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Sri Lanka judge to head revenue office
April 26, 2009 (LBO) – A judge of Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal who has been appointed to head the island’s revenue office will continue to hold both offices, while the existing revenue chief would be moved to the finance ministry, media reports said. The current tax chief S Angammana, had been moved to the […]
Fair Play
April 25, 2009 (LBO) – Bunker prices in Colombo port have fallen following a court verdict that ended an effective monopoly on ship fuel held by Sri Lanka’s biggest conglomerate and opened up the market.Shipping lines said price differences with competing ports had also narrowed sharply after the market was liberalized with more suppliers competing […]
Text News
April 25, 2009 (LBO) – Dialog, Sri Lanka’s largest telco, has made available news from the government’s department of information through its popular short message service (SMS), the company said.“Access to information plays a key role in the development process of a country and we believe that educating and informing its people is the first […]
Sri Lanka hospitals overwhelmed by wounded civilians: MSF
April 25, 2009 (AFP) – The flood of wounded civilians from the conflict in Sri Lanka is overwhelming doctors and nurses in hospitals near the war zone who said Saturday people risk dying from lack of proper attention. A British surgeon working for Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), Paul McMasters, said his team in the state-run […]
UN humanitarian chief to press Sri Lanka on civilians
April 25, 2009 (AFP) – The UN’s humanitarian chief was due in Sri Lanka Saturday as international concern over civilians trapped in the island’s war zone fuelled a White House call for an immediate ceasefire.John Holmes’ three-day mission will focus on pushing the government to facilitate humanitarian missions in and around the conflict zone and […]
Sri Lankan envoy rejects calls for humanitarian pause
GENEVA, April 24, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva on Friday rejected calls for a humanitarian pause in the Tamil conflict, saying temporary ceasefires did not work. “The largest number of civilians who have come out (of the conflict zone) came out not during the humanitarian pause, not as […]
White House urges immediate Sri Lanka ceasefire
WASHINGTON, April 25, 2009 (AFP) – The White House on Friday urged an immediate ceasefire in Sri Lanka and voiced deep concerns over alleged violations of international humanitarian law.It was the first statement by President Barack Obama’s White House on Sri Lanka as concerns grow for the fate of thousands of people trapped in a […]
Australia intercepts new refugee boat
SYDNEY, April 25, 2009 (AFP) – A boat carrying more than 50 refugees was intercepted Saturday off Australia’s coast, little more than a week after an explosion on another vessel killed five people, the government said.The boat carrying 54 passengers and two crew was stopped in international waters by border patrol officers following a tip-off […]
US envoy to Sri Lanka named to top South Asian post
WASHINGTON, April 24, 2009 (AFP) – A veteran diplomat most recently tasked with the delicate job of Sri Lanka envoy was tapped Friday by President Barack Obama to serve as the assistant secretary of state for South Asian Affairs. If approved by the Senate, Robert Blake will replace Richard Boucher in a job that deals […]
‘s gold reserves top 1,000 tonnes: state media
BEIJING, April 25, 2009 (AFP) – China’s gold reserves rose 75 percent from 2003 to 2008, state media said, reporting that Beijing now had the world’s fifth largest holdings of the precious metal.China had 1,054 tonnes of gold by the end of 2008, up 454 tonnes from the 600 tonnes that it said it had […]