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’s US$ 5 bn investment pipeline held up due to red tape
August 14 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is sitting on a 5 billion dollar investment pipeline for development projects, held up due to red tape and other delays, the country’s Treasury Secretary said Monday. Sri Lanka is also in talks with lending agencies to promote investment guarantees to encourage companies to spend their dollars in local […]
Off Track
Aug 13 – (LBO) A scrap iron sale at Sri Lanka’s troubled state-run railway has come under fire from unions after the successful tenderer allegedly removed serviceable carriages along with scrapped equipment.Controversy surrounds railways tenders in Sri Lanka, especially in procurement. Two rail wagons, which are still in use by the railway department, was cut-up […]
Thin Client
August 13 (LBO) – A Sri Lanka-based securities trading platform maker says it is planning to market software on a transaction-based fee model next year, instead of only selling systems outright. MIT has also applied to patent the technology in a number of other jurisdictions including India. œThis will be attractive for broker-dealers, MillenniumIT (MIT) […]
We never nicknamed Amla a “terrorist”, say South African team-mates
COLOMBO, Aug 13, 2006 (AFP) – South Africa’s cricket team on Sunday ridiculed suggestions they had nicknamed Muslim team-mate Hashim Amla a “terrorist”, a jibe that cost Dean Jones his television job. Jones, a former Australian Test star, was sacked as a commentator last week after being heard on air saying “the terrorist has got […]
Tigers deny peace offer as weekend fighting leaves 186 dead
COLOMBO, Aug 13, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels fought ground battles and artillery duels Sunday as the weekend death toll rose to 186 and the rebels denied they were ready to talk peace.Heavy fighting that started on Friday had cut off the northern Jaffna peninsula, a military official said, where […]
Fighting cuts off Jaffna from rest of Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Aug 13, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s northern Jaffna peninsula has been cut off from the rest of the island as hundreds of residents try to flee heavy fighting in the area, military officials said.Fighting that started on Friday and continued through the weekend has cut the main road connecting government-held regions of the […]
Sri Lanka says ready to talk peace as fighting rages
COLOMBO, Aug 13, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels waged artillery and ground battles Sunday as the weekend death toll rose to 186 by official count, but both sides said they were willing to talk peace.Policy Planning Minister Keheliya Rambukwella said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) made an overture […]
Running battle raise war fears in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Aug 13, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels traded artillery fire Sunday, a day after at least 177 people were killed in fierce battles, officials said, amid fears of a return to full-scale war.Security forces shelled positions held by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as sporadic face-to-face […]
Sri Lankan Muslims say fighting has further marginalized them
KANTALAI, Sri Lanka, Aug 12, 2006 (AFP) – At an overcrowded mosque in Sri Lanka’s northeast, thousands of Muslim refugees displaced by fighting between government troops and Tiger rebels gather to console each other. His message blared from megaphones outside the mosque, but the men were not easily placated, demanding protection from the government, and […]
International donors express serious concern over Sri Lankan crisis
WASHINGTON, Aug 12, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s international donors have expressed serious concern over a growing humanitarian crisis stemming from the island’s ethnic conflict and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. The United States, Japan, the European Union and Norway said they were “deeply concerned” by continued violence which they feared was “seriously […]