Tag: Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka bus blast kills 15: Police
Dec 5, 2007 (AFP) – At least 15 passengers were killed and 38 wounded Wednesday in a roadside bomb attack on a crowded bus carrying civilians in Sri Lanka’s north-central region, police said. Security forces rushed to the area following the attack carried out by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels under the cover of darkness, a […]
Sri Lanka economic shocks are home grown: IMF
Dec 04, 2007 (LBO) – Recent weaknesses in Sri Lanka’s economy have come from internal policies, and a plan to stop market pricing Diesel and Kerosene in 2008 may destabilize the economy further, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned. “Fiscal consolidation, if delivered without delay, would provide scope for private sector-led growth, reduce debt […]
Sri Lanka urges private sector to spread benefits of export success
Dec 04, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government is trying to better spread the benefits of economic growth and reduce income disparities which have widened in recent years, a senior minister said. The government wants to help the private sector to improve its links with farmers in outlying rural communities, Minister of Export Development and […]
Sri Lanka new price index shows 19.3-pct inflation
Dec 04, 2007 (LBO) – A new index to measure inflation in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo, showed that prices had risen by 19.3 percent in the past 12 months, a tad lower than the 19.6 percent measured by the existing index. The government’s statistics office which computes price indices says the Colombo Consumer Price Index […]
Activists denounce mass arrests of Tamils in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Dec 4, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan rights groups Tuesday slammed the government arrest of nearly 2,200 minority ethnic Tamils after Tamil Tiger rebels were held responsible for two bomb attacks last week.The Free Media Movement, a press rights group, and the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), a private think-tank, said they were considering […]
Sri Lanka power utility needs reform, price revisions says IMF
Dec 03, 2007 (LBO) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has called for further reforms of Sri Lanka’s state electricity utility which looks set to make a 20 billion rupee loss this year. Many of the losses in the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) were financed by loans from state banks posing a threat to the […]
Zimbabwe inflation could be halted with new monetary regime: Steve Hanke
Dec 02, 2007 (LBO) – Zimbabwe’s rocketing prices which are starting to take almost the same path as the 1920’s German hyperinflation, could be halted by scrapping its central bank, a top economist has said. Since 1997 inflation has surged 1,030,217 percent and economic activity in the country measured by gross domestic product per capita […]
‘s Jaffna peninsula an inside look from outside
JAFFNA, Sri Lanka, Dec 2, 2007 (AFP) – The air force pilot takes no chances landing on the Jaffna peninsula, the northern tip of Sri Lanka held by the government but cut off from the south by Tamil Tiger rebel territory. . Descending fast from over the Indian Ocean, the Russian-made transport plane banks hard, […]
Second Try
Dec 02, 2007 – Sri Lanka’s plans to double its refinery capacity, which were dealt a severe blow after politicians fixed fuel prices last August, would take off with Iranian help in 2008, officials said. . The government of Iran would first fund and conduct a feasibility study and give a loan with a ten […]
Sri Lanka to release index showing lower inflation
Dec 01, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is about to release an inflation index that shows a lower level inflation a top official said, making the island the latest country to change indices in the face of runaway inflation from money printing. Rising inflation has prompted calls for legislated inflation targeting and full independence for […]
Sri Lankan clashes kill 27
Dec 1, 2007 (AFP) – At least 27 people were killed in fresh fighting in Sri Lanka’s embattled northeast, the military said on Saturday, marking the latest violence in the long-running ethnic conflict.At least 11 Tamil Tiger rebels were killed and 49 injured in heavy clashes across northern defence lines in Mannar early on Saturday, […]
Ill Wind
Dec 01, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s power engineers are protesting a controversial deal with Enercon, an Indian energy firm, alleging a massive procurement scandal after authorities approved the project when it was shot down by an evaluation committee. The Ceylon Electricity Board Engineers Union (CEBEU) said the government was about to award a letter […]