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Though shaken by siege, Mumbai comes back to life
MUMBAI, December 1, 2008 (AFP) – For 60 hours, Mumbai residents watched aghast as gunmen opened fire in a station and hospital, seizing two top hotels and a Jewish centre in a coordinated assault that left at least 172 people dead. But soon after an attack described by many in the media here as “India’s […]
Sri Lanka takes another town in battle for Tiger capital: military
December 1, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan government forces on Monday wrested control over another town from Tamil Tiger rebels in their offensive to capture the political capital of the guerrillas, the defence ministry said.The guerrillas, who began their struggle for a separate Tamil homeland in 1972, are facing the Sri Lankan army’s biggest ever […]
Sri Lanka grind out final ODI win for whitewash
HARARE, November 30, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka rounded out a 5-0 series victory in Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club here Sunday, winning by just 19 runs after struggling to 152 all out having been put into bat.Zimbabwe, whose spinners had given them a chance on a lifeless pitch at least to try to prevent […]
India interior minister resigns over Mumbai attacks
MUMBAI, November 30, 2008 (AFP) – India’s interior minister resigned Sunday as anger grew over intelligence failures leading up to the attacks on Mumbai and investigators focused on a Pakistan-based Islamic militant group. Home Minister Shivraj Patil said he took “moral responsibility” for the assault by heavily-armed militants which left nearly 200 people dead and […]
Sri Lanka resumes advance on Tiger HQ
November 30, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan security forces have resumed their offensive to capture the political capital of Tamil Tiger rebels after heavy monsoon rains began subsiding, the defence ministry said Sunday.“The air sorties were made in support of the advancing 57th division infantry battalions,” the ministry said. Flooding had stalled the military push […]
Still There
Nov 30, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s petroleum ministry has not yet been taken over by President Mahinda Rajapaksa, following a court ruling by the Supreme Court, a media report said Sunday. The Sunday Times newspaper, quoting petroleum minister A H M Fowzie said he had not received any instructions from the country’s president. The […]
Sri Lanka EPF under fire at 50 years, calls for independent management
Nov 30, 2008 (LBO) – Calls for independent management for Sri Lanka’s state-managed Employees Provident Fund are gaining more support, with less than half of respondents to a survey saying returns were “reasonable”, an influential weekly has said.Fifty years after the creation of EPF The Sunday Times newspaper said only 45.95 percent of respondents to […]
Hedge Saga
Nov 29, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Standard Chartered Bank unit says it was not directly affected by a court order which halted payments due under a hedge it arranged for a state-run oil distributor and said it welcomed a probe into the deal.Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court Friday ordered the country’s central bank to probe […]
Battle for Mumbai ends, last militants killed
MUMBAI, Nov 29, 2008 (AFP) – Commandos killed three holdout gunmen Saturday in Mumbai’s Taj Hotel, bringing an end to a two-day Islamic militant assault on India’s financial capital that left at least 155 dead, including 21 foreigners. The final attack on the historic seafront hotel was marked by heavy gunfire and loud explosions that […]
Sri Lanka should stop intervention before it is too late: economist
Nov 29, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should stop a self-destructive sterilized intervention cycle of the national currency and move to stabilize the economy, to prevent an even more dramatic fall of the currency, an economist has said. Kamikaze Before mid-September when the central bank started a sterilized intervention cycle and started putting pressure on […]
Sri Lanka shares rise marginally, Distilleries boosts trading volumes
Nov 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan share prices ended slightly firmer Friday, with volumes pushed higher by large trades in Distilleries Company but concerns over company earnings still weighing on the market, brokers said. Tissera said the large transactions in Distilleries Company accounted for the bulk of the day’s trading volumes. Over 11.2 million […]
Hatton Profits
Nov 28, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank group profits were up 6 percent to 807.3 million rupees with revenues up 16 percent to 9,665.3 million rupees in the 9-months to September, accounts filed with the Colombo Stock Exchange showed. Group gross assets were 256.5 billion rupees, up 6 percent from December 2007 […]