Category: Politics

WASHINGTON, January 2, 2009 (AFP) – The US State Department on Friday urged the Sri Lankan and Tamil Tigers to start negotiating over the “legitimate” demands of the Tamils after Colombo announced a key win over the rebels.Sri Lanka said Friday its troops had finally captured Kilinochchi, the unofficial capital of the Tigers, and urged […]

January 1, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapakse on Thursday took the country’s influential media ministry under his wing ahead of a key mid-term election for his administration, officials said.The Ministry of Mass Media and Information was taken away from Anura Priyadharshana Yapa, who was instead given the Ministry of Investment Promotion post, […]

VATICAN CITY, December 25, 2008 (AFP) – War and economic hardship loomed over Christmas celebrations across the world Thursday, with Pope Benedict XVI denouncing greed and pleading for an end to violence in the Middle East. The pontiff lamented that “the horizon seems once again bleak for Israelis and Palestinians,” and he decried the conflicts […]

Dec 19, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corporation has enough stocks and it is continuing to supply fuel stations, a minister said, while a court directive to cut prices remains to be implemented. Information minister Anura Yapa said the CPC is sending 160 fuel bowsers to fuel stations island-wide. This should help […]

Dec 14, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s professional diplomats have slammed a practice by government politicians of appointing friends, relations and cronies to missions abroad, saying it damaged the country’s interests. The letter was aimed at highlighting the habit of successive governments and foreign ministers of rewarding friends, cronies and political supporters with overseas appointments […]

Dec 08, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s ruling party has opposed an opposition attempt to move a no-confidence motion on an oil hedging deal saying it related to matters in court and the country’s president was named. The main opposition United National Party said documents submitted to parliament were separate from those in court and […]

Dec 08, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s main opposition has put forward a no-confidence motion against the government Monday on the eve of a budget vote, involving an exotic derivative deal that brought hundreds of millions of dollars in losses to a state-run oil firm. The United National Party has handed over the motion to […]

Dec 08, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s main opposition United National Party has appointed a rebel member who is a government minister as its deputy leader, while a new post of assistant leader was also created, a senior party official said. UNP General secretary Tissa Attanayake said Karu Jayasuriya, who had the public administration portfolion […]

Dec 02, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’ main opposition United National Party says the cabinet of ministers and the central bank is also responsible for a hedging deal that has gone wrong, and would use parliamentary powers to take them to task. Zero cost instruments had been recommended by a study group formed in 2006, […]

NUUK, November 26, 2008 (AFP) – More than 75 percent of Greenlanders voted Tuesday in favour of self-rule in a referendum that paves the way for independence from Denmark, final results showed. A total of 75.54 percent voted “yes” to greater autonomy, while 23.57 percent said “no,” the local government said. A self-rule proposal hammered […]

NUUK, November 25, 2008 (AFP) – Some 39,000 people in Greenland vote on Tuesday in a referendum on self-rule for the Danish territory, a move that could pave the way for total independence for the Arctic island.Public opinion polls in the run-up to the referendum have suggested that a large majority plan to vote in […]

Nov 16, 2008 (LBO) – A Sri Lankan journalist who had been detained for over eight months had been questioned about what he wrote, and had also revealed to court that he had been repeatedly threatened, a media report said. Tissainayagam had told court on May 9 after he had seen another arrested colleague being […]