Category: Other
Biometric Barrier
Nov 11, 2011 (LBO) – Two Sri Lankan visa applicants for travel to the United Kingdom were arrested this week when their attempt to use fake identities were detected with the help of fingerprints scans. UK visa applicants worldwide are required to provide their biometric data, having their fingers scanned and a digital photograph taken […]
Ad Hominem
Nov 11, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lankan lawmakers expressed deep concern over a hastily passed expropriation law, which they said arrogated judicial and executive roles to elected members, undermining a constitutional separation of powers and violated property rights. “This bill has been drafted with no regard to the basic process of legislating,” opposition lawmaker and […]
India-Pakistan talks amid warming ties
ADDU, November 9, 2011 (AFP) – The prime ministers of India and Pakistan meet Thursday at a summit of South Asian leaders, with signs of warming relations between their countries providing a boost for the region. India’s Manmohan Singh and Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani are due to hold talks at an upmarket resort on […]
Two rhino species bite the dust: Red List
PARIS, November 10, 2011 (AFP) – Several species of rhino have been poached into extinction or to the point of no return, according to an update of the Red List of Threatened Species, the gold standard for animal and plant conservation. All told, a quarter of all mammal species assessed are at risk of extinction, […]
SEC Case
NEW YORK, November 8, 2011 (AFP) – Disgraced hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, already sentenced to prison for 11 years, was ordered Tuesday to pay almost $93 million dollars as part of an insider trading case brought by financial regulators. A New York federal judge ordered Rajaratnam to pay the $92.8 million in a case […]
Post Law
Nov 09, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka passed a law to expropriate assets of dozens of enterprises despite protests from trade chambers, religious and opposition groups who warned that it will scare off investors. A 30-year war ended in 2009, but expected foreign direct investment had not materialized. “[W]e believe that the proposed Bill may […]
China opens embassy in Maldives ahead of key summit
GAN, November 8, 2011 (AFP) – China opened a full diplomatic mission in the Maldives Tuesday, two days ahead of a key South Asian summit in the Indian Ocean archipelago, an official said. Beijing established the embassy in the capital Male as seven South Asian leaders were due in the Maldives for their 17th summit […]
Liberty Lesson
Nov 08, 2011 (LBO) – This week, in what goes for ‘democracy’ in Sri Lanka, property rights of citizens are due to be violated by an expropriation law, as they have been repeatedly since independence from British rule. Constitutional ‘democratic’ majority rule is an imported Western European concept. But in far too many countries ‘democracy’, […]
Getting Close
Nov 08, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has said a draft law to expropriate assets of some three dozen private enterprises is consistent with the island’s constitution in a determination read out by the deputy speaker in the island’s parliament. The controversial bill was referred to the Supreme Court by Sri Lanka’s President […]
Mounting Opposition
Nov 07, 2011 (LBO) – Senior Sri Lankan Buddhist monks asked the state to withdraw a planned law to expropriate businesses, saying it violated citizens rights and that loss-making state enterprises should be turned around first. “We hope the government will not go ahead with this new bill and give people an opportunity to voice […]
Sri Lanka bought leaf tea factory net down 68-pct
Nov 07, 2011 (LBO) – Profits at Tea Smallholder Factories Plc, a unit of Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings fell 68 percent to 8. 3 million rupees in the September 2011 quarter from a year earlier, amid falling revenues. Tea Smallholder Factories Ltd is 37.6 percent owned by John Keells Holdings, 24. 3 percent by […]
India eyes 4G service launch next year
NEW DELHI, November 5, 2011 (AFP) – India aims to launch fourth-generation (4G) mobile services next year that will allow users to watch high-definition video and download content at a much faster rate, a minister said. 4G technology holds the promise of Internet speeds up to 10 times faster than typical third-generation networks. “We should […]