Tag: Sri Lanka
‘s killers to hang next month
CHENNAI, August 27, 2011 (AFP) – Three men convicted of the 1991 assassination of then Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi will be hanged early next month, a senior jail official has said. The announcement late Friday that the executions would be carried out on September 9 came after India’s president rejected mercy pleas from the […]
Sri Lanka India venture in US$200mn development
Aug 27, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Rank Holdings, a group which has interests in gaming, power and logistics, is planning a 200 million US dollar hotel and residential complex in the capital Colombo with an Indian partner, an official said. The D R Wijewardene property project however dates back from an earlier process a […]
Sri Lanka scraps emergency laws, US cheers
August 25, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president announced on Thursday that he was scrapping draconian emergency laws imposed nearly 30 years ago to deal with the armed Tamil separatist movement. The move, which was welcomed by the United States, comes as Sri Lanka faces growing pressure — led by Washington — over its human […]
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August 26, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s main opposition, which is bedeviled by a string of electoral defeats and an internal battle to oust its leader, says its door-to-door campaign is haunted by a phobia among voters about ‘grease devils’. ‘Grease devil’ is a colloquial term used to describe peeping toms and other mischief makers […]
US envoy to press Sri Lanka over alleged war crimes
August 26, 2011 (AFP) – The United States is dispatching a top envoy to Colombo for talks next week ahead of a crucial UN meeting to discuss alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, diplomats said on Friday. US Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake will be visiting Sri Lanka for a second time in four […]
Sri Lanka cement crisis continues amid price controls
Aug 24, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s construction industry is facing a shortage of about a million 50 kilogram sacks of cement a month, a media report said as price controls limit supplies and threaten the island’s construction sector. Amid the shortages created by price controls, state enterprises have got into the act like in […]
” beyond 16-year high
HONG KONG, August 23, 2011 (AFP) – Hong Kong’s inflation has hit a 16-year high and economists warned Tuesday there are signs it will worsen in coming months as runaway housing and food costs continue to besiege the city’s economy. Figures released in the southern Chinese territory Monday showed inflation hit 7.9 percent year-on-year in […]
100 arrests over Sri Lanka sex offender scare
August 23, 2011 (AFP) – Police carried out mass arrests in northern Sri Lanka on Tuesday after residents clashed with troops alleged to have protected so-called “grease devil” sex offenders, officials said. At least 102 men were taken into custody in the Jaffna region when residents smashed two military vehicles, in a protest against the […]
Gold hits record above $1,900 an ounce
HONG KONG, August 23, 2011 (AFP) – Gold soared above ,900 an ounce in Hong Kong for the first time on Tuesday as dealers flocked to the safe haven asset due to growing concerns over the state of the global economy. The precious metal was trading at ,914. 50-$1,915.50 an ounce in the morning after […]
China seeks to protect Libya trade ties
BEIJING, August 23, 2011 (AFP) – China hopes its “mutually beneficial” multi-billion dollar trade links with oil-rich Libya will continue, it said Tuesday after rebels came close to ending Moamer Kadhafi’s 42-year rule. China has ploughed billions of dollars into Libya’s rail, oil and telecom sectors, and the commerce ministry said its investments had been […]
Sri Lanka land sales should be transparent: lawmaker
Aug 20, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state land sales to private developers must be transparent and all available land must be listed online to boost investor confidence, instead being sold through unsolicited deals, a lawmaker has said. Sri Lanka main opposition United National Party member Harsha de Silva says such deals will harm overall […]
Sri Lanka targets deficit of 6.2-pct in 2012
Aug 19, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will budget for a deficit of 6. 2 percent of gross domestic product in 2011 down from a planned gap of 6.8 percent in 2010, information minister Keheliya Rambukwelle said. The government will keep state investments at 6. 0 percent of GDP. The state is planning to bring […]