The Core Group Meeting of the Business for Peace Initiative (BPI) of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL), chaired by Samantha Abeywickrama, Secretary General, FCCISL, which was held recently in Colombo, devoted its entire session to discuss the intricate issues in expanding the regional economic development and rehabilitation with emphasis to North and East.

The discussions centered on such vitally important issues like the establishment of the Eastern Development Bank, the shortage of building materials in Jaffna, expediting the opening of Puttalam-Mannar road, the price escalations due to security measures in government contracts, to increase personnel for security checking at Medawachchiya railway station and to increase the number of lorries transporting goods to Colombo, according to a FCCISL statement.

by Amal Jayasinghe COLOMBO (AFP) -

Sri Lankan troops have moved closer to dismantling the Tamil Tigers' de facto state after months of heavy clashes, but the battles ahead could be even bloodier, officials and analysts say. Monsoon rains expected to intensify in the coming weeks could bog down tanks and make artillery less effective in soggy terrain, forcing both sides to engage in close combat, according to military experts.Sri Lanka has poured a record 1.5 billion dollars this year into battling the rebels, who are fighting for a separate homeland for ethnic minority Tamils, with the aim of crushing the insurgency by the middle of next year.

By Ishara M Gamage  

Sept 08, 2008 (LBO) - Sri Lanka is planning an optical fibre backbone to take broadband internet access to rural areas of the island, with the infrastructure to be built as a public private partnership, an official said.

Dharmasiri de Alwis, network chief of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission says Sri Lanka Railways and the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) would be partners in the project which is backed by the island's ICT Agency. A 15 million dollar funding package from World Bank is also in the offing he said.

by BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI, Associated Press Writer

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka's air force launched attacks on two Tamil separatist camps in the embattled north Sunday, and infantry clashes elsewhere in the region killed eight rebels and three soldiers, the military said. Helicopter gun ships attacked a Sea Tigers camp in Kavitaramunai in the rebel stronghold of Pooneryn before dawn, said air force spokesman Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara. The Sea Tigers are the rebels' naval wing.Hours later, fighter jets bombed a rebel training camp deep in guerrilla-held territory in Mankulam, Nanayakkara said.