Tag: Sri Lanka
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COLOMBO, February 25, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka Tuesday accused the UN rights chief of “unwarranted interference” by calling for an international inquiry into allegations troops killed thousands of civilians at the end of the civil war.The government of President Mahinda Rajapakse formally rejected the demand by rights chief Navi Pillay for an external investigation […]
Afghan President Karzai cancels Sri Lanka visit
COLOMBO, February 23, 2014 (AFP) – Afghan President Hamid Karzai cancelled a two-day state visit to Sri Lanka Sunday, the foreign ministry in Colombo said, as Taliban insurgents killed 20 of his soldiers in eastern Afghanistan.“Please note that the visit of the President of Afghanistan to Sri Lanka has been cancelled,” the ministry said without […]
Sri Lanka in constant battle to keep up coin supply
Feb 20, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank is battling to keep the country supplied with coins as metal prices go up and coins disappear from circulation into piggy banks and places of worship.The Central Bank estimates that 20 to 30 tonnes of Sri Lankan coins are accumulated at Temples and Churches in India […]
Indian PM opposes release of Rajiv Gandhi killers
NEW DELHI, February 20, 2014 (AFP) – Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh denounced plans to free former premier Rajiv Gandhi’s killers as an attack on the nation’s soul Thursday as his government launched a legal battle to stop their release. Seven Tamil extremists are due to walk free from prison by this weekend after the […]
Sri Lanka prosperity up by revised index: Central Bank
Feb 20, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s prosperity has risen by 6.8 percent over 2012 according to an index compiled by the Central Bank, which has been revised with additional parameters being added. “The Prosperity Index enables national policy makers, provincial authorities, and business and community stakeholders to measure the prosperity of provinces in a […]
Sri Lanka policy rates unchanged; credit picking up: Central Bank
Feb 17, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank kept policy rates steady in February signaling that gilt rates are bottoming out but said longer term lending rates have more room to fall. The central bank said it was keeping the rate at which excess money is drained from the banking system at 6.50 percent […]
Sri Lanka banks should lend more to utilize new economic capacity: CB Governor
Feb 17, 2013 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s bank should lend more to businesses associated with ports, airports, health and information technology to make use of expanded capacity in the economy, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said. Sri Lanka’s government has developed infrastructure in recent year with ports, airports and roads generating extra capacity and opportunities […]
” translation slur on public signs
COLOMBO, February 14, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government said Friday it is probing incorrect and insulting translations of signs into the minority Tamil language, including one that says seats “reserved for pregnant dogs” instead of women. The government said they have received 218 complaints of misleading, wrong or offensive public notices that were correctly […]
New forms of racism arise in science research
CHICAGO, February 15, 2014 (AFP) – Advances in genetic sequencing are giving rise to a new era of scientific racism, despite decades of efforts to reverse attitudes used to justify the slave trade and Nazi theology, experts said Friday.Another concern is the ancestry tests that are now commonly sold online, a trend which feeds the […]
Sri Lanka ends 2013 with US$7.2bn in foreign reserves
Feb 12, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s foreign reserves rose 4.6 percent to 7,200 million in December 2013 from a year earlier, despite payments to the International Monetary Fund and losses on gold holdings, official data showed. But in pegged exchange rate monetary systems ‘reserves’ are invested abroad such as in liquid US Treasuries and […]
Pope agrees to Sri Lanka trip, honours Korean martyrs
VATICAN CITY, February 8, 2014 (AFP) – Pope Francis on Saturday turned his focus to Asia, announcing a possible trip to Sri Lanka and approving the beatification of 124 Korean martyrs. Asia has repeatedly been tipped as a destination for possible papal trips as Francis’s predecessor Benedict XVI did not travel there during his eight-year […]
Sri Lanka president sends unity message
Feb 05, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa called upon foreign nations to support an effort to build unity and reconciliation in a message marking an anniversary of gaining independence from British rule.Western nations, led by the US are expected to move a UN resolution calling on accountability for alleged war crimes citing […]