Category:
Amnesty calls for probe of Sri Lanka civilian deaths
May 30, 2009 (AFP) – Amnesty International called Saturday for an independent probe into the number of civilians killed in the final weeks of Sri Lanka’s civil war and also urged the UN to reveal its own estimates. The call by the rights group followed a report in the Times of London newspaper on Friday […]
Box Bug
May 30, 2009 (LBO) – Ships calling at Colombo port are experiencing delays owing to teething problems in a new Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) computer system to manage its container terminals, shipping agents said.But the SLPA has told port users that it was working to solve the problems with the terminal management system and […]
Prized Writers
May 30, 2009 (LBO) – The International Policy Network (IPN), a London based organization that offers an annual journalism award for writers that help promote a free society, is giving a separate award for online writers from this May. The awards are named after Frédéric Bastiat, a 19th-century French philosopher and journalist started in 2002. […]
Sri Lanka property firm hit by falling prices
May 30, 2009 (LBO) – The real estate arm of Sri Lanka’s Carsons Cumberbatch group said it was writing down the values of properties by 450.3 million rupees as prices slumped in the wake of tight monetary policy. “This year has been a challenging year where we saw a significant market correction on the property […]
Sri Lankan stocks up 3.22 pct during week, rupee steady
May 29, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares made slight gains Friday as investors were concentrating more on solid small and mid cap stocks, while the rupee was rock steady against greenback, brokers and dealers said. The spot dollar was trading at 114.90/115.00 levels in late evening trade, dealers said. The Colombo All Share Price […]
Fleet Fortunes
May 29, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka could make use of the global slump in shipping to rebuild its national merchant fleet as ships without work are now going cheap, the island’s navy chief Wasantha Karannagoda has said. The end of the 25-year-old ethnic war gives the country an opportunity to revive its merchant navy, […]
Good Credit
May 29, 2009 (LBO) – A central bank supported credit scheme to help war-affected Sri Lankans will not use printed money, but cash from a revolving credit facility separately managed by the monetary authority, a top official said. Sri Lanka’s central bank is planning a re-finance to jump-start lending to the war-affected so that they […]
Housing Woes
May 29, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Housing Development and Finance Corporation (HDFC) said it made a loss in the March 2009 quarter amid rising interest expenses and sharp falls in interest and fee-based income. The bank made a loss of 52 million rupees in the three months ending March 31, 2009 compared with a […]
Sri Lankan tea prices weaken further
May 29, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices sagged further this week, pushed down by larger volumes, lower quality and a stronger rupee, brokers said. The rupee weakened sharply against the dollar earlier this year but steadied and even strengthened in recent weeks. The better teas were “readily absorbed”, while the poor leaf sorts […]
Weak Judiciary
May 29, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s justice system, legal profession and media are all under grave threat, said a report published by the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI). Public confidence in the judiciary has got eroded and the Chief Justice is seen as biased, said the report on the independence of the […]
Mobile Spin
May 29, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan celco Mobitel will spend 557 million rupees (4.85 million US dollars) in a four year sponsorship of the island’s cricket team, the company’s parent, Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) said. SLT said in a stock exchange filing that the deal, one of the largest announced by a Sri Lankan […]
Wal-Mart set to make first foray into India
NEW DELHI, May 29, 2009 (AFP) – The world’s number one retailer Wal-Mart is set to open its first sales venture in India Saturday as part of an ambitious plan to establish a foothold in the country’s vast consumer market.The US discount chain has teamed up with Bharti Enterprises, parent of India’s biggest mobile firm […]