Category:
Sri Lanka says asked by UN to answer new war crime charges
December 21, 2009 (AFP) – The United Nations has asked Sri Lanka to explain allegations by a former army general that surrendering Tamil rebel leaders were killed in cold blood in mid-May, the government said on Monday. The presidency in Colombo said the UN special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Philip Alston, sought […]
Sri Lanka seizes Tiger rebel ship: navy
December 21, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military said Monday it had seized a cargo ship suspected of being an arms smuggling vessel used by the defeated Tamil Tiger rebels at an undisclosed foreign port.Navy spokesman Captain Athula Senarath said the 90-metre (300-feet) long Princess Christina had been captured at a foreign port but refused […]
Sri Lanka firms should look overseas for expansion: corporate leader
Dec 21, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan businesses are compelled to look overseas to expand sales as the domestic market is too small, a senior corporate executive said, calling for government policies to support expansion abroad. Inward-looking economic policies are making it difficult for firms to build their own brands, said Ranjith Page, chief executive […]
Sri Lanka to get $350mn ADB aid next year
Dec 21, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to get about 350 million US dollars of aid from the Asian Development Bank next year, much of it going for the north and east which was ravaged by war, a senior official said. The ADB forecasts Sri Lanka’s economy will grow by about 4-4.5 percent this […]
Sri Lanka gains service sector jobs in 3Q: official survey
Dec 21, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has generated 234,000 service sector jobs in the third quarter of 2009 from a year earlier, though 89,000 jobs were lost in industry, and 240,000 were lost in the farming sector, a government survey showed. Fernando says there are a large number of seasonal workers in agriculture. Industry […]
Asset Sales
Dec 20, 2009 (LBO) – Court appointed officials liquidating assets of Golden Key Credit Card Company, a failed finance firm in Sri Lanka’s Ceylinco group, are planning an auction of assets, and offers have been received for the sale of a hospital, a media report said.The Sunday Island newspaper said several offers have been received […]
Asylum seekers leave Indonesia: official
JAKARTA, December 20, 2009 (AFP) – Fifteen of the Sri Lankan asylum seekers who spent weeks refusing to get off the boat that rescued them near Indonesia have left the country, a foreign ministry official said Sunday.“They left Indonesia yesterday. Two were flown to Australia and the other 13 were taken to an evacuation centre […]
‘s war heroes battle for a clean image
December 20, 2009 (AFP) – A presidential election in Sri Lanka next month will see two former allies from the country’s bitter civil war slugging it out, but their record on corruption, not the battlefield, might swing the final vote.President Mahinda Rajapakse and his former army chief Sarath Fonseka are set to face each other […]
Sri Lanka to change price index basket next year
Dec 19, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will change the basket of goods in its most widely watched price index from next year and re-base it to reflect consumption patterns of a newer survey, an official said.The revised index itself was made ‘official’ suddenly at the height of an inflation bubble in April 2008, when […]
Copenhagen deal passed amid condemnation, disappointment
COPENHAGEN, December 19, 2009 (AFP) – A UN conference on Saturday rammed through a battle plan against climate change forged by US President Barack Obama and other top leaders, sidelining smaller states which lashed the deal as a betrayal.After toxic exchanges through the night, the summit chair forced through a deal using a procedural tool […]
Climate leaders: The rhetoric vs. the reality
COPENHAGEN, December 19, 2009 (AFP) – They had been urged to side with the angels but ultimately, base political instinct seems to have prevailed among the world’s most powerful leaders as they sealed a climate pact among themselves, sparking fury elsewhere.From the eve of the 12-day marathon right until its finale, the overwhelming message in […]
‘s explosive 123
NAGPUR, December 18, 2009 (AFP) – Tillakaratne Dilshan hammered a second successive century to power Sri Lanka to a thrilling three-wicket victory over India in the second one-day international here on Friday.The opener, who made 160 in the last match, cracked a rapid-fire 123 as Sri Lanka surpassed India’s 301-7 with five balls to spare […]