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Trade Trigger
April 4, 2007 (LBO) – A proposed free-trade deal between Nepal and Sri Lanka could boost trade but analysts say there is more potential for service liberalization. Trade between the two countries is slim at the moment at just 371 million rupees in Sri Lankan exports last year and seven million rupees in imports, compared […]
Colombo Round
April 03, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka needs to master trade law to take the best advantage of international trade, Chief Justice Sarath Silva said Tuesday at the announcing of an international trade law conference to be held in Sri Lanka. But Third World countries maintain they need to protect crucial sectors of their economies […]
Clinical South Africa pull off comfortable win over Ireland
GEORGETOWN, Guyana, April 3, 2007 (AFP) – South Africa defied rain and a fighting Ireland to cruise to a seven-wicket win in a World Cup Super Eights match at the Guyana National Stadium here on Tuesday.Ireland, who lost to England by 48 runs in their first Super Eights match, now meet New Zealand in their […]
Criss-crossing Sri Lankan parliamentarian complains of death threats
April 04, 2007 (LBO) – A rebel parliamentarian who re-joined Sri Lanka’s opposition after a brief stint as a deputy minister, told parliament Wednesday that he was receiving death threats, while his former fellow rebels labeled the move as childish. œIf he joined the government only for the glory of a position and the attached […]
Uproar in Sri Lanka Parliament over South Asian common currency
April 4, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Parliament Wednesday witnessed an uproar over President Mahinda Rajapakse’s proposal for a single currency for SAARC nations. However, amidst differences over trade, the region continues to clock an average of eight percent economic growth. Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe demanded a Parliamentary debate over Rajapakse’s statement at the SAARC […]
‘s former cricket chief jailed
COLOMBO, April 4, 2007 (AFP) – A court sentenced Sri Lanka’s former cricket chief Thilanga Sumathipala to two years in jail Wednesday for breaking the island’s immigration laws, officials said. Sumathipala was charged with taking an alleged underworld leader named Dhammika Amarasinghe to England on forged travel documents to watch the 1999 cricket world cup. […]
Sri Lanka jets hit Tamil Tiger sea base
COLOMBO, April 4, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan warplanes bombed a key Tamil Tiger naval base in the island’s northeast Wednesday, the defence ministry said.Israeli-built Kfir jets pounded the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam base at Puthukudirrippu, a ministry spokesman said. There was no immediate reaction from the Tigers. Sri Lankan warplanes have been routinely […]
Sri Lankan troops kill six Tigers in fresh clashes
COLOMBO, April 4, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops have shot dead six Tamil Tiger rebels in clashes in the island’s embattled northern and eastern regions, the defence ministry said Wednesday. More than 4,000 people have been killed in the latest upsurge of fighting that began in December 2005 despite a truce arranged in 2002. […]
Sri Lanka bans cruelty to bulls in April races
April 04, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka announced a cracked down on cruelty to bulls at cart races during next week’s New Year celebrations, President Mahinda Rajapakse’s office said Wednesday. Cart rallies are common during Sri Lanka’s traditional two day New Year celebration, which starts on April 13, but animal rights activists say the carriages […]
More foreign aid needed to reach Millennium Development Goals: UNDP
April 04, 2007 (LBO) – Aid to poor countries has fallen since 2005, threatening the achievement of Millennium Development Goals, (MDGs) the head of the United Nations Agency that promotes sustainable development has said. In Sri Lanka for example, analysts say almost all the long-term investments in infrastructure are financed with foreign aid, while 49 […]