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Sri Lanka humiliate Bermuda in 243-run Cup mauling
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, March 15, 2007 (AFP) – Debutants Bermuda found life at the top extremely uncomfortable as they crashed to a massive 243-run defeat against Sri Lanka in their opening World Cup match here on Thursday. It was the second-biggest defeat by run-margin in the tournament history after Namibia’s 256-run loss to defending […]
Sri Lanka Freedom Party sacks rebel strongman from home turf
Mar 16, 2007 (LBO) – The ruling has party has sacked rebel parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera from the leadership of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) in his home district of Matara in southern Sri Lanka an official said. General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena told LBO that the decision taken yesterday was unanimous and Dulles Alahapperuma has […]
Sri Lankan troops kill suspected suicide bomber
COLOMBO, March 16, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops Friday shot dead a suspected Tamil Tiger rebel suicide bomber in the northern district of Jaffna, the defence ministry said.Army personnel had come across the suspected guerrilla wearing a jacket packed with explosives while manning a road block at Savalkattu junction around Friday afternoon. The suspect […]
Sri Lanka switches to strong quantity targeting regime; policy rates unchanged in March
March 16 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank kept its now largely irrelevant discount rate unchanged Friday, while its monetary policy actions in recent weeks showed a firm reliance on quantity targeting. The release of the next regular statement on monetary policy is scheduled for 11 April 2007. Update 2 (graphics/reserve money targets) Though the […]
Light Rail
March 15 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has given a private consortium of Indian and Singaporean firms the green light to develop a firm proposal with financing in place, to build a light rail system for Colombo. However the project has had false starts with a letter of intent earlier being awarded with Siemens and OPUS […]
Ocean Lines
Mar 15, 2007 (LBO) –Sri Lanka is to soon begin a survey to re-draw its continental shelf boundary with the help of a British survey company, a top official said Thursday. (1 nautical mile = 1.852 kilometers) Geophysical survey company Geotechnical Engineering and Marine Surveys (GEMS) of the UK is to conduct the two-month study, […]
Moody bats for World Cup minnows
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, March 15, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka coach Tom Moody said Wednesday he would not be surprised if the minnows stretched top sides in the World Cup.Six non-Test-playing nations are in the fray in the mega one-day event, with Bermuda and Ireland making their Cup debuts. Others are Scotland, Kenya, the […]
Reforms to end Sri Lankan conflict ready next month: FM
WASHINGTON, March 14, 2007 (AFP) – Constitutional reforms aimed at ending three decades of ethnic bloodshed in Sri Lanka could be finalized as early as next next month, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said here Wednesday. “We are expecting it to be by April, the political process to come up with definite proposals for a political […]
Marine Land
March 15 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has accepted a proposal to reclaim the sea and develop 450 acres of land alongside the Colombo Port by John Keells Holdings (JKH), a senior minister said. Updated/adds quotes “In the committee headed by the president we approved a very important and a flagship project to add 450 acres […]
‘s exports grow but trade deficit widens
March 15 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s exports grew by 11.2 percent in January led by industrial exports which surged 15.6 percent, the Central Bank said Friday. Tea exports were hit by production shortfalls following the strikes in December, but apparel exports surged 28.1 percent to 221 million dollars. “However, within the agricultural sector, the increase […]