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Sri Lanka war zone: 3,000 civilians flee, military says
April 19, 2009 (AFP) – Nearly 3,000 civilians escaped from Sri Lanka’s war zone and sought shelter with security forces, the defence ministry said Sunday as troops stepped up an offensive against cornered Tiger rebels.The non-combatants escaped Saturday evening from the remaining area under the control of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the […]
Sri Lanka Tiger chief not seen as troops close in
April 19, 2009 (AFP) – As Sri Lanka’s decades-long civil war moves into what appears to be a bloody end game, all eyes are on a small strip of coastal jungle, looking for signs of the elusive leader of the Tamil Tigers. The rotund rebel chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, a 54-year-old with decades of experience surviving […]
Britain wants swift UN Sri Lanka report
LONDON, April 18, 2009 (AFP) – Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Saturday he would ask UN chief Ban Ki-moon’s top aide to report to the Security Council “immediately” on his return from strife-torn Sri Lanka. Miliband said he was “gravely concerned” about the conflict there, while insisting that the government was listening to protesters […]
Seylan Sale
April 18, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank says six parties have expressed interest in buying a one-third stake of Seylan Bank, which was put under the wing of a state bank following a run on its deposits. Seylan Bank, a unit of Sri Lanka’s Ceylinco group, suffered a run after an unregulated firm […]
US environment agency deems CO2 a health risk
WASHINGTON, April 18, 2009 (AFP) – The US Environmental Protection Agency shifted course Friday by deeming carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases a health risk, in a landmark turnaround that could impact climate change regulation. “After a thorough scientific review ordered in 2007 by the US Supreme Court, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a proposed […]
Sri Lanka keeps up offensive despite calls for fresh truce
April 18, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops on Saturday kept up their offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels cornered in the northeast, the defence ministry said, ignoring mounting international appeals for a ceasefire.The island’s government accused the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of firing heavy artillery and mortars from an area it has designated […]
Australian Tamils call off hunger strike
SYDNEY, April 18, 2009 (AFP) – Tamil protesters who staged a seven-day hunger strike outside the Australian prime minister’s home said Saturday they had ended their protest following assurances their demands had been heard. “Australia continues to call on the Sri Lankan government to put forward credible political reforms to engage Tamils and other minorities […]
Sri Lanka to dip into deflation by mid 2009
April 18, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s inflation will dip below zero briefly by the middle of 2009, the island’s central bank governor Nivard Cabraal said as the world is gripped by a classic deflationary collapse. During the great depression, when the dollar strengthened and people pulled money out of banks to bury in their […]
IMF approves US$47 flexi credit line for Mexico
WASHINGTON, April 17, 2009 (AFP) – The International Monetary Fund approved a 47-billion-dollar credit line for Mexico Friday under a new scheme designed to throw a cash lifeline to countries hit by the global economic crisis. “The Mexican authorities have stated they intend to treat the arrangement as precautionary and do not intend to draw […]
Sri Lanka looks to raise US$500mn abroad
April 17, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is looking to raise 500 million dollars from international markets when conditions turn more favourable, while rolling over about 300 million dollars more in maturing dollar debt in 2009, an official said. Global financial markets have turned risk averse compared to two years ago when Sri Lanka sold […]
Sri Lanka shares close up 1.9-pct; rupee weakens
Apr 17, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed up 1.9 percent Friday, supported by retail interest on large cap stocks, while the rupee weakened to 116.00 levels of state bank buying, dealers said. The rupee closed 116.05/15 against the US dollar, after opening stronger at 115.75/80 levels. State banks were on the buying side […]
Convicted
LONDON, April 17, 2009 (AFP) – A London court convicted a man described as the head of the Tamil Tigers in Britain on two terror-linked charges Friday, including supplying bomb-making equipment to the Sri Lankan group. Arunachalam Chrishanthakumar, 52, was found guilty of coordinating supplies of material to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). […]