All Blogs
Indonesia hails new Australian asylum-seeker policy
JAKARTA, April 12, 2010 (AFP) – Indonesia said Monday that Australia’s decision to stop processing asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka will be “positive” for the region’s fight against trafficking. Foreign ministry spokesman Teuku Faizasyah said the tough new policy, which has been condemned by rights watchdogs and refugee supporters, would have a direct […]
Sri Lanka poverty subsidy helping not only the poor: CBSL
Apr 12, 2010 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan poverty alleviation subsidy programme provides benefits to well over a quarter of the people, an unrealistically high number, and not only the poor, the Central Bank has said. “The potential for linking some of these food programmes with community-driven development programmes needs to be explored as malnutrition […]
Rajapakse wins again, but battle for unity remains
April 11, 2010 (AFP) – It seems Sri Lanka’s president, Mahinda Rajapakse, just can’t stop winning. His ruling party’s landslide triumph in parliamentary elections this week capped a trio of historic victories following the military defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels a year ago, and a thumping presidential re-election win in January. Now with his ruling […]
Re Poll
April 11, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka will rerun voting at 18 polling booths where last week’s parliamentary election was affected by violence, officials said Sunday. The elections department cancelled voting at the booths in two electoral districts after allegations of intimidation and other violence. The final official results have yet to be declared because […]
IMF chief says no to higher inflation to reduce debt
Apr 11, 2010 (LBO) – The head of the International Monetary Fund played down suggestions that inflation should be raised to slash the real value of state debt, but said future growth should be used cut the burden. Strauss-Khan said public debt in advanced economies were forecast to rise about 35 percentage points to about […]
Sri Lanka tea price fall hits producer margins
Apr 10, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan tea prices have fallen after hitting record highs at recent auctions, although still higher than last year, squeezing profit margins of producers faced with rising costs, brokers said. While prices of high grown teas made largely by plantations companies fell, those of low grown teas, cultivated mainly by […]
Justice
Apr 10, 2010 (LBO) – What makes a nation a nation is above all the justice that prevails within that nation. It is justice that creates the bond between the people. Justice connects one with the other. Justice among the people is the one thing that is common to all in a nation if it […]
France heads for a long Indian summer
PARIS, April 10, 2010 (AFP) – India is flavour of the month in France with the spotlight swerving from the fairytale world of maharajas to tribal craftsmen in a buildup to a year-long celebration of one of the world’s richest and most diverse cultures. A recent exhibition of priceless autochrome colour photographs nearly 100 years […]
Sri Lankan ruling party celebrates election landslide
April 10, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s ruling party on Saturday celebrated its landslide victory in the country’s first peacetime parliamentary polls since crushing separatist Tamil rebels, but the opposition cried foul. Government supporters carried national flags as they paraded through the streets and lit firecrackers, despite an official week-long ban on public celebrations. President […]
Australian freeze on asylum seekers may face challenge
SYDNEY, April 10, 2010 (AFP) – Australia’s decision to temporarily block asylum-seekers from Afghanistan and Sri Lanka could face a legal challenge, lawyers said Saturday. On Friday, Canberra announced it would immediately stop taking fresh applications from asylum-seekers from those two countries, as it attempts to thwart people smuggling operations. But the Australian Lawyers Alliance […]