Category:
Sri Lankan peace activist kidnapped in Philippines
ZAMBOANGA, February 13, 2009 (AFP) – Gunmen kidnapped a Sri Lankan Muslim working as a peace advocate in the southern Philippines on Friday, officials said. Jalil Omar, a Muslim preacher, was seized from his boarding house in Lamitan City, capital of Basilan island before dawn and taken to a nearby mountain area, said police commander […]
Sri Lanka rejects British special envoy
February 12, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Thursday rejected Britain’s appointment of a special envoy to the island, accusing London of interfering in its internal affairs as security forces battled to defeat Tamil Tiger rebels. The diplomatic row between Colombo and London blew up amid mounting international concerns for the tens of thousands of […]
Sri Lankan stocks close down 0.7-pct
Feb 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan stocks closed down 0.7 percent with institutional investors still waiting in the sidelines awaiting lower interest rates, though some foreign buying was seen, brokers said. Aitkin Spence Hotels gained two rupees to close at 100.Touchwood Investment gained 1.25 rupees to close at 64.50. The Colombo All Share Price […]
Sri Lanka Aitken Spence Hotels buoyed by overseas gains
Feb 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence Hotels said group net profit for the December 2008 quarter shot up almost 200 percent to 358 million rupees. Revenue for the nine months to December 31, 2008 rose eight percent to 4,505 million rupees The company said six months of the period under review relates […]
Sri Lanka tourism re-launch mooted
Feb 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tourist hotel industry body has suggested a fresh campaign to promote the island as a destination for visitors now that the ethnic war that deterred tourists is ending. “Sri Lanka tourism is beginning to be cautiously optimistic, with the inevitable end to the long and protracted war situation,” […]
Sri Lanka tea prices tumble
Feb 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices fell at this week’s Colombo auction with lower buying from key markets like Russia contributing to the decline, brokers said.The better teas were selectively sought after by shippers to Japan, Pakistan and possibly the Continent. But there was noticeably less activity this week from shippers to […]
Tele Cricket
February 12, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s second largest mobile phone operator on Thursday agreed a three-year deal worth nearly five million dollars to sponsor the island’s cricket team, Sri Lanka Cricket said. The Sri Lankan team, led by outgoing captain Mahela Jayawardene, leaves for Pakistan on Saturday for a two-Test series, which begins on […]
Medicine Men
LONDON, February 12, 2009 (AFP) – International aid agency Oxfam urged the World Bank and rich nations Thursday to stop “wasting” donations and possibly risking lives by backing unproven private healthcare programmes in poor countries.While Lebanon spends twice as much as Sri Lanka on healthcare, its infant and maternal mortality rates are 2.5 and three […]
Space Debris
WASHINGTON, February 12, 2009 (AFP) – Two satellites collided in space hundreds of miles (kilometers) above Earth, destroying an Iridium commercial satellite in a crash that may result in disruption of service, the US company said Wednesday.“This satellite loss may result in very limited service disruption in the form of brief, occasional outages,” it said, […]
Sri Lankan troops declare new civilian safe zone
February 12, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops declared a new safe zone for civilians Thursday as they battled to finish off the island’s drawn-out ethnic conflict, the defence ministry said. Concern has mounted for tens of thousands of non-combatants trapped in the war zone, with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) saying […]
Sri Lankan troops kill 28 Tamil Tigers: military
February 12, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops killed 28 Tamil rebels and seized a cache of weapons and ammunition in their latest push for victory in the island’s drawn-out ethnic conflict, the government said Thursday.The Red Cross carried out a similar sea evacuation of 240 patients on Tuesday, saying the group had been stranded […]
Sri Lanka treasuries yields ease after rate cut
Feb 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Treasuries yields fell less-than-expected across maturities following a 50 basis point cut in the island’s de facto policy discount rate, dealers said. Since Friday the market had already partially discounted the rates cuts, they said. The Central Bank cut the 17.0 percent unrestricted ‘penalty’ reverse repo rate, which […]