Tag: Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka threatens to expel diplomats
April 18, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka warned Wednesday it may expel foreign diplomats who meddle in the island’s internal affairs and said at least one unnamed envoy was being investigated. The threat comes amid growing international criticism of Sri Lanka’s human rights record and Colombo’s resistance to suggestions that United Nations monitors should be […]
Sri Lanka editor faces death threat
COLOMBO, April 18, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan authorities have issued a death threat against a newspaper editor for reporting on military excesses and human rights abuses, journalists and a media rights group said Wednesday. The editor of Colombo’s Daily Mirror, Champika Liyanaarachchi, said defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse, the younger brother of President Mahinda Rajapakse, […]
New Sri Lanka investment chief assures faster approvals, encourages local investors
April 18, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s new investment promotion chief said Wednesday he wants to speed up approvals but also be more selective in targeting investors and eliminate attitudes that favour foreigners. Much land earmarked for prospective investors in investment zones, or expansion of existing projects, had not been used while the BOI told […]
Price Pressure
April 18, 2007 (LBO) – The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) which lost 1.5 billion rupees in 2006 is seeking a price hike to ward off an 800 million rupee loss by April, but the government is only permitting half the increase sought by the utility. Funds were also needed lay a new pipeline from Muthurajawela […]
’s east
COLOMBO, April 17, 2007 (AFP) – Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels gunned down four people in Sri Lanka’s north and eastern regions as violence continued during traditional New Year celebrations, the military said Tuesday.The conflict has claimed more than 60,000 lives since 1972.Two men were shot dead early Tuesday in Batticaloa district, 300 kilometres (190 miles) […]
Sri Lanka spends 54% percent of tax revenue on government jobs; unemployment down to 6.5%
April 17, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has spent 54 cents out of every tax rupee collected last year on government jobs and pensions, while plans are afoot to hire 20,000 more people into the already bloated public sector. Official data has revealed that last year the government spent 233 billion rupees on government salaries, […]
Conflicts doubled global displacement in 2006, report says
GENEVA, April 16, 2007 (AFP) – The number of people displaced within their own countries by conflicts doubled last year, pushing the global total to 24.5 million, an international monitoring centre said Monday. Apart from hundreds of thousands of people in Lebanon, other large-scale returns were reported during 2006 in South Sudan (800,000), the Democratic […]
Pricey Burn
April 16, 2007 (LBO) – A litre of diesel may be raised by five rupees tomorrow in the face of rising global oil prices, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation Chairman Ashantha de Mel said. “Though increases in fuel prices raised the price level, its overall impact on the future inflation will be to lower the inflation, since […]
Sri Lanka peace process, ceasefire in tatters
by Stefan Smith COLOMBO, April 15, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s peace process is in tatters with both the government and Tamil Tigers once again pushing for a military solution, according to diplomats close to efforts to end the conflict. “This is not something that can be tackled only through military means,” Boteju said.“There must […]
Sri Lanka peace process on ice as international community wait for battle fatigue
COLOMBO, April 15, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s peace process is in tatters with both the government and Tamil Tigers once again pushing for a military solution, according to diplomats close to efforts to end the conflict. International sponsors of the peace process are also resigned to Asia’s longest-running civil war dragging on for years […]
Sri Lanka Tamil Tiger breakaway group member shot dead
April 15, 2007 (AFP) – Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels shot dead a member of a breakaway group in eastern Sri Lanka as the country marked the start of the traditional New Year, the defence ministry said Sunday.The victim, identified as a member of a Tamil faction known as the “Karuna Group” believed allied with government […]
Sri Lanka state firm bank debt has doubled in a year: Central Bank
April 15, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state corporation debt to the banking system has doubled in 2006, with energy firms accounting for most of it, the Central Bank said in its annual report. The bank called on the government to consider promoting Public- Private Partnerships as a viable alternative financing mechanism for developing much-needed […]