Category:
Australian wine industry battling oversupply of grapes
SYDNEY, June 11, 2006 (AFP) – The Australian wine industry is drowning in a glut of grapes, as it struggles to sell up to one billion litres of wine sloshing around in storage tanks across the country. Record output in 2004 and 2005, and a near-record crush this year, have led to a massive oversupply […]
War of words over a Sri Lanka child deaths
June 11, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels Sunday accused international rights watchdogs of remaining silent over the killings of 24 children allegedly by government forces. More than 680 people have died over the past six months despite a four-year truce between government forces and the LTTE in an ethnic conflict that has […]
Five killed in Sri Lanka violence
June 11, 2006 (AFP) – At least five people were shot dead in Sri Lanka’s restive northeast port district of Trincomalee and the main city of Colombo at the weekend, military officials said Sunday.In the northeast, two wood-cutters were shot dead at Manirasakulam while two people, including a student, were gunned down in nearby Muttur […]
Sri Lanka peace hopes falter after talks collapse
June 11, 2006 (AFP) – Hopes for peace in Sri Lanka have all but vanished after peace broker Norway’s failure to bring the opposing parties to the table, diplomats say.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) refused to negotiate with Sri Lanka’s government last week after travelling to Oslo. Diplomatic sources say Norway is now […]
Indonesia arrests 107 Sri Lankan illegal immigrants
JAKARTA, June 10, 2006 (AFP) – Indonesian officials Saturday said they have arrested more than 100 illegal immigrants from Sri Lanka in the latest crackdown on human trafficking.A total of 107 Sri Lankan men were detained when immigration officials raided two houses Thursday in the resort town of Cisarua, said Muhammad Indra, a director with […]
Norway reaffirms Sri Lanka peace broker role
STOCKHOLM, June 10, 2006 (AFP) – Norway said Saturday it would continue to act as peace broker between Sri Lanka and Tamil Tiger rebels despite the recent breakdown in talks between the two sides, which had thrown its role into doubt. The rebels on Thursday aborted a two-day meeting in Oslo with Colombo representatives arranged […]
Slow Trot
June 10, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka raise fuel prices from midnight Saturday after a two-month lag to offset a surge in global oil prices, a top official said. Sri Lankan guzzles around 30 million litres of petrol, 130 million litres of diesel and 18 million litres of kerosene each month. -by Mel Gunasekera The […]
Zimbabwe’s inflation rate soars to new high
HARARE, June 9, 2006 (AFP) – The inflation rate in economically-ravaged Zimbabwe soared to a new record high of 1,193.5 percent for May, officials said on Friday, with economists predicting even higher rates in the coming months. “The year-on-year rate of inflation in May 2006 was 1,193.5 percent, gaining 150.6 percentage points on the April […]
Sri Lanka shelves plans for medium-term sovereign bond
June 9, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has shelved plans to raise up to a billion dollars and fall back on smaller tranches, with shorter maturities, a senior treasury official said Friday. The government was hoping to float a 7 to 10-year, sovereign bond to pay off about 300 million dollars of bonds owed to […]
Sri Lanka in talks with Russia to lower tea import duties
June 09 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is in talks with Russia to lower import duties on tea, as Russia begins freeing up trade in a bid to enter the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Russia, Sri Lanka’s largest market for tea, has offered to lower tariffs of 20 percent on value added black and green tea exports […]
Last Resort
June 9, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s CBNSat a local cable television operator — is appealing to customers to be patient while they engage in a court battle aimed at re-starting operations. Sleuths from the criminal investigation department switched off the equipment at CBNSat’s affiliate company SonicNet technology, bringing its activities to a halt. The […]
‘s inflation rate soars to new high
HARARE, June 9, 2006 (AFP) – The inflation rate in economically-ravaged Zimbabwe soared to a new record high of 1,193.5 percent for May, officials said on Friday, with economists predicting even higher rates in the coming months. “The year-on-year rate of inflation in May 2006 was 1,193.5 percent, gaining 150.6 percentage points on the April […]