THE EUROPEAN Commission (EC), amidst a growing debate in the media and political circles over the GSP+ being linked to human rights violations, repeated its assertion – as has been the case in recent months - that no decision has been reached on this scheme and that there is no reason to assume Sri Lanka would be disqualified from the preferential trade scheme by the end of the year.

According to a poll conducted by a local think tank its not just Indian politicians who are calling for greater Indian participation in bringing peace to Sri Lanka but also Sri Lankans of all ethnicity.

A survey by the Colombo-based Centre for Policy Alternatives showed that cutting across ethnic lines, there is significant support in Sri Lanka for a greater Indian role on the island, both in the political and economic spheres, the think tank revealed last week.

The United States in a significant change in its policy towards organizations included in the State Departments Foreign Terrorists Organization (FTO) list, made its first official diplomatic contact with the leader of Nepal's former rebel Maoists, BBC report in Kathmandu said.

US ambassador to Nepal Nancy Powell met Maoist leader Prachanda on Thursday, a statement from the US embassy in Kathmandu said, according to the report.

As violence surges in Sri Lanka, so does the number of abductions and disappearance of mostly Tamil men. That is the assessment of human rights activists and international aid groups operating in the Indian Ocean nation.

ECONOMIC Times, one of India's leading business dailies, on Sunday revealed that in spite of possible "political and diplomatic ramifications", the Indian Government was "finalizing a soft loan package of $100 million for Sri Lankan defence department to buy arms and ammunition." The newspaper went one step ahead and dubbed this move "the India fund for fighting Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka."

The Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) is a formal system of exemption from the general rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO) aimed at encouraging developing countries to export by allowing their products preferential access to the markets of developed countries.

The strong relationship between Iran and Sri Lanka was on show last week with the high profile visit of Iranian President to Sri Lanka and the red carpet welcome that was extended to him by the Sri Lankan state.

In a visit to Sri Lanka, Marks & Spencer’s boss has hailed the country’s “ethical standards” and assured that he will he do ‘everything possible to support Sri Lanka’s application for the GSP+ concessions’.

Chief Executive Officer, Sir Stuart Rose told Sri Lankan ministers Professor G. L. Peiris and Dr. Sarath Amunugama: "I deeply appreciate Sri Lanka’s ethical standards and her splendid performance in the apparel sector"

Sri Lanka has hailed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's visit here Monday as an important step in cementing closer ties between the two nations.

But the trip also highlighted Sri Lanka's slow turn away from the West, which has expressed increasing concerns about Colombo's human rights record and its embrace of donors less critical of its escalating war against ethnic Tamil Tigers.

The strong relationship between Iran and Sri Lanka was on show last week with the high profile visit of Iranian President to Sri Lanka and the red carpet welcome that was extended to him by the Sri Lankan state.

According to a poll conducted by a local think tank its not just Indian politicians who are calling for greater Indian participation in bringing peace to Sri Lanka but also Sri Lankans of all ethnicity.

A survey by the Colombo-based Centre for Policy Alternatives showed that cutting across ethnic lines, there is significant support in Sri Lanka for a greater Indian role on the island, both in the political and economic spheres, the think tank revealed last week.

ACCORDING to Sri Lankan military officials, Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) launched an air attack on Sri Lanka Army (SLA) positions in Manalaaru in the early hours of Sunday.

Two Tamileelam Air Force (TAF) aircraft dropped five bombs around 1.45 am on Sunday March 27, targeting two military bases in the Manalaaru region in the east of the island, injuring one soldier, damaging some buildings occupied by SLA and causing damage to six vehicles.

The United States Government has sent out a strong warning to Sri Lanka over the island’s rapidly growing close ties and diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In the backdrop of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s scheduled state visit to Sri Lanka tomorrow, US State Department Spokesperson Tom Casey has clearly disclosed their concerns over the Iranian President’s South Asia visit.