Tag: lankabusinessonline
‘s killing
COLOMBO, January 22, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lankan investigators arrested a ruling party politician who failed to turn up to his trial for the Christmas Day killing of a British tourist two years ago, police said Wednesday.Sampath Vidanapathirana, a councillor in the southern region of Tangalle, was tracked down and arrested in the capital Colombo […]
Sri Lanka mass grave count hits 36
COLOMBO, January 17, 2014 (AFP) – Forensic experts have discovered more bodies in an unmarked mass grave in Sri Lanka’s former war zone, raising the total to 36, an official said Friday. A team led by judicial medical officer Dhananjaya Waidyaratne found four more skeletons Thursday in the first mass grave uncovered since troops defeated […]
Sri Lanka president to test popularity with local polls
COLOMBO, January 12, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Sunday called snap local elections seen as a gauge of President Mahinda Rajapakse’s popularity ahead of national polls expected to be held later this year, officials said.The southern and western provincial councils, the highest level of local government, have been dissolved, clearing the way for local […]
Sri Lanka protests US war crimes remarks
COLOMBO, January 10, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka said Friday it would protest to the United States over its allegations that army shelling killed hundreds of families during the final days of the island’s ethnic civil war. Sri Lanka maintains that not a single civilian was killed by troops and in November ordered a census […]
Sri Lanka targets US$2.5bn in FDI in 2014
Jan 10, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is targeting 2.5 billion US dollars in foreign direct investors in 2014 with 2013 estimated to have drawn about 1.3 billion US dollars, a minister said. Investment promotions minister Lakshman Abeywardene said FDI inflows had reached 870 million US dollars by September and full year data was still […]
US war crimes envoy visits Sri Lanka site
COLOMBO, January 9, 2014 (AFP) – A top US official investigating war crimes has visited a former Sri Lankan battleground where hundreds of families were killed in army shelling, the US embassy said Thursday, triggering an angry response from Colombo. The US Ambassador for Global Criminal Justice Stephen Rapp spent Wednesday and Thursday travelling in […]
Sri Lanka chambers ask for probe on official statistics
Jan 07, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s key business chambers have called for a probe on official statistics following reports on how an official was allegedly asked to boost gross domestic numbers in a court filing. “If such doubts were to persist, it would lead to a lack of credibility on a range of published […]
US sends envoy to Sri Lanka to discuss war crimes claims
COLOMBO, January 5, 2014 (AFP) – A top US envoy will travel to Sri Lanka on Monday to discuss allegations of war crimes ahead of a UN review of Colombo’s human rights record, officials said.US Ambassador for Global Criminal Justice Stephen Rapp will spend five days in Sri Lanka discussing rights and reconciliation following the […]
Sri Lanka inflation 4.8-pct by citizen index
Jan 05, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s inflation measured by a private consumer price index rose 4.8 percent in the 12 months of 2013 in line with the 4.7 percent measured by the state statistics office. In Feb 2012, the rupee was floated, allowing the peg to fall to around 118 to the US dollar […]
Sri Lanka expects 7.8-pct growth and 5.0-pct inflation in 2014
Jan 03, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is expected to grow 7.8 percent in 2014 as business activities pick up with inflation targeted at 5.0-pct, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said.Sri Lanka has a pegged exchange rate, loosely anchored to the US dollar and money printed by the Central Bank through domestic asset acquisitions tends […]
Sri Lanka narrows policy rate corridor
Jan 02, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank has narrowed a policy rate corridor cutting its policy rate window for injecting cash into the banking system by 50 basis points to 8.00 percent but left its rate to withdraw cash unchanged at 6.50 percent. The central bank said it would no longer give securities […]
Sri Lanka expects 7.2-pct growth in 2013, US$7.1bn in forex reserves
Jan 02, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s economy is expected to grow 7.2 percent in 2013 with inflation recorded at 4.7 percent and foreign reserves at 7.1 billion US dollars, the Central Bank said.Net credit to government also declined 3.5 billion rupees in November. Sri Lanka originally expected 7.5 percent growth for 2013. “Available leading […]