Tag: Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka Tiger supremo wounded in air attack: report
Dec 16, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s elusive Tamil rebel supremo was wounded in an air strike last month by security forces shortly after his annual policy broadcast, a privately-run newspaper here reported Sunday.The Nation newspaper said Velupillai Prabhakaran, leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), was wounded in an underground bunker in […]
‘s inflation rockets to 24.1-pct amidst record money printing
Dec 15, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s country-wide inflation hit a record 24.1 percent in October 2007, following one of the worst bouts of money printing seen since the island’s central bank was created five decades ago. The Sri Lanka Consumer Price Index (SLCPI) devised a decade ago to reflect the modern spending patterns of […]
Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger arms dealer jailed in U.S.
Dec 15, 2007 (LBO) – A United States federal court has jailed an Indonesian arms dealer who sought weapons for Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers, U.S. media reports said Saturday. Haniffa Bin Osmana, described as a representative for the Tamil Tigers was convicted of arms dealing in federal court in Baltimore. He had wanted grenade launchers […]
Sri Lanka govt minister defects to opposition ahead of crucial vote
Dec 14, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s national heritage minister, Anura Bandaranaike, crossed over to the opposition benches in parliament a few minutes ago, just an hour ahead of a crucial budget vote in the house. Updated/corrected portfolio Bandaranaike’s defection weakens the ruling coalition’s already wafer thin majority in parliament. Bandaranaike is the brother of […]
Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger suspects on trial in Australia
Dec 14, 2007 (LBO) – Three Australians of Sri Lankan Tamil origin are to stand trial in Australia’s Supreme Court for engaging in terrorism related offences there, Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry said. On Friday afternoon, a Magistrates Court in Melbourne committed the three, Aruran Vinayagamoorthy, Sivarajah Yathavan and Arumugam Rajeevan, to stand trial in the […]
Sri Lanka reserves up on government borrowings
Dec 14, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s official foreign reserves had shot up to 3,226 million dollars in October from following a 500 million dollar sovereign bond issue, allowing the country to record a 475 million dollar surplus for the year, the Central Bank said. In January foreign reserves were 2,526 million US dollars. Total […]
Sri Lanka October trade gap widens, 10-month deficit still down
Dec 14, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s trade deficit for the first ten months of 2007 narrowed 3.7 percent to 2,846 million US dollars period, though the gap in October widened, the Central Bank said Friday. Total export earnings during January-October 2007 totalled 6,286 million dollars, following a growth of 13.1 per cent from the […]
Sri Lanka govt wins crucial budget vote
Dec 14, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government Friday won a crucial vote in parliament on its 2008 budget, despite a last minute crossover of a cabinet minister, removing uncertainty that had plagued the country for weeks. The turning point was the abstention of the 38 member Marxist-nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) who voted against […]
Sri Lanka gets UN human rights visitor
December 13, 2007 (LBO) – A United Nations human right representative concerned with refugees is to arrive in Sri Lanka today on a week long visit at the invitation of the government, the UN has announced. Walter Kalin, representative of the UN Secretary General on the human rights of internally displaced people, will hold talks […]
Malaysian Tamils with alleged Sri Lanka Tiger links arrested
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13, 2007 (AFP) – Five leaders of Malaysian Indian activist group Hindraf were arrested Thursday under controversial security laws that allow for detention without trial, a spokesman said.Hindraf enraged the government last month by mounting a mass rally alleging discrimination against minority ethnic Indians in Malaysia, which is dominated by Muslim Malays. […]
Sri Lanka inflation index controversy takes new turn
Dec 12, 2007 (LBO) – A controversial new inflation index that claims to show lower inflation in Sri Lanka has completely dropped alcohol and tobacco from its market basket, an official statement has revealed. An official statement from the Central Bank’s statistics department said the existing Colombo Consumer Price Index (CCPI) does not accurately represent […]
Sri Lanka coalition partner returns to opposition – Updated
Dec 12, 2007 (LBO) – Members of a key Sri Lankan minority party crossed over to the opposition Wednesday increasing uncertainty over the fate of the ruling coalition ahead of a crucial budget vote. The other members of the SLMC who crossed over were SLMC General Secretary Hassan Ali, Basheer Sagudawood, and Faisal Kassim, who […]