US calls for protection to Sri Lanka journalists

COLOMBO, July 28, 2014 (AFP) – The United States on Monday urged Sri Lanka to crack down on harassment of journalists and protect their rights after organisers of a US-funded media workshop for Tamils received death threats.The US embassy in Colombo said it had raised the issue with the Sri Lankan administration after pro-government protesters […]

Sri Lanka Chevron Lubricants net up 20-pct

July 28, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Chevron Lubricants said profits rose 20 percent to 675 million rupees in the June 2014 quarter from a year earlier helped by wider margins.The firm reported earnings of 5.63 rupees per share for the quarter.For the six months to June the company reported earnings of 11.99 rupees on […]

Sri Lanka media training for Tamil journalists scuttled

COLOMBO, July 26, 2014 (AFP) – Dozens of pro-government activists blocked ethnic Tamil journalists from holding a training program in Sri Lanka on Saturday, marking the latest harassment of the minority community, a media rights group said.FMM’s Jayasekera said he also received death threats over the telephone for holding a press conference to denounce the […]

IMF cuts 2014 global growth forecast, sees rising risks

WASHINGTON, July 24, 2014 (AFP) – The International Monetary Fund warned Thursday that geopolitical risks in Ukraine and the Middle East are looming over a global economy already hit by slowdowns in the US and China. “In major advanced economies, there is a risk of stagnation in the medium term,” the IMF warned, recommending that […]

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July 23, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has a strong record in debt repayment, but interest costs and debt levels are high compared to revenues and private external commercial borrowings are adding to state borrowings, a report by Moody’s a rating agency said. Some analysts have said that Sri Lanka’s key problem is a large […]

Cricket: Steyn strikes early in second Sri Lanka Test

COLOMBO, July 24, 2014 (AFP) – Dale Steyn took two wickets in two balls to give South Africa a flying start in the series-deciding second and final Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo on Thursday.Steyn, the star of South Africa’s big win in the first Test at Galle, sent back opener Upul Tharanga and big-hitter […]

Sri Lanka, India in mutual forex reserve investment pact

July 24, 2014 (LBO) – Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the Reserve Bank of India has inked a deal to buy up to 500 million dollars worth of securities in each other’s governments, in a bid to diversify reserve assets.July 24, 2014 (LBO) – Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the Reserve Bank of […]

‘s Ceylon Cold Stores net up 87-pct in June quarter

July 23, 2014 (LBO) – Profits at Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Cold Stores, which has interests in consumer goods and retailing, surged 87 percent to 299.3 million rupees in the June 2014 quarter from a year earlier as revenues rose 18 percent. Sri Lanka is recovering from a balance of payments crisis where consumer spending power […]

”s call for peace

COLOMBO, July 22, 2014 (AFP) – A firebrand Sri Lankan monk on Tuesday criticised the Dalai Lama for urging the island’s Buddhists to halt violence against minority Muslims and rejected him as a global spiritual leader.Buddhist monk Galagodaatte Gnanasara said the Dalai Lama was ignorant of the “true situation in Sri Lanka” and accused the […]

Sri Lanka president skips Commonwealth Games

COLOMBO, July 22, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse will skip the Commonwealth Games starting this week in Glasgow despite being chair of the bloc, his office said Tuesday, after activists threatened to protest at his attendance.Rajapakse’s military crushed rebels fighting for a separate homeland for ethnic minority Tamils in 2009 following a […]

Sri Lanka bank credit subdued in May: data

July 21, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s loans to private business from commercial banks slipped 7.9 billion rupees in May 2014 from a year earlier while credit to the state and state enterprises also contracted, official data shows.Private credit has contracted in four out of five months this year and is down 60 billion rupees […]

Sri Lanka to re-start oil refinery

July 16, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has repaired an offshore unloading buoy allowing state-run Ceylon Petroleum Corporation to re-start its refinery which was closed due to lack of crude stocks, the petroleum ministry said.The buoy was repaired on July 15 and 50,000 barrels were unloaded yesterday, the ministry said, allowing the refinery to start […]

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