Affordable Rides

October 25, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Wednesday cut retail fuel prices, to ease living costs and inflationary pressures, though the treasury still owes the state petroleum giant over 13 billion rupees. With effective midnight, petrol at the pump will be priced 5.00 rupees less at 92.00 rupees, and diesel goes down 2.00 rupees to […]

Sri Lanka warring parties head for Swiss peace talks

Oct 24, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government and rebel negotiators headed to Switzerland Tuesday for talks aimed at saving a troubled ceasefire after 10 months of fighting killed more than 3,000 people, officials said.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the government are under heavy diplomatic pressure to lift an eight-month impasse in […]

Sri Lanka rivals secure deal to push for peace

Oct 23, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s ruling party and the opposition agreed Monday to work together towards a political settlement to the island’s bloody ethnic fighting which has claimed more than 60,000 lives.The Tigers warned at the weekend they would unleash their bloody campaign island-wide if violence against Tamil areas continued, while the government […]

Sporadic fire in Sri Lanka on run up to peace talks

Oct 22(AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels set off a Claymore mine and fired on troops in northern Sri Lanka Sunday, wounding three people, the defence ministry said amid moves to arrange peace talks next weekend.Four previous peace attempts ended in failure.The powerful blast went off in the Jaffna peninsula while troops were on a cordon-and-search […]

Peace brokers face tough battle in clearing way for Sri Lanka peace talks

Oct 22 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s warring parties were bracing for talks aimed at saving a tattered truce, but arranging next weekend’s parley is becoming a logistical “minefield” that could blow up before the meeting begins. Peace broker Norway’s breakthrough last week, when it coaxed the rebel Tamil Tigers to talks, appears to have been […]

Sri Lanka slaps limits on non-essential imports to curb credit growth

October 20, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has imposed fresh restrictions to limit imports of 44 non-essential items like electrical goods, chocolates, palm oil and cosmetics, in a bid to curb excessive credit growth. “A 50 percent margin deposit on the invoiced value of the imports should be placed by the importers at the time […]

Security stepped up after bombing of Sri Lankan port

GALLE, Sri Lanka, Oct 19, 2006 (AFP) – Police and troops stepped up security in Sri Lanka’s port city of Galle Thursday, one day after a bold suicide attack that killed at least two people, a police official said. Additional troop reinforcements were poured into the area while military patrols were also stepped up, even […]

’s economic growth

October 19, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s economy is expanding at a blistering pace led by the telecommunications sector, but an escalation in violence could erase some of the gains, the Asian Development Bank said. Less red tape, more deregulation would boost South Asia growth: ADBMANILA, Oct 19, 2006 (AFP) – South Asia has the […]

Sri Lanka raises US$ 340 mn in foreign investments: BOI

October 18, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has managed to attract just over 340 million dollars in foreign investments for the eight months to July, the Board of Investment said Wednesday on account of telecom and clothing related projects. Over 60 percent of the investments have so far come from telecommunications, software developments and business […]

Malaysia leads investment flows into Sri Lanka for second year, Asia in investment boom

Oct 18 (LBO) – Malaysia will lead foreign investment into Sri Lanka for the second year running led by telecoms and infrastructure, as developing countries emerge as top investors in the region. The third world has emerged as significant global investors, the United Nations Conference of Trade and Development, said in its latest investment report, […]

Sri Lanka slaps curfew on port town after suicide attack

COLOMBO, Oct 18, 2006 (AFP) – Authorities imposed an indefinite curfew on Sri Lanka’s port town of Galle Wednesday after Tiger rebels launched a suicide bombing against a key naval base there, Media Minister Anura Yapa told AFP. Police were ordering people off the streets and traffic was being diverted, the minister said, adding that […]

Oct 18, 2006 (AFP) – A seaborne attack by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels on the Sri Lankan port town of Galle on Wednesday has highlighted the guerrillas’ lethal “Sea Tiger” arm, whose suicide wing claims to have inspired Al-Qaeda.Suspected rebel suicide bombers using at least five boats infiltrated Galle’s harbour and attacked a key naval […]

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