Category: Other
India inflation accelerates, paving way for rate hikes
NEW DELHI, October 29, 2009 (AFP) – India’s annual inflation rate has picked up pace, official data showed Thursday, setting the stage for higher interest rates in the months ahead.The wholesale inflation rate rose to 1.51 percent in the week to October 17 from 1.21 percent the previous week, according to the Wholesale Price Index, […]
No Accounts
Oct 30, 2009 (LBO) – Two directors of Alufab Limited, a Colombo listed company has been charged for not filing annual accounts since 2004, Sri Lanka’s Securities and Exchange Commission said.The firm had also been placed in the default board of the Colombo Stock Exchange for not filing accounts.SEC said charges had been filed in […]
Boat People
SYDNEY, October 29, 2009 (AFP) – Australia told a group of rescued Sri Lankan asylum-seekers they could not choose their destination and refused to rule out using force after they refused to disembark in Indonesia. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith insisted the group of 78, currently on an Australian ship, would be processed in Indonesia under […]
Bailed
Oct 29, 2009 (LBO) – Chairman of Sri Lanka’s troubled Ceylinco group, Lalith Kotelawala was released on bail by the island’s Supreme Court after nine months after he was remanded over the collapse of an unregulated financial firm, a media report said.He had also undertaken to fully disclose his assets including Ceysands Hotel and any […]
Fresh Threats
October 29, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president ordered police to probe death threats against journalists of a newspaper whose founding editor was murdered earlier this year, a spokesman said Thursday.The Sunday Leader has been critical of the government and its handling of the internally displaced people following the military’s crushing of Tamil rebels earlier […]
Northwest Sri Lanka running out of groundwater: official
Oct 28, 2009 (LBO) – Puttalam in Sri Lanka’s northwest is rapidly running out of groundwater due to paddy farming, with the water table falling alarmingly and facing the threat of sea water contamination, an official has warned.“Ground water levels have dropped in the Puttalam district as ground water is being used extensively for paddy […]
Refugee Crisis
TANJUNG PINANG, October 28, 2009 (AFP) – Seventy eight Sri Lankan asylum-seekers are refusing to disembark an Australian customs vessel anchored off Indonesia’s Bintan island, officials said Wednesday.The migrants were rescued by the Australian navy in Indonesian waters 11 days ago but were refusing to speak to Indonesian immigration officials, insisting they want to be […]
Boat People
TANJUNG PINANG, October 27, 2009 (AFP) – An Indonesian provincial governor refused Tuesday to allow an Australian customs vessel to unload 78 Sri Lankan asylum-seekers, saying Indonesia is not a “dumping ground” for refugees.Opposition to the arrival of the migrants came as Australia stressed it was not trying to push asylum-seekers back onto Indonesia, the […]
‘s central bank holds interest rates
MUMBAI, October 27, 2009 (AFP) – India’s central bank kept key short-term interest rates unchanged at their record lows on Tuesday, saying its priority was helping a recovery take root while keeping an eye on inflation.The repo, the rate at which the central bank lends to commercial banks, remains at 4.75 percent, while the reverse […]
Mystery
VANCOUVER, October 24, 2009 (AFP) – Canada is to release one of 76 Tamils arrested last week in a ship off its Pacific coast, local media reported Saturday.The decision came after a custody hearing, lawyer Narinder Kang told the Globe and Mail newspaper. The released man was ordered to report regularly to border authorities, Kang […]
Pakistan says offensive death toll rises to 227
ISLAMABAD, October 26, 2009 (AFP) – Pakistan’s military said Monday that the death toll in a major military assault on the Taliban rose to 227, reporting heavy losses in the battle to control a village en route to a Taliban bastion.Nineteen militants were killed during the last 24 hours, a military statement said, bringing the […]
India says will start 3G auction in January
NEW DELHI, October 24, 2009 (AFP) – India said Saturday a long-delayed auction of radio bandwidth for third generation (3G) telecommunications services will start in January and will be open to foreign companies.The Central Bureau of Investigation alleged in a statement “a criminal conspiracy between certain officials” of the ministry and “private persons/companies and others […]