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Policy choices in Sri Lanka. Five years. What next?
Jan 28, 2010 (LBO) – The first Choices column (link) was published on the 11th of February 2005. The decision to take time from an already overloaded schedule to write a monthly column (took me several years to get into that rhythm) was taken on the 27th of January 2005, the day that I hit […]
US cheers polls, urges candidate safety, electoral abuse probe
Jan 28, 2010 (LBO) – The United States congratulated Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa on his election to a second term in office but said the safety of candidates and campaign workers should be protected and allegations of electoral abuse probed. “The United States congratulates Sri Lanka for the first nationwide election in decades and […]
Sri Lanka president must heal ethnic rift: analysts
January 28, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lankans opted for stability in their first post-war presidential poll, but analysts say the results underscored simmering ethnic tensions that could once again tear the country apart. President Mahinda Rajapakse was re-elected with a resounding 57. 9 percent of the vote on Tuesday despite vociferous local and foreign criticism […]
Sri Lanka to mend fences with West: president
January 27, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president, who won a second term Wednesday, said he was keen to repair relations with Western nations that have been at odds with Colombo over its human rights record. President Mahinda Rajapakse said most of the “misunderstandings” between Colombo and Western nations stemmed from the island’s conflict with […]
India hopes Sri Lanka poll win will heal ethnic divisions
NEW DELHI, January 27, 2010 (AFP) – India Wednesday congratulated Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on his re-election and voiced hope that he would help heal the rift between the majority Sinhala and Tamil minority communities. India is home to millions of Tamils in Tamil Nadu, separated by a narrow strip of sea from Sri […]
‘s Fonseka leaves hotel
January 27, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s defeated opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka left a luxury hotel in Colombo on Wednesday where he had been holed up all day surrounded by troops, an AFP reporter witnessed. He drove out of the lake-side hotel complex in a black BMW in a motorcade of several cars, which was […]
‘s relatively peaceful polls
UNITED NATIONS, January 27, 2010 (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday voiced relief that Sri Lanka’s presidential polls went off relatively peacefully and urged the country’s political parties to abide by the official results. “I had been concerned at the level of violence during the campaign,” Ban told reporters here. “I am relieved […]
Sri Lanka inflation accelerate to 6.5-pct in Jan
Jan 28, 2010 (LBO) – Inflation in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo accelerated to 6. 5 percent in January 2010 from a year earlier, up from 4.8 percent December while prices increased 1.4 percent during the month, the government’s statistics office said. Sri Lanka’s Colombo consumer price index (CCPI) has been rising steadily after April 2009 […]
Sri Lanka policy certainty higher after polls: CB Governor
Jan 28, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s policy direction is clearer after a President Rajapaksa was returned to power with a bigger majority allowing investors to emerge from any ‘wait and see’ attitude, a top official said. “The mandate means we have a clear path chartered for the next six years,” Central Bank governor Nivard […]
Even Keel
January 27, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan finance company Vallibel Finance had its long term rating of ‘B+(lka) and stable outlook confirmed by Fitch Ratings Lanka. The rating considers Vallibel’s relatively small asset base, weak asset quality and modest financial profile, Fitch said in a statement. Although the company has successfully expanded its operations while […]
Sri Lanka president wins re-election
January 27, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse won a bruising re-election battle on Wednesday, but the result was rejected by his opponent who spent the day holed up in a hotel surrounded by troops. The election commissioner said Rajapakse had secured 57. 9 percent of the popular vote in Tuesday’s presidential poll […]
Two killed in Sri Lanka post-poll violence
January 27, 2010 (AFP) – A Buddhist monk and another man were killed in a grenade attack on a temple in Sri Lanka’s central town of Gampola on Wednesday as presidential election results were being released, police said. Police spokesman I.M. Karunaratne said four others were wounded and a curfew had been declared in the […]