Tag: Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka retaliates after Tiger suicide strike
COLOMBO, Oct 25, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan war planes carried out attacks against Tamil Tiger rebels for a second straight day Thursday after the guerrillas attacked a military base, officials said.There was no immediate reaction from the Tiger rebels to the latest retaliatory air strikes.Air attacks were launched Thursday morning in the district of […]
Tamil Tigers ruin Sri Lanka military plans: observers
COLOMBO, Oct 25, 2007 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels have dealt a serious blow to Sri Lanka’s intelligence gathering with a devastating suicide attack that destroyed virtually its entire fleet of spy planes, observers said Thursday.Tiger guerrillas, who were widely regarded as being on the defensive, turned the tables Monday with a suicide strike that […]
Sri Lanka says war plan going ahead despite air force debacle
Oct 24, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s top defence official vowed Wednesday to push ahead with operations against the Tamil Tiger rebels, who launched a devastating attack on a key air force base earlier this week.Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse told the government’s main website that the deadly raid by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam […]
The bizarre battle between IMF, well-meaning charities like Oxfam and poverty
WASHINGTON, Oct 24, 2007 (LBO) – At this year’s annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund and the largest lender to poor countries, the World Bank, there were no high profile protests by charities and lobby groups. Deficit-happy charities would have plenty of work to do then, helping out a new set of freshly created […]
Sri Lanka rating agency warns of real estate market downturn
Oct 23, 2007 (LBO) – Lanka Rating Agency has warned of a possible slump in the property market which has been growing rapidly in recent years and shows signs of a classic ‘bubble’. LRA said that real estate markets are vulnerable to “waves of optimism and herd behaviour that result in bubbles.” It said in […]
Sri Lanka military reshuffle after airbase attack
Oct 23, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military made key changes in its command on Tuesday, a day after the Tamil Tigers infiltrated an air base and destroyed several aircraft, officials said.President Mahinda Rajapakse appointed Major General Sanath Karunaratne Overall Operations Commander in the north-central region of the Anuradhapura area, where Tamil Tiger rebels devastated […]
Talent show may have helped Sri Lanka suicide attack
COLOMBO, Oct 23, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan defence officials said Tuesday that a major Tamil Tiger suicide attack against a key military base may have been helped by security lapses during the screening of a popular TV talent contest. A rebel “Black Tiger” suicide squad of 21 on Monday infiltrated the Anuradhapura army and […]
Sri Lanka airforce says two helicopter gunships damaged in Tiger air, ground assault
Oct 22, 2007 (LBO) – Tamil Tiger rebels launched a pre-dawn air and ground assault on a Sri Lankan air force base on Monday, damaging at least two helicopter gunships, military officials and news agency reports said.An air force spokesman said two Mi-24 helicopter gunships were damaged in the Tiger attack. At least eight air […]
Sri Lanka Tiger air, land attack kills five
Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) – Five Sri Lankan airmen were killed as Tamil Tiger rebels launched an unprecedented air and land attack on a northern military base, officials and a pro-rebel website said on Monday.A 2002 truce brokered by Norway began to unravel in December 2005 and since then, thousands of people have killed and […]
Sri Lanka Tigers damage two helicopter gunships in assault
Oct 22, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger rebels launched an air and ground assault under cover of darkness on an air force base in the north central Anurahapura region, damaging two helicopter gunships and wounding at least eight troops in the early hours of Monday. The Tigers destroyed or damaged 26 commercial and […]
Sri Lanka rebels say suicide unit used in attack
Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels said Monday they had used members of an elite suicide squad to stage their first-ever coordinated ground and air assault against a key military base.Military sources said the bigger loss for the security forces apart from the fatalities was the destruction of a Beechcraft aircraft […]
Sri Lanka lacks evidence based economic debate: WB economist
WASHINGTON, Oct 22, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka needs debate on economic policy centered on real evidence or research instead of extreme posturing based on ideology if the island is to progress, a top development economist said. However up to July 2007 Sri Lanka spent four percent less on oil imports compared to the same […]