All Blogs
SAARC leaders can reduce expensive telecom tariffs in South Asia
July 18, 2008 (LBO) – We have been talking regional cooperation for a long time; SAARC itself is over 20 years old. There must be some real results; something that citizens can feel.Or it’s high time that we started to produce some. This article makes a modest proposal that is easy to implement and which leverages […]
Media group says Sri Lanka journalists harassed
July 18, 2008 (AFP) – Journalists covering Sri Lanka’s war with Tamil Tiger rebels are being harassed despite a government pledge to take action to protect the press, a rights group said Friday. The Free Media Movement (FMM) reported eight incidents of threats and intimidation, just two weeks after a ministerial committee was formed to […]
Local Lube
July 18, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s diversified Laugfs Holdings has introduced lubricants to the local market, working capture 30 percent share in two years, top officials said. The lubricants were launched through the subsidiary of Laugfs Holdings, Laugfs Lubricants Limited. “As a fully Sri Lankan company, we are proud to enter a market which […]
Sri Lanka not ready to sign trade pact with India: officials
July 18, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is not ready to sign a trade pact with India, senior officials said as protests mounted from domestic business interests and a partner of the ruling coalition.Local business interests that fear Indian competition also spoke out against the deal. They said the government should first ensure that true […]
Sri Lanka trade deficit up on oil imports, slow industrial exports
July 18, 2008 LBO) – Sri Lanka’s trade gap had expanded 79 percent to 2.5 billion US dollars in the five months to May 2008 on higher imports of oil while industrial exports slowed, government data showed. The Central Bank said 58 percent of the increase in imports came from oil and 21 percent from […]
Sri Lanka gets more World Bank money for roads
July 18, 2008 (LBO) – The World Bank is giving 98 million US dollars in additional financing for road re-building in Sri Lanka amid soaring costs of oil based materials, the multilateral lender said. “The project has made good overall progress,” says World Bank infrastructure specialist Amali Rajapaksa. “Importantly, it has played a pivotal role […]
Cheap Talk
July 16, 2008 (AFP) – South Asian leaders meeting in Sri Lanka next month should agree to slash telecom tariffs in their countries to promote inter-regional trade, a policy think-tank said Wednesday.Regional policy group LIRNEasia said reducing call costs between members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) would encourage trade and improve […]
”: Britain
July 17, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s former colonial ruler Britain has called for trust between multi-ethnic communities to end Sri Lanka’s spiralling violence, while also voicing concerns about rights abuses.British lawmaker Mark Malloch-Brown told reporters in Colombo that London was worried about an escalation in the separatist conflict, which has left scores dead on […]
Sri Lanka gets tough on UN, aid visas
July 17, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government on Thursday unveiled new restrictions on how long United Nations and other foreign aid staff are allowed to work on the war-torn island.The new regulations come amid a backdrop of mounting tensions between the government and the United Nations and key member states, who have been highly […]
Sri Lanka looking for intelligence at Asian security meet
SINGAPORE, July 17, 2008 (AFP) – From Pakistan to Sri Lanka and southern Thailand, people are dying in Asia’s numerous conflict zones — but progress in resolving the unrest is unlikely at Asia’s main security meet next week, observers say. Ministers and top officials from Asia, Europe and the United States gather in Singapore on […]