Tag: Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka president delays election announcement
November 15, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse Sunday asked his supporters for more time to announce dates for snap elections as he faced an unexpected challenge from his erstwhile military chief.General Sarath Fonseka resigned last week after accusing the government of corruption, mismanagement and failing to “win the peace” with minority Tamils […]
Sri Lanka state revenues up in September, but may miss revised targets
Nov 16, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state revenues rebounded to 522.0 billion rupees in September 2009 up 12.1 percent from a year earlier, but year end targets may miss revised estimates, the Central Bank said.For the first nine months of the year fiscal deficit was 322.6 billion rupees or 6.5 percent of gross domestic […]
Sri Lanka refugees can stay for three months, Indonesia says
JAKARTA, November 15, 2009 (AFP) – A group of 22 Sri Lankan asylum seekers who left an Australian customs ship to come ashore in Indonesia will be allowed to stay for up to three months, an official said Sunday. The standoff has caused a political headache for Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who has been […]
Sri Lanka lures central Indian investors
Nov 15, 2009 (LBO) – Firms from the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh have showed interest in investing in Sri Lanka and called for direct flights between the state capital Bhopal and Colombo, officials said.Sri Lanka can benefit by having daily flights between Bhopal, Colombo and Bangkok to cater to Sri Lankan as well […]
‘s African families fade away
SIRAMBIADIYA, November 15, 2009 (AFP) – In a village deep in west Sri Lanka, one of the island’s few remaining communities of African descent breaks into song — a poignant elegy to a disappearing culture. The music starts with a slow, gentle rhythm played on a tambourine, spoons and coconut shells, before it builds to […]
Large crowds greet Myanmar leader in Sri Lankan city
ANURADHAPURA, November 14, 2009 (AFP) – Large flag-waving crowds greeted Myanmar’s junta leader General Than Shwe on Saturday as he toured an ancient city in north-central Sri Lanka on a religious pilgrimage.The crowds, clutching flags of Myanmar and Sri Lanka, lined the streets of the sacred Buddhist city of Anuradhapura to welcome the reclusive general, […]
Sri Lanka fetes Myanmar junta leader on rare foreign trip
KANDY, November 13, 2009 (AFP) – Dozens of dancers, drummers and three elephants greeted Myanmar’s reclusive junta leader as the elderly general began a pilgrimage in Sri Lanka Friday on a rare foreign outing. Schoolchildren cheered and waved paper flags of both countries and passers-by took pictures as the visiting leader’s motorcade slowly drove through […]
Sri Lanka president asks military chief to leave immediately
November 13, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president has asked his military chief to step down immediately, rejecting his request to serve for another two weeks, an official said Friday.President Mahinda Rajapakse accepted General Sarath Fonseka’s resignation, tendered on Thursday, and wanted him to leave immediately, a government official said. “The president asked him to […]
” for Sri Lanka foreign reserves: CB Governor
Nov 14, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank, which maintains a soft peg with the US dollar, said gold would be an ‘important anchor’ for its foreign reserves, which have zoomed in 2009 with large foreign inflows.Gold has hit new highs in recent weeks, with the US dollar again weakening under extended loose monetary […]
Slippery Oil
Nov 13, 2009 (LBO) – Lanka IOC, the Sri Lankan unit of Indian Oil Corp., has said it made a loss of 203 million rupees in the September 2009 quarter, partly on losses from hedging in oil imports.The firm has been lobbying for lower import duties on fuel or higher retail prices which are government […]
‘s top general quits ahead of vote
November 12, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s top general Sarath Fonseka, a war hero at home credited with crushing Tamil rebels, quit Thursday, heightening speculation he will enter politics to challenge President Mahinda Rajapakse.“I gave my resignation. I have submitted my retirement papers,” Fonseka told reporters at a Buddhist temple he visited after sending his […]
‘s top general
November 13, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government sidelined top general Sarath Fonseka because of fears he would launch a coup, he wrote in a bitter resignation letter ahead of an expected election battle with the president. The United Nations reported that more than 7,000 civilians may have perished in fighting this year, though this […]