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Troops kill six Tiger rebels in east Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Dec 14, 2006 (AFP) – Security forces shot dead at least six Tamil Tiger rebels during a confrontation in Sri Lanka’s restive eastern province, officials said Thursday. The troops and a group of fighters from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) clashed near Poonani on Wednesday night and security forces recovered the bodies […]
Energy Link
December 14, 2006 (LBO) – India and Sri Lanka are due to ink a million dollar agreement as early as next year to set up a mega transmission power line between both nations, an official said Thursday. Linked between India’s city of Madurai and Sri Lanka’s Anuradhapura, the project aims to supply up to 1000 […]
South Asia, Sri Lanka, headed for sharper fall if policy is not tightened in time: World Bank
December 14 – (LBO) The South Asian region, including Sri Lanka, which experienced robust growth in 2006, may face a sharper and disruptive slowdown, unless fiscal and monetary policy is tightened in time, a new World Bank report has warned. In 2006, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in South Asia is estimated to have grown by […]
Credit Forecast
December 13 (LBO) – Slow global economic growth, lower reserve build up and politics will be in the spotlight for sovereign credit assessments in emerging Asia, including Sri Lanka, next year, rating agency Fitch said Wednesday. “For the region, Fitch forecasts a reserve build of USD300 billion next year, which would be slightly lower than […]
Seasonal Cheer
Dec 13 (LBO) – Sri Lankan workers in Board of Investment approved companies within and outside industrial zones are to get a wage hike with effect from January 01 next year. Unions have argued that some companies violate internationally accepted wage rates, overtime hours, unfair dismissal of workers and do not allow trade unions to […]
Asian cities face environmental crises: study
MANILA, Dec 13, 2006 (AFP) – Asia’s urban population is expected to grow by 70 percent to more than 2.6 billion over the next 25 years, placing severe strain on services, according to a book jointly published by the Asian Development Bank. “Development in Asia is tied to the growth of sustainable cities,” he added. […]
Sri Lanka Cricket sues insurance firm to recover 11.9m dollars
COLOMBO, Dec 13, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s cricket governing body is sueing a private insurance company in a bid to recover nearly 12 million dollars lost when a home series was abandoned, officials said Wednesday. “We have filed action as the company refused to pay the claim giving various excuses,” a Sri Lanka Cricket […]
Sri Lanka vows to flush out Tigers, civilians flee fighting
COLOMBO, Dec 13, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s army chief vowed to drive out Tiger guerrillas from the island’s restive east as dozens of civilians fled their shelters Wednesday amid a lull in shelling. The commander of the army, Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka, said the military had captured two guerrilla defence lines inside their Vakarai […]
Trade unions force Sri Lanka to scrap newer consumer inflation index
December 13, (LBO) – A newer price index covering a larger geographical area, which represented a broader socio-economic category is being scrapped because trade unions opposed it’s use to link wages, Sri Lanka’s statistics office said. This year the CCPI was spiking higher than the SLCPI with October 12-month point-to-point registering 17.2 percent in the […]
ADB pumps in additional US$ 60 mn for water project due to cost overruns
December 13, 2006 (LBO) – A sudden rise in construction prices, government duties and taxes, has forced the Asian Development Bank to stump up an extra 60 million dollars to improve water and sanitation conditions in conflict and tsunami hit regions, the bank said Wednesday. Mooted under the Secondary Towns and Rural Community based Water […]
’s exports dip by over 11% in Oct on fall in apparel, tea and industrial goods
December 13 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s exports dipped by over 11 percent in October, the country’s Central Bank said Wednesday, on the back of a fall in exports of tea, textiles and apparel and industrial goods. Exports stood at 537.3 million dollars in October, an 11.5 percent drop on a high base of 607 million […]
‘s economy grows 7.4 percent in the third quarter
December 13, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s economy grew 7.4 percent in the third quarter of this year, the island’s Census and Statistics Department said Wednesday, but an escalation in hostilities could dampen future economic progress. The department, which is the main agency that prepares the country’s national accounts, said growth during the third quarter […]