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India to raise fishermen issue with Sri Lanka at regional summit: report
July 21, 2008 (LBO) – India’s prime minister has promised to raise the issue of alleged attacks by the Sri Lanka navy on Indian fishermen at a South Asian regional summit next month, a media report said.India’s Economic Times newspaper said the Tamil Nadu Congress president K V Thangkabalu had led a delegration to meet […]
Premium Banking
July 20, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Nations Trust Bank (NTB) has launched priority banking services for premium customers with higher interest rates and benefits, officials said. Dedicated agents will be present in NTB branches to serve Inner Circle members, Fernando says. The priority service is available all year round in NTB branches of Colombo, […]
Restructuring
July 20, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state radio will shed up to 400 excess employees by giving them a million rupee severance package senior officials said, while the broadcaster was reeling under mounting losses.At the moment it has 1,068 employees and most of the excess is in the transport and security divisions, officials said. […]
Call Synergy
July 20, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom’s mobile subsidiary wants its licensing conditions relaxed so it could combine phone tariffs with its fixed line parent, its chief executive said. This will enable the firm to achieve higher scale advantages to compete in a market where new technology and increased competition are pushing down call […]
Sri Lanka troops capture town from Tamil Tigers
July 20, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka troops have entered a town held by Tamil Tiger guerillas for 21 years, within days of over-running a nearby coastal base, the military said. Sri Lanka’s defence ministry said the area, in the Mannar district, was a stronghold of the Tamil Tigers, and troops had advanced about two […]
Sri Lanka military says 5,000 rebels killed this year
July 20, 2008 (AFP) – More than 5,000 Tamil Tiger rebels have been killed by Sri Lanka’s military since the beginning of the year, the defence ministry said Sunday.The ministry said its latest figures showed 5,036 rebels and 446 of its own soldiers had died in fighting between the start of the year and Friday […]
”, say US lawyers for Afghan reporter
KABUL, July 20, 2008 (AFP) – US human rights lawyers charged Sunday that US military prisons are “legal black holes” and the force is detaining journalists to “shut people up” about activities in Iraq and Afghanistan.A vast detention camp planned for the main US base in Afghanistan will be a “second Guantanamo” where laws do […]
ECB fight against inflation a tough sell as economy stumbles
FRANKFURT, July 20, 2008 (AFP) – The European Central Bank is trying to convince people in the eurozone that taking a tough stand on inflation will get them through lean economic times, arguing that long-term gains warrant short-term pain.“There is a particular need to speak to citizens on inflation and monetary policy right now,” Natixis […]
Gulf states look to harvest food from foreign investment
DUBAI, July 20, 2008 (AFP) – Faced with a scarcity of fertile land, water shortages and surging world food prices, wealthy Arab states in the Gulf are seeking to secure their food supplies by investing in agriculture abroad. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the top food importers among Arab countries in the Gulf, […]
True Olympic spirit found in those who come last
PARIS, July 20, 2008 (AFP) – True Olympic spirit is often found away from gold medallists with their agents and sponsorship deals — it is found in its purest sense in those that come last.Swimmer Eric “The Eel” Moussambani and Paula Barila Bolopa may have made a splash in Sydney but only the best memories […]