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Sri Lanka arrests 32 migrants heading for New Zealand
August 6, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police arrested 32 men who were illegally trying to leave for New Zealand by boat, an official said Thursday.The men were taken into custody late Wednesday on the island’s western coast of Seeduwa from where they planned to set off for New Zealand in a fishing trawler, senior […]
Sri Lanka slammed by media watchdog over polls media blackout
August 6, 2009 (AFP) – Global press freedom group Reporters Without Borders voiced outrage Thursday over Sri Lanka’s ban on independent media covering local polls just outside the island’s former war zone.The government claimed victory over the Tamil Tiger rebels in May after killing the top leadership of the separatist movement which had been fighting […]
G20 agrees next steps on bonuses, post-crisis blueprint
LONDON, September 5, 2009 (AFP) – The G20 vowed Saturday to maintain emergency measures to fight the world economic crisis, warning it was not over yet, while tensions between Europe and the United States remained over bankers’ bonuses. After a meeting in London preparing for a leaders’ summit later this month, finance ministers said they […]
Car Carrier
Aug 05, 2009 (LBO) – Global car carrier Höegh Autoliners has resumed calls at Colombo port, the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) said.A new port being built in southern Hambantota will have space fpr vehicle transhipment and assembly operations, he said. “We could see many lines arriving here for Ro-Ro (roll on-roll off) operations in […]
Sri Lanka tea processor June profits up marginally
Aug 05, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Tea Smallholder Factories, which processes tea grown mainly by small farmers, said net profit for the June 2009 quarter rose four percent to 53 million rupees from a year ago.Sri Lankan tea producers were hit hard by a severe drought earlier this year and the effects of last […]
Flu Epidemic
RIYADH, August 4, 2009 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan man and a Saudi teenager suffering from a heart defect have died from swine flu, raising the country’s flu death toll to six, the Saudi health ministry said on Tuesday.The Sri Lankan man, 32, was found dead in his hotel room on Monday, while the 15-year-old […]
Tele Moves
Aug 05, 2009 (LBO) – India’s Bharti Airtel is planning to bid for Sri Lanka’s Tigo network which has been put on sale by its parent, Millicom International Cellular, a media report said. “Millicom’s Asian assets are potentially interesting for VimpelCom, because they are based in the region that VimpelCom views as the main strategic […]
Sri Lanka to increase diplomatic representation in China
Aug 05, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will open a consulate in Chengdu, following the opening of a consulate in Shanghai, increasing the island’s diplomatic representation in China, the foreign ministry said. Foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama who met visiting vice-governor of China’s Yunan province Gao Feng who was accompanied by a trade delegation. Minister Bogollagama […]
‘ deaths
August 4, 2009 (AFP) – The New York-based group Human Rights Watch on Tuesday pressed for an international probe into the killings in Sri Lanka of 17 local employees of a French charity three years ago.HRW marked the anniversary of the execution-style murders of the Action Against Hunger (ACF) workers in Sri Lanka’s northeastern town […]
Sri Lanka resettles 1,100 war displaced
VAVUNIYA, August 5, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Wednesday allowed 1,100 people displaced during the recently-ended ethnic conflict with the Tamil Tigers to return home, in the first phase of an ambitious relocation plan. At a colourful ceremony, senior presidential advisor Basil Rajapakse presented gift packs of food to the group and pledged to […]