Category:
”’s reputation: think tank
MELBOURNE, August 19, 2009 (AFP) – Attacks on overseas students and dodgy education providers risk “poisoning” international attitudes to Australia and souring relations with China and India, a major think tank said Wednesday. The crisis facing Australia’s international education sector could also destroy the country’s third-largest export earner, worth more than 12 billion US dollars […]
Sri Lanka to maintain defence budget despite Tiger defeat
August 19, 2009 (AFP) – The Sri Lankan government plans to keep up record defence spending despite its recent victory over Tamil rebels that ended nearly four decades of fighting, a senior official said. Defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse said the military needed to be modernised and payments made on hardware bought on credit. Sri Lanka […]
British lawmakers urge review of Sri Lanka arms exports
LONDON, August 18, 2009 (AFP) – Britain should review all arms export licences to Sri Lanka in the wake of the recently-ended war with Tamil Tiger rebels, lawmakers said Wednesday.Ministers should also provide full details of what British arms were used by Sri Lankan forces during the conflict, the Committees on Arms Export Controls said […]
Sri Lanka gets more US aid for refugees, demining
Aug 19, 2009 (LBO) – The United States said it is giving more aid to Sri Lanka to support civilians displaced by the ethnic war and to clear land mines so they could return home soon. The US embassy said in a statement it is giving two million dollars to support the needs of refugees […]
Power Deal
SYDNEY, August 19, 2009 (AFP) – Australia touted itself as a “global energy superpower” after shrugging off diplomatic tensions with China to sign a record 41.3 billion US dollar resources deal.In Australia’s biggest ever trade agreement, PetroChina ordered 2.25 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) a year over two decades from ExxonMobil’s share of […]
Sri Lanka property eyed by Indian developer after war: report
Aug 19, 2009 (LBO) – India’s Puravankara Projects, a Bangalore-based developer is looking to start an upmarket housing project after a civil war ended, an Indian media report said, though the property market in the island is in the doldrums. The report said Puravankara’s Sri Lanka move comes at a time when Bangalore itself is […]
Sri Lanka on track to wrap international offering by October
Aug 18, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will shortly call for bids from international investment banks to help raise debt from international markets, with the deal to be completed by October, a top official said. A team of government officials went on a ‘non deal’ global road show to major financial centres arranged by HSBC […]
Sri Lankan stocks up, rupee gains
Aug 18, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed up Tuesday as investors regained some confidence and bet on blue chip and hotel stocks, while the rupee continued to gain against the dollar, brokers and dealers said. The benchmark Colombo All Share Price Index (ASPI) closed up 1.15 percent (28.73 points) to end at 2,529.19, […]
Shipping Costs
Aug 18, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shippers face the prospect of an increase in transportation costs to export markets with loss-making global carriers beginning to raise freight rates in an effort to restore profitability.The line, which controls about 15 percent of the global container market, has also announced rate hikes on other trade routes. […]
Sri Lanka coconut exporter does well in June
Aug 18, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Coco Lanka said exports of coconut products did well in the June 2009 quarter with group net profit up 982 percent to 34 million rupees from just three million a year ago. The company, part of the Renuka Holdings group, said in a stock exchange filing that sales […]
Sri Lanka flay New Zealand in first Test
GALLE, August 18, 2009 (AFP) – Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan pulverised New Zealand’s bowlers to help Sri Lanka make a spectacular start in the first cricket Test on Tuesday. Jayawardene hit an unbeaten 108 and Dilshan smashed 92 off 72 balls in his new role as opener as Sri Lanka, sent in to bat […]
Sri Lanka rains flood 2,000 shelters at camp: UN
August 18, 2009 (AFP) – Heavy rains flooded nearly 2,000 makeshift shelters housing Sri Lankan Tamil war refugees detained by the government, the United Nations said Tuesday, raising concerns about their health. The strong rains last weekend lashed the northern Vavuniya district where over 250,000 people displaced during the final stages of the ethnic conflict […]