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Sri Lanka vows to kill Tamil Tiger leader
Nov 27, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government has marked the birthday of Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran with a vow to kill him.The island’s powerful defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, said Colombo now had the upper hand in the long-running conflict, with the elusive guerrilla chief limited in both his movements and ability to score […]
Flying Oil
Nov 27, 2007 (LBO) – Lanka IOC, a unit of Indian Oil Corporation, had applied to supply aviation fuel at a proposed new airport in southern Sri Lanka, a top official said. “We have applied to the government to provide aviation fuel at the new Weerawila airport,” Lanka IOC managing director K Ramakrishan told LBO. […]
Sri Lanka getting hooked on debt, economists say
Nov 27, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government is becoming addicted to debt and putting at risk the country’s future, private sector economists said. “We’re on a slippery slope of debt,” says Harsha de Silva, an economist at the LIRNEasia think tank. “If it continues the country is going to crash land. The economy will […]
Space Crunch
Nov 26, 2007 (LBO) – Colombo port, Sri Lanka’s main harbour, plans to build a dedicated cargo village to cater to rapidly increasing volumes of containers, a senior port official said. “We’re running short of space,” declared Nihal Keppetipola, a master mariner who is now the additional managing director of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority […]
Australian republicans eye break with British monarchy
SYDNEY, Nov 26, 2007 (AFP) – Australian republicans Monday said prime minister John Howard’s removal from office opened the way for a bipartisan push for the country to break its ties with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.When the referendum failed to get the votes required to pass, Malcolm Turnbull, who was then chairman of the Australian […]
Commonwealth summit wraps up, without Pakistan
KAMPALA, Nov 25, 2007 (AFP) – Commonwealth leaders called on Pakistan on Sunday to remain engaged with the group as they wrapped up a summit here that saw the suspension of President Pervez Musharraf’s country. Leaders from the 53-nation federation “called on the government of Pakistan to respond positively to the Commonwealth’s desire to remain […]
Sri Lanka Tamil Tiger chief to rally for war: observers
Nov 26, 2007 (AFP) – The leader of Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers will give his annual policy speech from a jungle hideout this week, with observers predicting a rallying call to arms as the island slides back into all-out war.The reclusive Velupillai Prabhakaran will be speaking at the end of a difficult year for his […]
Sri Lanka a treasure trove of unexplored maritime history: archaeologists
Nov 25, 2007 (LBO) – Archaeologists working on a Dutch colonial era shipwreck in Sri Lanka’s southern Galle port say 12 more wrecks lie submerged, awaiting excavation and cataloging as historical treasure. In 1999, the team had also uncovered a human skull. “There are 27 sites which contain 12 shipwrecks in the Galle port,” Rasika […]
‘s new leader set to win over big business
SYDNEY, Nov 25, 2007 (AFP) – By revamping itself behind a fiscal conservative, Australia’s Labor Party has overcome big business fears that its election victory could set back the country’s economic boom, analysts say.Australian Industry Group chief executive Heather Ridout said Labor leader Kevin Rudd brought energy, a sense of social justice and an understanding […]
Germans getting jittery as euro continues to climb
FRANKFURT, Nov 25, 2007 (AFP) – Until recently, Germany has maintained an air of serenity as the euro spiked higher against other major currencies, even though exports are the motor of growth for the eurozone’s biggest economy. That has begun to change however, as seen in particular through comments by Chancellor Angela Merkel, who told […]