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Sri Lanka on the brink after 67 killed in new violence
Aug 1, 2006 (AFP) – The truce between Sri Lanka’s warring parties was stretched to breaking point Tuesday after one of the bloodiest days in the island’s recent history left at least 67 soldiers and Tamil rebels dead.The Tamil Tigers have been waging a violent secessionist campaign since the 1970s to secure an independent homeland […]
Minor Adjustment
August 1, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-owned Ceylon Petroleum Corp has raised fuel prices after a two-month lag to offset a surge in global oil prices, Petroleum Minister A H M Fowzie said. From midnight Tuesday: ¢ Gasoline costs 96.00 rupees (from 93.00 rupees) ¢ Diesel costs 63.00 rupees (from 61.00 rupees) ¢ Kerosene […]
On Course
August 01, 2006 (LBO) – Caltex Lanka Lubricants Tuesday reported a 16 percent spike in net profit after tax for the six months ended June this year, on the back of volume and price growth. Net profit after tax went up from 370 million to 429.7 million rupees for the first half of this year, […]
No Oil
August 01, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka says it may not entertain new investments into expensive oil fired power plants, under a proposed energy policy for the country published this week. The government shall not initiate or entertain any proposal either by electricity utilities or private developers to build power plants that will use oil, […]
Bloodiest ground battle tests Sri Lanka’s threadbare truce, toll 44
July 31, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops and Tiger rebels Monday fought their bloodiest ground battle since a 2002 truce, with the military reporting at least 44 combatants killed, but monitors said it was still not full-scale war.More than 60,000 people have been killed in the three-decade-old Tamil separatist conflict. The army’s ground offensive […]
Sri Lanka’s consumer prices ease in July to 14.7%
July 31, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s consumer prices for July eased marginally to 14.7 percent, the Census & Statistics Department said Monday, as a drop in vegetable prices helped offset hikes in rice, bread and jam. Prices of sugar, garlic, tamarind, red onions, eggs, coconuts and most varieties of vegetables, helped inflation ease up […]
No Surprises
July 31, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom, the island’s biggest telephone company, said Monday second-quarter profits rose 112 percent, after it signed up more wireless customers. The company, which controls 85 percent of Sri Lanka’s fixed-line telecommunications market, made a billion rupee net profit over a 31 percent revenue growth to 9.97 billion rupees […]
No full-scale war in Sri Lanka: chief monitor
July 31, 2006 (AFP) – Heavy fighting between Sri Lankan forces and Tamil Tiger rebels that killed at least 44 combatants Monday was unlikely to lead to full-scale war, the top Scandinavian truce monitor Ulf Henricsson said. The retired Swedish army general who leads the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) said a return to full-scale […]
Sri Lanka military says 44 killed in latest battle
July 31, 2006 (AFP) – At least nine soldiers and 35 Tamil rebels were killed Monday in a major battle for control of a disputed waterway in northeastern Sri Lanka, defence officials said.Nine troopers, including an officer were killed in mortar bombs attacks while another 15 soldiers were wounded, officials said. The defence ministry in […]
Sri Lanka truce on despite fighting: monitors
July 31, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels Monday accused Sri Lanka of violating their truce with a renewed offensive, but Nordic truce monitors said the guerrillas had no intention of quitting the ceasefire. The Swedish-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had lodged a formal complaint against […]