Tag: Sri Lanka
Family fears for missing Sri Lankan cartoonist – Focus
March 11, 2010 (AFP) – Six weeks ago Sri Lankan political writer and cartoonist Prageeth Eknaligoda went missing, and his fate has raised further concerns about the island’s culture of violence against the media. Eknaligoda, who contributed to the pro-opposition Lankaenews. com website, did not return home after work on January 24, two days before […]
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March 11, 2010 (AFP) – Former Sri Lankan army chief and defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka will face three charges in a military court, including “conduct unbecoming an officer,” a source said Thursday. “There will be three charges against him,” said the military source, who declined to be named. In addition to the “conduct unbecoming” […]
Sri Lanka gets US$67.4mn more from India for railways
Mar 11, 2010 (LBO) – The Export Import Bank of India is giving Sri Lanka 67. 4 million US dollars in top funding in a project which will slash travel times along a coastal railway track, the finance ministry said. Rolling stock maintenance facilities will be built in Alutgama, Galle and Colombo. In 2008 India […]
Sri Lanka gets US$250mn in loans from Japan for power, roads
Mar 11, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will get 22. 5 billion yen in loans (250 million US dollars) from Japan for hydro power, water supply and provincial road development in former war torn areas in the east, a government minister said. JICA will also loan 9,156 million yen (101 million US dollars) for 0rovincial […]
Sri Lanka tourist arrivals up 68-pct in February: data
Mar 11, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka tourist arrivals surge 67.7 percent to 57,300 in February 2010 from a year earlier, with steep increases in generating markets in India, UK and Germany, official data showed. Visitors from Singapore rose 112 percent to 829. Sri Lanka has seen a surge of tourist arrivals with the industry […]
‘s consumer prices soar to 2.7-pct in February
BEIJING, March 11, 2010 (AFP) – Chinese consumer prices rose for the fourth straight month in February while new lending slowed sharply, data showed Thursday, adding pressure on Beijing to fulfill its vow to control inflation. Analysts said the jump in prices would not trigger a knee-jerk response from policymakers in the world’s third-largest economy […]
Sri Lanka signs up US$290mn in railway, airport loans from China
Mar 10, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has signed up 290 million US dollars in financing from China’s Exim Bank to build an airport in the south of the island and expand railways, the foreign ministry said. The ‘A9’ is the main highway that links the northern Jaffna peninsular with the South. The highway is […]
Sri Lankans, other minorities growing in Canada
OTTAWA, March 9, 2010 (AFP) – Canada’s ethnic makeup will greatly change in the next 20 years as the number of non-Europeans or “visible minorities” rises to nearly one-third of the population, a government agency said Tuesday. The number of Chinese Canadians is projected to grow also, to around 3. 0 million. But as Chinese […]
Sri Lanka tax system, state consumption hurting private investment: analysts
Mar 10, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s high income taxes is making local firms weaker against others in developing countries, while a government living beyond its means is eating up long terms funds available for private investment, analysts said. “I’m a firm believer until this country drops the tax rate to 15 percent or 20 […]
India worked against Sri Lankan president: minister
March 8, 2010 (AFP) – India’s external intelligence agency tried to undermine Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse at polls in January and wanted him defeated, a minister said in an interview published Monday. Nandana Goonathilake, minister of postal services, said the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), India’s foreign intelligence service, had worked against Rajapakse at […]
India pushes Sri Lanka for Tamil reconciliation
March 8, 2010 (AFP) – Indian foreign secretary Nirupama Rao urged Sri Lanka’s leaders to open a new era of stability after the island’s civil war by bringing minority Tamils into mainstream society, officials said Monday. Rao, on a visit to Colombo, told President Mahinda Rajapakse that the defeat of Tamil Tiger separatist rebels last […]
Sri Lanka CB brought inflation down, but concerns rising: opposition
Mar 09, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka central bank has brought inflation down in 2009 with tight monetary policy but excessive government spending is threatening stability, Sri Lanka’s main opposition United National Party has said. “The central bank raised interest rates, withdrew liquidity and kept tight monetary policy,” Harsha de Silva, an economist who has […]