Tag: Sri Lanka
‘s embattled regions
July 21, 2007 (AFP) – Eleven people were killed and three wounded in battles between security forces and Tamil Tiger rebels across Sri Lanka’s north and eastern regions, the defence ministry said on Saturday.Suspected rebels clashed with police commandos in the eastern town of Ampara Saturday, with troops killing six rebels, the ministry said, adding […]
‘s expensive social safety net at crossroads
July 20, 2007 (LBO) – Tiny homesteads, tea gardens on hillocks nestled above rain fed paddyfields lining the roads, are typical of the rural village of Omantha, where its poor inhabitants depend on agriculture for a living. . The village, in the Kalutara district, is just 50 kilometers of Sri Lanka’s commercial capital Colombo and […]
Fresh Sri Lanka fighting kills 12
July 20, 2007 (AFP) – Government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels were locked in heavy combat in northwest Sri Lanka on Friday, leaving at least 12 people killed on both sides, the defence ministry said.The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) launched the pre-dawn attack on army defences in Mannar district, the ministry said […]
Sri Lanka, India reach deal on mutual professional recognition
July 20 (LBO) – Sri Lanka and India has recognized each other’s professional standards, organizations senior official negotiating a wide-ranging trade and services agreement with India said. “We have almost finalized the text of the comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA),” Manel de Silva, Director-General of Commerce of the Commerce Department, told LBO in an interview. […]
Sri Lanka given Japanese aid to clear mines
July 20, 2007 (AFP) – Japan said Friday it was giving 3.2 million dollars to clear land mines in Sri Lanka even as government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels stepped up attacks against each other. The money will go to five international mine clearing charities and help civilians to go back to their homes in […]
Sri Lanka president says Tigers must choose war or peace
July 19, 2007 (AFP) – The Tamil Tigers must decide between war and peace, Sri Lanka’s president said Thursday as the government marked the capture of the rebels’ final bastion. Mahinda Rajapakse said he was leaving the door open for resuming negotiations with the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which collapsed in October […]
Sri Lanka promises eastern economic revival
July 19, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse Thursday promised to wage an economic war to revive eastern areas of the country recently re-taken from the Tamil Tigers. “Economic freedom is as important as freeing territory,” the President said as the government held a televised ceremony to mark the fall of the last […]
Sri Lanka seeks to boost gem trade with consulate in Madagascar
July 19, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to establish a consulate in Madagascar mainly to encourage trade in gems and improve economic ties with the big island nation off the east coast of Africa. Out of the 52 countries in the African continent, Sri Lanka has resident missions in only Egypt, South Africa and […]
Top civil servant shot dead in Sri Lanka
July 17, 2007 (AFP) – Unidentified gunmen shot dead a top civil servant in north-eastern Sri Lanka Monday as the government moved to celebrate the dismantling of a key Tamil rebel base in the region, officials said. Gunmen killed Harry Abeyweera, the top civil administrator in the district of Trincomalee, as he worked at his […]
‘ bail may be appealed by Australia
MELBOURNE, July 17, 2007 (AFP) – Australia indicated on Tuesday that it may appeal a court ruling which granted bail to two men charged with supplying funds to Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels. It follows the government’s decision on Monday to revoke the visa of an Indian doctor charged in connection with the British car […]
Sri Lanka seeks foreign aid for captured province
July 16, 2007 (AFP) – The Sri Lankan government said Monday it would seek foreign aid to rebuild a key province recently wrested from the Tamil Tiger rebels after months of fighting.The rebels have admitted losing control of Thoppigala, formerly a key stronghold, but said they would revert to guerrilla tactics there. Donors would be […]
Monthlies
July 16, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will adjust fuel prices monthly on a transparent formula to cut losses in petroleum utilities, an official said, which is expected to reduce exchange rate pressure and avoid the build-up of macro-economic imbalances. Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) Chairman Ashantha de Mel says a cabinet sub-committee on energy had […]