All Blogs
Norway launches fresh bid to save Sri Lanka truce
July 26, 2006 (AFP) – Peace broker Norway will launch a fresh bid to save Sri Lanka’s troubled peace process ahead of a September 1 deadline set by Tiger rebels for European truce monitors to quit, officials said Wednesday. Special envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer will arrive on the island in the “early part of August” to […]
On the Boil
July 26, 2006 (LBO) – Fears of another fuel shortage were sparked off on Wednesday as the government refused to give in to trade union demands and said it would seek a court order restraining unions. “We are trying to get a court order tomorrow (Thursday) for the newly appointed Chairman Asantha de Mel to […]
Singapore to shut ‘open outcry’ facility, one of last in Asia
SINGAPORE, July 25, 2006 (AFP) – There will be no more shouting or waving of hands in obscure signals from September when one of Asia’s last traditional “open outcry” exchange trading facilities is closed in Singapore.The Singapore Exchange said Tuesday its open outcry facility will shut at the close of business on Friday September 29 […]
WTO collapse set to fuel Asia’s “noodle bowl” effect
TOKYO, July 25, 2006 (AFP) – The breakdown of the WTO talks is likely to encourage the further proliferation of bilateral free trade pacts in Asia that have raised concerns about a “noodle bowl” of overlapping rules, analysts said. East Asian nations have already been rushing to negotiate individual agreements to remove barriers to trade, […]
Trade Fiasco
July 25, 2006 (LBO) – India has said that few Sri Lankan vanaspati manufacturers have put in bids to resume exports of the vegetable oil, though both sides have still not agreed to conditions. India™s National Agricultural and Marketing Federation (NAFED) have received three offers for import of 20,000 metric tonnes of vanaspati from Sri […]
Just in Case
July 25 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is collecting all details of returnees from war torn Lebanon, to build up a stronger case in the event all affected people are given compensation. We cannot say from whom we are getting compensation, but from our side, we are getting ready for when the need and opportunity arises, […]
Early Lead
July 25, 2006 (LBO) – Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei Technologies is expecting around 30 percent gain in sales of third generation handsets within one-year of its release in Sri Lanka, officials said Tuesday. Huawei’s Product Manager P Sanjeev declines to say how many CDMA data cards have been sold so far. “Its hundreds and hundreds. […]
” facility, one of last in Asia
SINGAPORE, July 25, 2006 (AFP) – There will be no more shouting or waving of hands in obscure signals from September when one of Asia’s last traditional “open outcry” exchange trading facilities is closed in Singapore.The Singapore Exchange said Tuesday its open outcry facility will shut at the close of business on Friday September 29 […]
‘s “noodle bowl” effect
TOKYO, July 25, 2006 (AFP) – The breakdown of the WTO talks is likely to encourage the further proliferation of bilateral free trade pacts in Asia that have raised concerns about a “noodle bowl” of overlapping rules, analysts said. East Asian nations have already been rushing to negotiate individual agreements to remove barriers to trade, […]
Choices: Work with the Disaster Act or fix its flaws?
July 25, 2006 (LBO) – The 2004 tsunami was a shock. One out of 500 Sri Lankans died in the short space of three and a half hours when walls of water hit them without even one minute of official warning. We all agreed then that things could not go on the way they had. […]