Category:
India in major embassy security review: report
NEW DELHI, March 11, 2009 (AFP) – India is to conduct a massive security review of key missions in South Asia following threats against its nationals in Afghanistan, a report said Wednesday. The Indian Express newspaper reported that officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs, spy agency the Intelligence Bureau and the elite counter-terrorism National […]
Sri Lanka Tigers accused of misusing UN food aid
March 11, 2009 (AFP) – The United Nations on Wednesday accused the Tamil Tigers of siphoning off food meant for severely malnourished children in Sri Lanka’s embattled north.The defence ministry says troops are on the verge of defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who have been fighting for a separate homeland since 1972. […]
Sri Lanka soft-peg drains reserves: ADB study
Mar 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves have been hit due to poor foreign exchange reserve management coming from operating a soft-peg with the US dollar, an Asian Development Bank commissioned study has said. Sri Lanka is now negotiating an IMF bailout with foreign reserves halved from September to December when active peg […]
Hatton Performance
Mar 10, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank group has reported profits of 3,830 million rupees in 2008, down 10.1 percent over the previous year on interest income of 38.7 billion rupees which grew 20.7 percent. Loan loss provisions increased 27.6 percent to 1,159 million rupees, while 259 million rupees was charged for […]
No Problem
Mar 10, 2009 (LBO) – Managers of Sri Lanka’s state-run pension fund of private sector workers, under fire for investing funds for state purposes as a ‘captive’ source, have said the fund is operating well. In an interview, officials managing the EPF denied all suggestions of impropriety, conflict of interest, or coming under pressure to […]
Sri Lanka aims to be South Asian shopper paradise
Mar 10, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s biggest state bank has proposed a bold project to make the island a Dubai-style duty free shopping mecca for the billion-plus consumers on the Indian sub-continent. Gamini Wickramasinghe, chairman of Bank of Ceylon (BOC), said much revenue can be generated by enticing visitors from the region, exploiting the […]
Sri Lanka govt vows to crush Tigers after suicide bombing
March 10, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government on Tuesday vowed to finish off the Tamil Tiger guerrilla rebels who were blamed for a suicide bomb that killed 15 people and badly injured a senior politician. There has been no reaction from the guerrillas, who have launched scores of similar suicide bombings in the past.Tuesday’s […]
Fifteen dead, minister hurt in Sri Lanka suicide attack
March 10, 2009 (AFP) – At least 15 people were killed Tuesday and another 60, including a government minister, were wounded in a suicide bombing in southern Sri Lanka blamed on Tamil Tiger rebels, officials said. The attacker targeted politicians attending a function at a mosque in the town of Akuressa, and came as the […]
Ten killed in Sri Lanka blast: policee
March 10, 2009 (AFP)- At least 10 people were killed Tuesday and another 25, including two ministers, were wounded in a suicide bomb attack in southern Sri Lanka, a local police official said. Telecommunications minister Mahinda Wijesekara and Cultural Minister Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena were wounded, the official said.He said Wijesekera was in intensive care at […]
Sri Lanka coach fears Commonwealth Games a target
MELBOURNE, March 10, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka cricket coach Trevor Bayliss voiced fears on Tuesday that extremists would target next year’s Commonwealth Games in India and backed criticism of security arrangements in Pakistan. He supported criticism from match officials travelling in a minibus behind Sri Lanka’s team bus in Lahore that security was inadequate. […]
Sri Lanka EPF pension fund may allow early withdrawal
Mar 09, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Employee’s Provident Fund (EPF) which forcibly takes a part of the salary of a private sector worker for ‘management’ by the state may allow partial withdrawals of balances if new proposals become law, officials said. Up to now desperate private workers hit by high inflation created in the […]
Sri Lanka shares close flat
Mar 09, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed flat on Monday on thin volumes, with some Ceylinco group companies which are slated for management changes or take-over moving up, brokers said. The Colombo All Share Price Index edged up 0.18 percent (3.0 points) to end at 1,630.70 while the Milanka index of liquid stocks […]