Category: Economy

Casualties were suffered on both sides in the first major clash since a split in the guerrilla group, the pro-Tiger Tamilnet.com website said.rn rn Forces of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were advancing on positions held by those loyal to the renegade regional commander V. Muralitharan, and there were casualties on both sides, […]

Guerrilla factions have exchanged heavy gunfire in north-eastern Sri Lanka, in the first major clash since an unprecedented split in the Tamil Tiger movement, military officials said.rnrnFighters of the main Tamil Tiger movement and cadres controlled by a renegade regional commander fired mortars and small arms fire for nearly two hours across the Verugal river, […]

President Chandrika Kumaratungas United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Party is still struggling to secure a Parliamentary majority but they are already looking at forming a Constituent Assembly within the next two months – to tinker with the Constitution. ldblquote A date has not been set aside to form a Constituent Assembly but it should be […]

The election of nine Buddhist monks in Sri Lankas elections has sent parliamentary officials scrambling to make suitable seating and dining arrangements for the “honourable venerable.”rnThe saffron-robed monks elected from an all-clergy list put forward by the radical National Heritage Party also known as the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) require special chairs and a vegetarian […]

Transparency International urged for accountability past the polls, with less than ten of the over 5600 candidates that contested, discharging statutory duties to disclose assets and liabilities before the election. The corruption watchdog rapped local politicians for the lack of commitment to fight corruption in the electoral process, including abuse of state resources.rn rnldblquote TISL […]

The Joint Business Forum on Wednesday, while expressing support for the newly elected Freedom Alliance, rolled out what it saw as a list of priorities for the new government. The top business grouping identified the peace process, the economy, bribery and corruption and infrastructure development as priority areas for the next UPFA government.rn rnIt also […]

The Cabinet of Ministers in the President Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumaranatunges new government is due to be finalised by Wednesday, say top JVP sources.Officials say the new Cabinet, the governments core decision making body could field upto 35 members, with the Marxist JVP taking four seats.rn rnJVP sources added that they would not push for greater […]

Sri Lankas new prime minister, Mahinda Rajapakse, is a part-time film star but his new role requires a major balancing act to keep a minority government from collapsing in a hung parliament.rnHis swearing in ceremony Tuesday saw him performing his first “official act” as he smiled for the cameras after being given the post despite […]

Former opposition leader and Sri Lanka Freedom Party stalwart from the South, 59-year-old Mahinda Rajapaksa took oaths as the new Prime Minister in President Chandrika Bandaranayake Kumaranatunge government at 11.26 on Tuesday morning. Prime Minister Rajapaksa, the seventeenth Prime Minister to be appointed since independence in 1948, earned the highest preference votes in the Hambantota […]

Sri Lanka is lined up for a ’80 5.5 mn assistance package from the European Commission (EC) to resettle and rehabilitate over 270,000 displaced people.The funds will help nearly 250,000 displaced people rebuild their livelihoods and improve living conditions of 27,000 internally displaced persons in welfare centres, said a press release from the EU office […]

The absence of a coherent economic policy, ranging from fiscal discipline, economic reforms, together with how fast new government will woo foreign donors to resume stalled aid, still remain a relatively grey area.rn rnldblquote The key thing is to see who will be the actual public face behind key ministries and state institutions, dblquote observes, […]

The absence of a coherent economic policy, ranging from fiscal discipline, economic reforms, together with how fast new government will woo foreign donors to resume stalled aid, still remain a relatively grey area.rn rnldblquote The key thing is to see who will be the actual public face behind key ministries and state institutions, dblquote observes, […]