Category:
UN chief to urge humanitarian access in Sri Lanka
May 22, 2009 (AFP) – UN chief Ban Ki-moon was due to land in Sri Lanka later Friday on a 24-hour mission to press its government for unfettered humanitarian access to an estimated 250,000 civilians displaced by conflict.The secretary general was expected in the evening ahead of talks Saturday with President Mahinda Rajapakse and Foreign […]
Top UN official visits Tamil refugee camps: UN
UNITED NATIONS, May 21, 2009 (AFP) – A senior UN official was allowed to visit camps in Sri Lanka housing refugees from intense fighting that earlier this week ended in the defeat of a 30-year-old Tamil insurgency. Vijay Nambiar, chief of staff of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, visited camps around Vavuniya that are housing […]
US calls for reconciliation, access to refugee camps
WASHINGTON, May 21, 2009 (AFP) – The United States pressed Sri lanka Thursday to lift restrictions on access to refugee camps in a strip of land where government forces this week crushed a three-decade-old Tamil insurgency. “We urge the government to allow the ICRC, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the UN immediate […]
Sri Lanka IMF loan under review after war: US
May 22, 2009 (LBO) – An International Monetary Fund loan to Sri Lanka is under review and the international community needs to make an assessment of the post-conflict situation in the island, US state department spokesman Ian Kelly has said. Kelly said Clinton had spoken to UN chief Ban Ki-Moon about his trip to Sri […]
”: Central Bank
May 22, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said a cut in the country’s rating outlook by Standard & Poor’s was “outrageous, arbitrary and biased” and the county will “be compelled to review its relationship” with the rating agency. S&P cut the outlook on Sri Lanka’s speculative ‘B’ rating to ‘negative’ from ‘stable’ citing […]
Sri Lanka loan to be approved in “coming weeks”: IMF
May 22, 2009 (LBO) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has not yet scheduled a meeting of its board to pass a loan to Sri Lanka but the lender was hoping to give the loan in “the coming weeks”, an official said. “I think that’s something that we’re reviewing right now,” Kelly told reporters in […]
Sri Lanka stocks up, bonds steady, after war, rate cut
May 21, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka stocks rose 4.25 percent in morning trade Thursday following a national holiday to celebrate the end of an internal war, while bonds yields remained steady following a rate cut, dealers said. On Tuesday at the weekly auction of treasury securities 12-month bill yields fell 32 basis points to […]
Sri Lanka shares surge 5.2%
May 21, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares surged Thursday led by blue chips as investors ignored a crop of weak quarterly results to focus on future earnings with the end of the decades-old war, brokers said. Hatangala said he expects the upbeat mood to prevail, now that the conflict that acted as a drag […]
No Watch
May 21, 2009 (LBO) – RAM Ratings Lanka said a rating watch on Arpico Finance Company has been lifted after the company met a Central Bank requirement for minimum capital of 200 million rupees by March 2009. RAM Ratings Lanka said the regulator would assess the company’s core capital after financial were audited, but RAM […]
Safe Custody
May 21, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run Bank of Ceylon had provided deposit and gold related services of more than 500 million rupees as displaced people in camps in northern Sri Lanka sought the safety of the bank, a top official said. Bank of Ceylon (BoC) chairman Gamini Wickramasinghe, said more than 10,000 people […]
Cyber Security
May 21, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan companies are concerned over data security with most still not having adequate protection, opening up opportunities for network security players, business research and consulting firm Frost & Sullivan said. A survey done by Frost & Sullivan of chief information officers in Sri Lanka, revealed that major threats for […]
Maldives joins International Labour Organization
May 21, 2009 (LBO) – The Indian Ocean tourist paradise of Maldives has joined the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN agency which deals with labour issues said.The membership started on May 15, with president Mohamed Nasheed accepting obligations under the constitution of the ILO. “We warmly welcome the Republic of Maldives to the ILO […]