Tag: lankabusinessonline
Sri Lanka toll climbs amid heavy shelling
COLOMBO, March 17, 2007 (AFP) – Government troops and Tiger rebels traded artillery attacks in northern Sri Lanka Saturday as the overnight toll rose to at least six soldiers and a rebel killed, officials said.More than 4,000 people have been killed in a new wave of fighting since December 2005 despite a truce that has […]
Sri Lanka seeks foreign help to bring Tigers back to peace talks
WASHINGTON, March 16, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama on Friday sought international help to prod Tamil Tiger rebels waging a battle for a separate homeland to return to the negotiating table. “The international community should once again seek to prevail upon the LTTE to return to the negotiations and to negotiate […]
Sri Lanka arrests estranged ruling party MP amid deepening rift
March 17, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan police arrested on Saturday a government legislator who had accused his own ruling party of striking a secret deal with Tamil Tiger rebels, an official said. . Lawmaker Sripathi Sooriarachchi was arrested and taken before a magistrate who remanded him to judicial custody for two weeks, a police […]
Sri Lankan troops kill suspected suicide bomber
COLOMBO, March 16, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops Friday shot dead a suspected Tamil Tiger rebel suicide bomber in the northern district of Jaffna, the defence ministry said.Army personnel had come across the suspected guerrilla wearing a jacket packed with explosives while manning a road block at Savalkattu junction around Friday afternoon. The suspect […]
Sri Lanka Freedom Party sacks rebel strongman from home turf
Mar 16, 2007 (LBO) – The ruling has party has sacked rebel parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera from the leadership of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) in his home district of Matara in southern Sri Lanka an official said. General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena told LBO that the decision taken yesterday was unanimous and Dulles Alahapperuma has […]
Marine Land
March 15 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has accepted a proposal to reclaim the sea and develop 450 acres of land alongside the Colombo Port by John Keells Holdings (JKH), a senior minister said. Updated/adds quotes “In the committee headed by the president we approved a very important and a flagship project to add 450 acres […]
Reforms to end Sri Lankan conflict ready next month: FM
WASHINGTON, March 14, 2007 (AFP) – Constitutional reforms aimed at ending three decades of ethnic bloodshed in Sri Lanka could be finalized as early as next next month, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama said here Wednesday. “We are expecting it to be by April, the political process to come up with definite proposals for a political […]
Bowled Over
March 14 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s power utility is on a drive to provide uninterrupted supply to the country, while facing googlies from depleting hydro reserves, technical glitches, and higher demand from world cup cricket viewers. Meanwhile, the utility’s engineers union has also been warning that additional thermal plants may be needed to bridge a […]
Sri Lanka says air raids kill eight Tamil Tigers
March 13, 2007 (AFP) – Eight suspected Tamil Tiger rebels were killed in strikes by Sri Lanka warplanes as part of a military offensive in the eastern Batticaloa district, the defence ministry said Tuesday. More than 4,000 people have been killed amid an upsurge in fighting since December 2005, despite the two sides agreeing to […]
Senior Sri Lankan defence source warns of long campaign
March 13, 2007 (AFP) – A top Sri Lankan defence source warned Tuesday the current military campaign against the Tiger rebels could take up to three years as warplanes bombed rebel positions for a second day.There have been no comments from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), which have been fighting for an independent […]
Six die in fresh Sri Lanka clashes
COLOMBO, March 12, 2007 (AFP) – Six people died in fresh clashes between government troops and Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka’s embattled north and east, the military said Monday as aid groups warned of a refugee crisis. Suspected Tiger rebels set off a roadside bomb that killed a government security guard in the north […]
Southern Harbour
March 12, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Monday signed up two Chinese firms to build the proposed Hambantota Port in Southern Sri Lanka, with financing expected from the Chinese government. SLPA hopes the project will provide 6,000 direct employment and 50,000 indirect employment opportunities in the area, with nearby Matara, Ratnapura and […]