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Sri Lanka winning war against Tamil Tigers: president
Feb 4, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president insisted Monday his government was winning the war against Tamil Tiger rebels as the island marked its 60th anniversary of independence after a bloody weekend of violence. Kicking off a display of military hardware along Colombo’s sea front promenade ringed by stiff security, President Mahinda Rajapakse also […]
Sri Lanka vows to beat Tigers, shrugs off aid threat
Feb 4, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president marked the island’s 60th anniversary of independence from Britain on Monday with a vow to defeat Tamil Tiger rebels, despite warnings the worsening conflict could lead to an aid cut. President Mahinda Rajapakse said the “challenge bestowed upon us by history is the defeat of terrorism.” “We […]
Sri Lanka rail blast death toll rises to 14: hospital
Feb 4, 2008 (AFP) – The number of people killed in a suicide bombing at Sri Lanka’s main railway station rose to 14 on Monday after two of the wounded died of their injuries, a hospital spokeswoman said.The twin blasts came despite heightened security across the island on Monday as Sri Lanka prepared to mark […]
Explosion in Sri Lanka capital Colombo; US condemns blasts
Feb 04, 2008 (LBO) – A bomb exploded in the Colombo suburb of Mount Lavinia Monday, the military said, as Sri Lanka marked 60 years of independence from British rule. Official independence day celebrations are due to start in a few hours amid tight security. Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said an explosive device had been […]
Sri Lanka train station suicide bombing toll climbs to 12
Feb 3, 2008 (AFP) – A suicide bomber attacked a train at Colombo’s main railway station Sunday, killing at least 12 and injuring 100 others on the eve of Sri Lanka’s independence day celebrations, officials said. The blast near a suburban train as it arrived at the Fort terminal came just hours after six people […]
Sobering Thoughts
Feb 03, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s independent English weeklies have slammed decades of mismanagement as a war-ravaged island wracked by inflation and corruption prepares to mark 60 years of freedom from British rule on February 04.“What we are now confronted with is a nation in peril, at the mercy of foreign aid donors dictating […]
Sunday Bombings
Feb 03, 2008 (LBO) – An explosion at the main railway station in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo has killed five people and injured more than 80 police said, hours after a grenade inside a zoo injured seven. The security media centre of the defence ministry said the explosion occurred at 2.05 pm. Military spokesman Brigadier […]
Railway Blast
Feb 03, 2008 (LBO) – A blast ripped through Sri Lanka’s main railway station in the capital Colombo, the military said, within hours of an explosion in the main zoo which injured seven. For the latest on this story go to www.lbo.lk front page or click here for updates . . The security media centre […]
Zoo Blast
Feb 03, 2008 (LBO) – An explosion inside a zoological garden in a southern suburb of the Sri Lanka capital Colombo has injured four, the military said, a day after a bus bombing killed 20 civilians in the central province of the island. Sri Lanka pulled out of a ceasefire with the Tamil Tigers, who […]
Export Benefits
Sri Lanka should ensure that growth in exports last year spread its benefits wider to reduce poverty and unemployment, a senior minister said as inflation hit a new high in the island. The government’s export policy has been remarkably successful in the past year with an across-the-board development of exports by 15 percent, minister of […]
Singapore to buy Westin Hotel Tokyo from Morgan Stanley
TOKYO, Feb 3, 2008 (AFP) – The Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) has agreed to buy the Westin Tokyo luxury hotel for 77 billion yen (723 million dollars) from Morgan Stanley, a newspaper said Sunday.Morgan Stanley purchased the Westin Tokyo for about 50 billion yen from Japanese brewer Sapporo Holdings Ltd in 2004. The […]
ECB expected to stand firm on rates, despite concerns
FRANKFURT, Feb 3, 2008 (AFP) – Faced with record inflation, the European Central Bank is expected to resist pressure for an interest rate cut when its governing council meets this week, in the wake of moves by the US Federal Reserve.They could come as soon as the second quarter of this year, some say.Despite a […]