News in brief
More hydropower due to rains
Recent heavy rains in the catchment areas have helped the Ceylon
Electricity Board (CEB) to generate more hydropower. The CEB said the
heavy rainfall in the catchment areas in the past few weeks has
increased the hydropower generation capacity by 57%. As a result, the
CEB said that 15 billion units of thermal power could be saved.
8% economic growth by 2008
Central Bank Governor, Ajith N. Cabraal said that the country could
achieve an eight percent economic growth in 2008. He said that Sri Lanka
had achieved an economic growth of 7.4 percent recently. However due to
high oil prices, granting of subsidies and other overheads such as
importing wheat and milk powder at high costs the country would not be
able to achieve a 7 per cent growth by the end of this year.
Sethu - no other way
Ruling out the possibility of implementing the Sethusamudram canal
project in any other way, Union Shipping Minister T. R. Baalu on
Saturday said the Centre would move the Supreme Court, seeking
permission to carry out the project in the present route. Asked about
DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi's remark that
he was not averse to an alternate alignment, the minister said his
leader had made that remark "out of anguish" when he was repeatedly
asked whether he was bent on "destroying" the Ram Setu.
Chandrika to leave for US
Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga is due to leave
for the United States tomorrow to address the Bill Clinton Foundation
(CF). Her address at the CF on 'Global Poverty Alleviation' will take
place in New York on Wednesday.
Police probes continue in Canada
Three separate police investigations continue across Canada on
whether the Tamil Tigers have been illegally raising funds to help LTTE
activities. If charges are laid in any of the three cases, there may
finally be a Canadian prosecution related to terrorist financing. |
