Fighting kills 19 in Sri Lanka: military

COLOMBO, Dec 5, 2006 (AFP) – At least 19 people have been killed in fresh violence in Sri Lanka as peace broker Norway cancelled a meeting with Tamil Tiger rebels, defence officials said Tuesday.Two soldiers and 15 guerrillas were killed in a confrontation in the eastern district of Batticaloa on Monday while 19 troopers were […]

‘ cash grants to rebuild homes

Dec 05 (LBO) – Relief Agency the American Red Cross said Tuesday that it will give ten million dollars in cash grants to over 3000 Sri Lankan families to rebuild their homes destroyed in the tsunami two years ago. The tsunami that struck on December 26, 2004 extensively damaged or destroyed about 100,000 homes and […]

Charity resumes Sri Lankan battle zone operations after massacre

COLOMBO, Sept 6, 2006 (AFP) – A French charity Tuesday announced it is resuming its operations in Sri lankan, four months after 17 of its local employees were gunned down, allegedly by security forces. The Action Against Hunger (Action contre la Faim, or ACF) had in September reduced its number of staff by 60-70 percent […]

‘s richest two percent own half global wealth: UN

HELSINKI, Dec 5, 2006 (AFP) – The world’s richest two percent of adults own more than half of global household wealth, while half the world’s population own only one percent, a UN report published on Tuesday showed. “The study finds wealth to be more unequally distributed than income across countries,” Anthony Shorrocks, director of the […]

Even Keel

December 5, 2006 (LBO) – Dialog Telekom, the island’s biggest mobile phone operator, retained its AAA (lka) rating, but subscriber growth has lagged against industry peers, Fitch Ratings Lanka said. œThe rating reflects Dialog’s leading position in Sri Lanka’s cellular-mobile space with around 60 percent subscriber-share, its robust growth and strong operating cash flow, the […]

Sri Lanka ask Norway to suspend contacts with Tamil Tigers

COLOMBO, Dec 3, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government asked peace broker Norway to suspend contacts with the Tamil Tiger rebels as it came under intense pressure Sunday to ban the guerrillas and end an Oslo-backed peace initiative. Norwegian peace envoy Jon Hanssen-Bauer was told that his planned visit to the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi […]

Light Load

December 2, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to build a 300 megawatte liquefied natural gas plant with Iranian assistance, the government said Saturday. “Iran is highly developed in power plant manufacturing industry and is able to meet the domestic requirement of power plant construction. Sri Lanka power industry can benefit through mutual cooperation between […]

Sri Lanka police detain two suspect over assassination as fighting flares up

Dec 2, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police detained two people over an attempt to assassinate the president’s brother, officials said, as 11 people were killed in fresh fighting.The Police Criminal Investigations Department took into custody two men who owned the auto-rickshaw used in Friday’s suicide bombing targeting Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse’s heavily armed convoy […]

Plugged In

December 2, 2006 (LBO) – Dialog Telekom said Saturday that it has taken full control of cable television operator CBN SAT, that was previously shut down by the government for not having necessary paperwork. Sri Lanka, which became the first South Asian nation to start mobile services, when Celltel Lanka began operations in 1989, now […]

Sri Lanka to use embarkation fee revenue to develop Kalpitiya Dutch Bay Island

December 2, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to part of its embarkation fee revenue to develop the Kalpitiya Dutch Bay Island into a tourist attraction, the government said Saturday. Cabinet of ministers had agreed to initiate the project across 5,000 acres of land at a cost of 350 million rupees. Tourism Minister Anura Bandaranaike […]

Blast in Colombo, Sri Lanka

December 01, (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s defence secretary has escaped a suicide assassination bid, the centre for national security said.Lakshaman Hulugalle, head of the national centre for media told the state television that the convoy of Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse, the brother of Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapakse had been targetted. At least one security […]

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