Tag: news
Sri Lanka presidential rivals hand in nominations
December 17, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse and his main rival in elections next month, former army general Sarath Fonseka, handed in their poll nomination papers on Thursday.Rajapakse and Fonseka, both dressed in white national dress, were among 22 candidates whose papers were accepted by the national Election Commission. Rajapakse has called […]
EU gives six million euros to help Sri Lanka refugees
BRUSSELS, December 16, 2009 (AFP) – The European Commission on Wednesday granted more aid for tens of thousands of people who fled fighting between Sri Lankan forces and Tamil fighters, voicing concern for their lack of protection.The commission is “concerned by the lack of protection for the internally displaced, especially for female-headed households and single […]
Fuel Market
Dec 15, 2009 (LBO) – A planned ship fuel business off a new port being built in southern Sri Lanka, will target small vessels sailing past the island and lure them with break-even prices, officials said.Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) intends to start sales of bunkers in the first quarter of next year off Hambantota, […]
Sri Lanka Galle literary festival 2010 to showcase crime, pulp literature
Dec 15, 2009 (LBO) – Famous, if fictional detective John Rebus, finely illustrated graphic novels and sensational pulp fiction are billed to make Sri Lanka’s next literary festival a tourist draw card. South Asian writers including Mohamed Hanif, (A Case of Exploding Mangoes), Rana Dasgupta (Tokyo Cancelled), Amit Varma (My Friend Sancho) will attend the […]
Sri Lanka post-war recovery hit by graft, violence: watchdog
December 15, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s recovery from its decades-long civil war has been marred by graft, violence and a culture of lawlessness, a global watchdog said Tuesday.Transparency International rapped the government — which crushed the Tamil Tiger separatist rebels in May — for a lack of democracy, accountability and transparency. “The latter half […]
Oil Bids
Dec 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is ready to calls for bids for oil exploration in more blocks in the island’s north-west as well as the south, Petroleum Resources Minister A H M Fowzie said.Fowzie said oil and gas discoveries on the Indian side of the Mannar Basin meant there was a better chance […]
Sri Lanka ex-general fears Tiger attack on presidential bid – Interview
December 8, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s former military chief who led troops to victory over Tamil separatists in May said he fears fugitive rebels will try to assassinate him during his presidential election campaign.Sarath Fonseka, who is trying to unseat President Mahinda Rajapakse in the January 26 elections, told AFP that about 1,000 Tamil […]
”’ Sri Lanka: Senate
WASHINGTON, December 7, 2009 (AFP) – A US Senate report warned Monday that Washington risked “losing” Sri Lanka as it recovers from war and called for more active engagement to stop the island drifting from the West.The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, in a bipartisan study, said the United States should be firm on human rights […]
UN View
GENEVA, December 4, 2009 (AFP) – The UN refugee agency said on Friday that it was encouraged by “increased freedom of movement” for war-displaced civilians in Sri Lanka who have been in internment camps in the north of the island. “We are encouraged by the Sri Lankan government’s long-awaited decision this week to allow increased […]
Sri Lanka keeps up media ban on war refugees
December 4, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has maintained its ban on journalists reporting the plight of war-displaced civilians who have been allowed out of their internment camps, officials said Friday.Foreign minister Rohitha Bogollagama declared in a BBC interview Tuesday that the media now had full access, prompting a flood of requests from reporters to […]
US envoy to visit Sri Lanka
WASHINGTON, December 4, 2009 (AFP) – A senior US envoy will head to Sri Lanka next week to encourage post-war reconciliation, days after the island nation allowed Tamil civilians to leave detention camps, officials said Friday.Robert Blake, the assistant secretary of state for South Asia, will visit Sri Lanka on Monday and Tuesday in the […]
Sri Lanka must help released war refugees: Amnesty
December 2, 2009 (AFP) – Amnesty International on Wednesday pushed Sri Lanka to grant full freedom to 130,000 Tamil civilians who have been allowed out of camps where they were detained following the island’s ethnic conflict.The government said the camp inmates, who were displaced in the war against the Tamil Tiger rebels, were now free […]