BDO Seidman serves clients through 38 offices and more than 400 independentalliance firm locations nationwide. As a Member Firm of BDO International, BDOSeidman, LLP serves multi-national clients by leveraging a global network of1,095 offices in 110 countries. BDO International is a worldwide network ofpublic accounting firms, called BDO Member Firms. Each BDO Member Firm is anindependent legal entity in its own country. The network is coordinated by BDOGlobal Coordination B.V., incorporated in The Netherlands, with its statutoryseat in Eindhoven (trade register registration number 33205251) and with anoffice at Boulevard de la Woluwe 60, 1200 Brussels, Belgium, where theInternational Executive Office is located. BlissPRPaige Holden / Rachel Copyright Business Wire 2009. COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka said on Wednesday it had invited U.N Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to visit camps where 200,000 people are being held after fleeing the closing battles of the island nation's war against Tamil Tiger separatists.
WorldThe Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) meanwhile urged the United Nations to escort a ship full of aid, organized by sympathizers in the Tamil diaspora in Britain, into the war zone to stave off what it said was looming starvation.Tens of thousands of civilians are trapped in the less than 5 square km (2 sq miles) of the northern coast, where the badly outnumbered Tigers are fighting a last-ditch battle against a military smelling imminent victory in Asia's longest modern war.The apparent conventional end to a conflict nearing its 26th year drove the Colombo Stock Exchange to a second straight six-month high on Wednesday, traders said.President Mahinda' Rajapaksa's invitation came when he and Ban spoke on the phone late on Tuesday The U.N. chief has repeatedly urged the government to slow its offensive to allow more food and aid in, and the LTTE to let people out.Both sides have refused earlier similar appeals.Rajapaksa invited Ban "to see for himself the situation regarding the action for the accommodation and treatment of internally displaced persons ... and plans for their resettlement," a statement from Rajapaksa's office said.Ban made no mention of the invitation at a news conference after he spoke to Rajapaksa.More than 200,000 people have fled rebel areas this year, and the exodus of 115,000 in the last two weeks is straining available resources, aid agencies have warned.Sri Lanka has rejected Ban's call to allow an aid assessment team into the war zone, but this week made a joint appeal with the world body for $50 million in emergency aid.The LTTE accuses the government of deliberately starving people, and insists those in the war zone are staying by choice."We kindly request the U.N. to provide safe passage and escort for those humanitarian ships to reach our controlled areas ...
to provide humanitarian assistance to our people who are facing starvation and death," a copy of a letter the LTTE said it had sent to the United Nations said.The government says it is providing aid via ships sailing under the flag of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which aid agencies say has not been enough. It accuses the LTTE of taking food for its fighters first."We will not allow any unauthorized ship to enter into our waters and the government will take necessary action if there is any such move," said military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara.Sri Lanka has ignored heavy Western pressure for a truce to give civilians relief, saying the LTTE has a history of manufacturing humanitarian crises to buy time to rearm.The LTTE is on U.S., EU, Canadian and Indian terrorism lists, and since 1983 has waged an outright war to create a separate nation for Sri Lanka's Tamil minority.(Additional reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Bryson Hull and Sugita Katyal) World. * Canwest gets debt extension until May 19 Stocks | Regulatory News | Bonds | Global Markets * Canwest says continuing discussions with lenders (Adds background, details on debt load) TORONTO, MAY 6 (Reuters) - Canwest Global CommunicationsCorp CGS.TO, Canada's largest media company, announced yetanother extension to lender talks on Wednesday as it fights amassive downturn in the advertising market. Canwest Media Inc (CMI) said it would continue discussionswith its senior lenders and representatives of an ad hoccommittee of 8 percent noteholders. "During the extension period, CMIs senior lenders haveagreed to provide the company with additional access tocredit," the Winnipeg, Manitoba-based company said. Canwest already owes a $30.4 million interest payment tothe noteholders, who now also have the right to demand thepayment of about $761 million in principal.