 million rupee handout in peoples’ money from the Treasury for operating ‘uneconomic routes’, the latest official data reveals. SLTB data showed that its workforce had increased to 35,895 in 2009 from 34,074 in 2008. […]
Banking Reach
Apr 15, 2010 (LBO) – Commercial banks are opening branches in Sri Lanka’s former war zone in the north and east and are also ready to increase lending to the region, the Central Bank said. “Several licensed banks are showing keen interest to facilitate economic activities in the Northern and Eastern provinces,” it said in […]
India inflation nears double-digits, rate hike seen
NEW DELHI, April 15, 2010 (AFP) – India’s inflation rate crept closer to double digits, official data showed Thursday, as analysts forecast another hike in interest rates to contain prices in Asia’s third-largest economy. Year-on-year wholesale price inflation, India’s main cost-of-living measure, edged up to 9.9 percent in March from 9.89 percent the previous month, […]
US urges respect for human rights in Sri Lanka
April 15, 2010 (AFP) – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has urged Sri Lanka to respect human rights and heal its communal divisions as the island emerges from decades of ethnic bloodshed. In a message marking Sri Lanka’s New Year and released by the US embassy in Colombo on Thursday, Clinton said the government […]
Sri Lanka gets $150mn ADB emergency loan
Apr 15, 2010 (LBO) – The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it is providing 150 million US dollars in an emergency loan to Sri Lanka for projects to help people in the war-ravaged north and east. The loan will have a 32-year repayment term, including a grace period of eight years and an annual interest […]
”’ economic recovery
WASHINGTON, April 15, 2010 (AFP) – Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke warned on Wednesday the US economy will recover at a “moderate” pace and that significant time will be needed to claw back jobs lost in the recession. In cautious remarks that belied Wall Street’s gathering optimism, Bernanke cautioned that the US economy continued to […]