Author: lbostgadmin
Free trade deal as Chinese President visits Pakistan
ISLAMABAD, Nov 23, 2006 (AFP) – Chinese President Hu Jintao promised a new era of cooperation with Pakistan Thursday as he arrived for a visit that will include the signing of a free trade accord with Beijing’s closest ally.Hu received a lavish ceremonial welcome for his four-day visit, the first in a decade by a […]
Unsavory Label
Nov 23, 2006 (LBO) – Foreign investors in Singapore who attended a road show by the Colombo Stock Exchange have raised questions about Sri Lanka’s growing infamy as a money laundering hub, and the inability of authorities to counter such activities, participants said. One foreign investor asked the head table what action the authorities planned […]
‘s tea plantations battle weather, wages and trade union action
Nov 23 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s tea plantations are battling weather, wage hikes and unofficial trade union ‘go slows’ on estates that have already eaten into October crop production, the lowest since 1995. Workers want a daily wage package of 295 rupees, up from the current wage of 180 rupees a day. Employers say they can […]
Donors condemn fighting in Sri Lanka
WASHINGTON, Nov 21, 2006 (AFP) – Major donors engaged in efforts to end Sri Lanka’s civil war condemned the government and Tamil rebels alike Tuesday for human rights abuses and systematic violations of a 2002 ceasefire. Senior diplomats from the United States, European Union, Japan and Norway issued a statement expressing “alarm” at the ongoing […]
Tiger chief peace negotiator terminally ill: report
COLOMBO, Nov 22, 2006 (AFP) – The top peace negotiator for Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels, Anton Balasingham, is terminally ill with cancer, a Tamil newspaper here reported Wednesday. Balasingham had been the main contact for peace broker Norway as well as other key international players involved in attempts to bring about a peaceful resolution […]
Sri Lanka unfazed by donor condemnation
COLOMBO, Nov 22, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government was Wednesday undeterred in its battle against Tamil Tigers, despite heavy criticism dished out to the warring parties after a key international donor meeting.“Even more impatient than us, we believe, are the different people of Sri Lanka.They are suffering from this present atmosphere of fear,” Solheim […]
Air travel to boom on low-cost, emerging economies: Airbus
LONDON, Nov 22, 2006 (AFP) – European aircraft maker Airbus said Wednesday that its estimate of world demand for airliners in the next 20 years had leapt by 31.2 percent in two years to a total of 22,700. The surge from estimates in 2004 was being driven by demand from low-cost airlines and by growth […]
Big Fish
November 22, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s securities watchdog has filed action against nine people for misleading market players with transactions connected with shares of Nawaloka Hospitals Ltd. The nine persons, the SEC says committed “acts to create a false/misleading appearance of an active share market and the offences of aiding and abetting and conspiracy […]
Home Bias
Nov 22, 2006 (LBO) – Government attempts to retain more re-insurance at home may reduce the quality of the cover available from the industry and concentrate too much risk in one geographical location, an international risk analyst has warned. Top local firms were now placing risks with re-insurers with ratings of A- or higher, but […]
Sri Lanka rupee gains sharply in volatile trading; stocks up
November 22, (LBO) – Sri Lanka rupee zoomed to 106.05 in early morning trade Wednesday, two days after it hit an all time low of 109.40, after authorities took measures to take immediate pressure off the market, dealers said.Information reaching the market that petroleum bills would not be settled with purchases from the market in […]
Sri Lankan war planes bomb Tiger territory
COLOMBO, Nov 21, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan jets bombed a suburb of the Tamil Tiger’s northern political capital Tuesday at what the military said was an insurgent training site. Both the military and the rebels said that casualties or damage assessments were not yet available. A Tamil Tiger military spokesman said the attack was […]
Opposition strife could trigger snap general poll; Analysis
Nov 21 (LBO) – President Mahinda Rajapakse spent the first year in office trying to cobble together a stable coalition but squabbling in the opposition ranks has given him a new opening to call a snap election. The president told his close associates early last month that he did not want to call a snap […]