Sri Lankan fighting kills 12

Oct 12, 2007 (AFP) – At least 11 Tamil Tiger rebels and a government soldier were killed in clashes across Sri Lanka’s embattled northern region, the defence ministry said Friday.Six members of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the soldier died in the Wanni region while four more guerrillas were killed further north […]

Sri Lanka country-wide inflation rockets to 21%

Oct 12, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s country-wide inflation has rocketed to 21 percent in July 2007 even as authorities derided a more widely watched price index that measures prices in the capital Colombo as being outdated. In July the Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) only showed a 17.6 percent increase over the previous 12-months […]

Port Bids II

Oct 11, 2007 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government Thursday opened four financial bids by private sector consortia to build a new container terminal in the new Colombo south port project, officials said. No official word of the bids was available but a consortium including PSA Corp and an independent bid by Hutchison Port Holdings […]

”’ pancake mix

Oct 11, 2007 (LBO) – The Hilton hotel in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo will muster up to 40 chefs to make what’s considered a record-breaking two-tonne ‘kottu roti’ pancake mix to mark its 21st anniversary. Hilton also plans to partner with the school for the deaf and blind to raise funds for the physically […]

Fed money printing drives platinum to record high, gold hits 27-year peak

LONDON, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) – The price of platinum forged a record high on Thursday as the white metal was hit by tight global supplies, while gold soared to the best level since 1980 on the back of the weak US dollar, analysts said. Platinum surged as high as 1,408.50 dollars an ounce on […]

” Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) – Stunned local media slammed “amateurish” Sri Lanka Thursday after they slumped to their first home series defeat to England since joining cricket’s elite in 1982.Sri Lanka, who became a Test nation in 1982, are due to travel to Australia for two Test matches starting on November 8.Paul Collingwood’s tourists […]

England register historic series win against Sri Lanka

Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) – Alastair Cook hit a masterly 80 as England thrashed Sri Lanka by five wickets in the fourth one-day international here Wednesday to clinch their first series win in the subcontinent for 20 years. The 22-year-old left-hander shared a 110-run stand for the third wicket with Kevin Pietersen (63 not out) […]

”

Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) – A former Sri Lankan foreign minister on Thursday accused the government of failing to investigate extra-judicial killings and using “terrorism” to fight Tamil Tigers rebels.Government lawmaker Mangala Samaraweera said an ongoing visit to the island by the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, underlined the international focus on […]

Sri Lankan minority party members rejoin Cabinet

Oct 11, 2007 (LBO) –Members of a Sri Lankan political party, Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC), whose support was considered important to keep the ruling coalition in power, rejoined the cabinet Thursday. CWC leader Arumugam Thondaman was sworn back in to his previous portfolio as Minister of Youth Empowerment and Socioeconomic Development by President Mahinda Rajapakse […]

Oil Hunt

Oct 11, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Petroleum Ministry said Thursday that 42 companies including seven oil majors attended a series of road shows held to promote exploration off the island’s west coast. Petroleum minister A.H.M. Fowzie said in a statement that three road shows were held in London, Houston and Kuala Lumpur in September […]

Sri Lanka gross borrowings to rise by Rs85bn next year

Oct 10, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will have to borrow 740 billion rupees in 2008, to bridge the budget deficit and roll-over existing debt in 2008, a bill put before lawmakers this week showed. Last year the government got parliamentary nod to raise 655 billion rupees but lack of cheap concessional debt has pushed […]

Sri Lanka opposition says Fitch Ratings wrong, insists on defaulting bond

Oct 10, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s main opposition United National Party (UNP) said an assessment by a rating agency that a future administration run by the party would repay a sovereign bond that is now being marketed is wrong and insisted that it would default. The UNP has said the attempt to raise around […]

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