Category:
Sri Lanka unfazed by donor condemnation
COLOMBO, Nov 22, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government was Wednesday undeterred in its battle against Tamil Tigers, despite heavy criticism dished out to the warring parties after a key international donor meeting.“Even more impatient than us, we believe, are the different people of Sri Lanka.They are suffering from this present atmosphere of fear,” Solheim […]
Tiger chief peace negotiator terminally ill: report
COLOMBO, Nov 22, 2006 (AFP) – The top peace negotiator for Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels, Anton Balasingham, is terminally ill with cancer, a Tamil newspaper here reported Wednesday. Balasingham had been the main contact for peace broker Norway as well as other key international players involved in attempts to bring about a peaceful resolution […]
Donors condemn fighting in Sri Lanka
WASHINGTON, Nov 21, 2006 (AFP) – Major donors engaged in efforts to end Sri Lanka’s civil war condemned the government and Tamil rebels alike Tuesday for human rights abuses and systematic violations of a 2002 ceasefire. Senior diplomats from the United States, European Union, Japan and Norway issued a statement expressing “alarm” at the ongoing […]
‘ parley for feeding a credit bubble, inflation
November 21 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s loose monetary policy came under fire at a gathering of top economists and business leaders in the country, with panelists slamming the Central Bank for pushing inflation up, creating a credit bubble and putting Sri Lanka’s balance of payments under pressure. Upside Down Though the economy was growing at […]
‘ fear that deemed dividend tax may hurt capital of Sri Lankan banks
Nov 21 (LBO) – A controversial tax to force Sri Lankan companies to pay dividends would undermine the health of the commercial banks by depleting their capital, a top banker has warned. The government is keen to push dividends in order to charge the dividend tax. But private sector officials point out that choice of […]
Open Doors
Nov 21 (LBO) – India on Tuesday lifted controversial controls on duty free imports of vanaspati oil from Sri Lanka, which had caused the shutdown of all local factories since June this year. An Indian gazette notice revoked controls that said all Sri Lankan vanaspati exports would have to go through a state run agricultural […]
High Rents
SINGAPORE, Nov 21, 2006 (AFP) – Tokyo has Asia’s most expensive office costs — and the second costliest in the world — with Hong Kong and Mumbai also in the world’s top ten, an industry report said Tuesday. Despite the rising costs, Singapore remains competitive against Tokyo and Hong Kong, he said. But he said […]
‘ risky behaviour with HIV/AIDS
GENEVA, Nov 21, 2006 (AFP) – Some 8.6 million Asians are infected with the HIV virus, UNAIDS said on Tuesday, warning the disease is thriving on risky behaviour in Southeast Asia and slowly taking hold in China, the world’s most populous nation. An estimated 960,000 Asians were newly infected over the past year while about […]
Shadow of terrorism loiters over Asian Games
SINGAPORE, Nov 21, 2006 (AFP) – Qatar is seen as an island of stability in a volatile region, but a suicide car bombing last year sent shockwaves through the nation and it is taking no chances with security at the Asian Games. Organisers though are conscious that securiy should not overshadow what happens in the […]
Sri Lanka opposition strife could trigger snap general poll; Analysis
Nov 21 (LBO) – President Mahinda Rajapakse spent the first year in office trying to cobble together a stable coalition but squabbling in the opposition ranks has given him a new opening to call a snap election.The president told his close associates early last month that he did not want to call a snap election […]
Sri Lanka peace mediators to meet in Washington
WASHINGTON, Nov 20 (AFP) – Major donors engaged in efforts to end Sri Lanka’s long-running civil war will meet Tuesday in Washington in the latest attempt to revive peace talks between the government and Tamil rebels, the State Department announced Monday.The Co-Chairs, the sole international mechanism focused on the peace process in Sri Lanka, last […]
Opposition strife could trigger snap general poll; Analysis
Nov 21 (LBO) – President Mahinda Rajapakse spent the first year in office trying to cobble together a stable coalition but squabbling in the opposition ranks has given him a new opening to call a snap election. The president told his close associates early last month that he did not want to call a snap […]