Sri Lanka three month t-bill rates ease amidst excess liquidity

May 09, 2007 (LBO) – The Sri Lanka Treasury bill auction rates eased with the key three month weighed average slipping 4 basis points to 16.52 percent at Wednesday’s auction. The six month weighted average yield slipped 3 basis points to 16.33 percent while the one year fell 4 basis points to 16.15. Meanwhile the […]

Sri Lanka Central Bank says coins a plenty

May 8, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank says there is no ‘shortage’ of coins in the country, and a campaign to bring back coins into circulation has been mis-understood by the public. Authorities started a campaign to persuade children to break their piggy banks and exchange coins for notes and a 20 percent […]

Sri Lanka shrugs off British aid freeze

May 7, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka Monday shrugged off Britain’s suspension of debt relief to the island, saying the amount of money was “too insignificant” to worry about. Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama declined to discuss the move to stop nearly three million dollars in aid, but said it was “wrong” for London to hold […]

Sri Lanka troops kill suspected Tiger suicide bomber

May 8, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops shot dead a suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber in the north of the island on Tuesday as ground battles raged elsewhere in the region, a military official said.Security forces killed the man who was riding a motorcycle in Vavuniya district. An official, speaking from the area by […]

Sri Lanka anti-inflation fight mired in excess liquidity

May 8, 2007 (LBO) Sri Lanka’s fight against inflation has received a set-back with monetary authorities unable to sterilize excess liquidity in the banking system which is now reaching towards one percent of gross domestic product.Excess liquidity in the banking system reached 22 billion rupees, reminiscent of the ‘bad old days’ of 2004 and 2006 […]

US raises concern at Sri Lanka rights abuses

May 8, 2007 (AFP) – The United States is to raise concerns about human rights in Sri Lanka during a state visit that follows international concern over extra-judicial killings, diplomats said Tuesday.US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher, who was due to arrive later Tuesday, will hold talks with President Mahinda Rajapakse, addressing the island’s […]

‘s northeast

May 6, 2007 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels and government forces were locked in combat in Sri Lanka’s northeast Sunday with both sides claiming heavy losses against each other. A landmine detonated by Tamil Tigers killed three police commandos in eastern Sri Lanka on Sunday, the defence ministry said. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam […]

Sri Lanka war planes hit Tigers as heavy fighting rages

May 7, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan war planes Monday bombed suspected Tamil Tiger positions in the island’s north where heavy ground battles were raging, a military spokesman said.Supersonic jets hit positions near Iranamadu where the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) maintain a clandestine airfield, spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said. He said a Tiger […]

Sri Lanka to re-look at truce with Tamil Tigers

May 7, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka was ready to negotiate a fresh ceasefire with Tamil Tiger rebels as the Norwegian-brokered truce had virtually collapsed, a government minister said Monday. Defence ministry spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said the ceasefire arranged and put in place by Norway from February 2002 had been violated more than 10,000 times […]

Sri Lanka accuses UN of trying to shield Tamil Tigers

May 07, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Monday accused a United Nations agency of trying to shield what it called the ‘criminal acts’ of the Tamil Tigers by not reporting two of its staffers had been abducted by the guerrillas. Minister of Foreign Affairs Rohitha Bogollagama said in a statement the government was concerned by […]

10 killed in fresh Sri Lanka violence

COLOMBO, May 6, 2007 (AFP) – A landmine detonated by Tamil Tigers killed three police commandos in eastern Sri Lanka on Sunday while seven suspected rebels died elsewhere in the embattled region, the defence ministry said.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) attack blew up a police Special Task Force vehicle in Batticaloa district killing […]

Sri Lanka floods leave tens of thousands homeless

May 6, 2007 (AFP) – More than 125,000 people have been driven out of their homes and 16 killed following flash floods in the Sri Lankan capital and neighbouring areas, officials said Sunday. The Disaster Management Centre said at least 50,000 residents of Colombo were affected by heavy rains on Thursday and Friday. More than […]

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