Tag: Sri Lanka
Not too late for Sri Lanka peace talks: Egeland
SINGAPORE, Aug 28, 2007 (AFP) – There is still time for peace talks between Sri Lanka’s government and separatist Tamil Tiger rebels despite the virtual collapse of a truce, a former Norwegian peace broker said Tuesday.“It’s not too late. They can and should and must reopen real peace negotiations,” Jan Egeland told AFP. But he […]
Normal Light
August 27, 2007 (LBO) – The powerful engineers union of Sri Lanka’s state-owned electricity utility has temporarily suspended industrial action started last week, following talks with senior government officials. Secretaries to the President, the treasury and energy and the CEB chairman met the Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers Union (CEBEU) Sunday after a work-to-rule campaign began […]
Nine rebels killed in Sri Lanka clashes: military
Aug 27, 2007 (AFP) – At least nine Tamil Tiger rebels were killed and five government soldiers wounded in weekend battles in northern Sri Lanka, the defence ministry said Monday.The nine members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were killed in northwestern Mannar district, the ministry said in a statement. Army troops also […]
‘s biggest Buddhist pageant goes ahead despite bomb scare
Aug 26, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka police Sunday defused a powerful bomb near the route of a major Buddhist festival in the sacred city of Kandy, officials said.Police removed the three-kilogramme (6.6 pound) bomb from an abandoned building near a path taken by the Kandy Perahera, or pageant which moves through the city’s streets, […]
Sri Lanka defence analyst silenced amid fears for life
Aug 26, 2007 (AFP) – A top Sri Lankan defence columnist stopped writing fearing for his life after he exposed alleged corruption in the purchase of second-hand supersonic jets, the Sunday Times weekly said.The “Situation Report” by Iqbal Athas was not being published Sunday after the government withdrew police body guards who had been assigned […]
Sri Lanka property bubble on the bursting path
August 25, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s land and condominium price bubble which has now peaked may pop with buildings now under construction expected to flood the market in the next two years and buyers turning cautious, analysts and developers have said. Speculators and foreign investors have been scared off by the flare up in […]
Ease emergency laws, media rights group tells Sri Lanka
Aug 24, 2007 (AFP) – A media rights group Friday urged Sri Lanka to ease emergency laws that curtail freedom of expression and warned of worsening conditions in one of the world’s most dangerous places for journalists.Working conditions have deteriorated in the Tamil-populated northern district of Jaffna since fighting erupted there between government troops and […]
Black Line
August 23, 2007 (LBO) – Lanka IOC, a unit of the Indian Oil Corporation, has returned to profitability in the June quarter, posting 490 million rupees in profits, interim results filed with the Colombo Stock Exchange showed. . The firm reversed a loss of 584 million in the same quarter last year. Part of the […]
Sri Lankan corporates form alliance to combat HIV/AIDS
Aug 23, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan companies have formed a business coalition on HIV/AIDS saying increasing awareness and gearing up workplaces to handle the pandemic helps reduce its financial and economic costs. “HIV affects the most productive segment of the society. We need to promote a coordinated, standardised HIV workplace program approach,” Jaspal Bindra, […]
Money printing Zimbabwe eases price controls after shortages
HARARE, Aug 22, 2007 (AFP) – Zimbabwe’s government has authorised retailers to raise the prices of basic goods in order to ease widespread shortages which followed the imposition of price cuts, state media reported Wednesday. Shops and businesses which were ordered to slash their prices two months as part of a controversial crackdown on so-called […]
Sri Lanka central bank defends John Exter and itself against tide of criticism
August 21, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank law, devised by an international economist famed for his monetary prudence, has in-built safeguards to protect the economy unless it was abused, a top central banker said. Central Bank Deputy Governor W A Wijewardene defended the bank’s founder John Exter against a rising tide of criticism […]
Sri Lanka hosts anti-terrorism meet to highlight plight of victim states
August 17, 2007 (LBO) – A top French anti-terrorism judge and leading conflict specialists are among speakers at a counter-terrorism conference to be held in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo. Sri Lanka will seek to focus attention on the plight of countries affected by terrorism, especially its own near 30-year experience during the International Conference […]