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Sri Lanka to withdraw censorship?
Oct 31, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has imposed blanket censorship on war reporting, officials said Wednesday, a week after a devastating attack on its air force, but is reconsidering the move following media protests.The government then came under fire from media rights groups after saying it would like to hire hackers to stop the […]
Sri Lanka issues gazette on war reporting censorship
Oct 31, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka imposed censorship on war reporting a week after Tamil Tiger rebels carried out a devastating attack on the country’s air force, a government notice showed Wednesday.President Mahinda Rajapakse used tough emergency laws to ban the publication of any information on military operations as well as procurements, a gazette […]
Sri Lanka online journalist shot in capital
Oct 31, 2007 (LBO) – A media rights body has called for an open inquiry in to the shooting of an online journalist in Colombo, days after government withdrew the license of a radio station and politicians verbally attacked news websites.Although the Free Media Movement (FMM) does not have any evidence to blame any party […]
” in Sri Lanka: UN expert
GENEVA, Oct 30, 2007 (AFP) – The UN’s top torture expert, Manfred Nowak, said on Tuesday that torture — including beatings, asphyxiation and burning — was becoming “routine” during counter-terrorism operations in Sri Lanka.Violence has surged on the island since a Norwegian-arranged truce began unravelling in December 2005. Nowak said in statement on his mission […]
Sri Lanka inflation jumps in October to 19.6 %
Oct 31, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s inflation rocketed 3.8 percent in October driving consumer prices in the capital Colombo during the past 12-months to 19.6 percent, the government’s statistics office said. At the beginning of the year, the central bank promised to limit inflation to only 10 percent a year, but later admitted it […]
Greener Pastures
Oct 30, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka should encourage more workers to seek employment abroad as worker remittances will immensely help economic development while reducing the government’s burden of creating job opportunities, UN officials say. Despite two decades war Sri Lanka has been able to sustain better growth and development as a result of increasing […]
Dialog Downturn
Oct 30, 2007 (LBO) – Consolidated net profits of Sri Lanka’s top celco Dialog Telekom fell 6.9 percent to 2.43 billion rupees, while revenues rose 29 percent to 8.55 billion in the September quarter, the firm’s latest results showed. Losses at its new pay TV division dragged down profits, while at company level profits from […]
Birth defects soar in polluted China
BEIJING, Oct 30, 2007 (AFP) – Birth defects in heavily polluted China have increased by nearly 40 percent since 2001, with a deformed baby born every 30 seconds, state media reported on Tuesday.The rate of defects appeared to increase near the country’s countless coal mines, which produce the bulk of China’s energy but are also […]
Oil prices fall from historic highs
SINGAPORE, Oct 30, 2007 (AFP) – Oil retreated in Asian trade Tuesday after spiking to a historic high of over 93 dollars on geopolitical concerns in the Middle East, dealers said.At 10:30 am (0230 GMT) New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, was 84 cents lower at 92.69 dollars a barrel from […]
Indian shares gain 3.82 percent to new record close
MUMBAI, Oct 29, 2007 (AFP) – India’s benchmark share index surged 3.82 percent to a new record close on Monday and crossed 20,000 points for the first time, a gain of nearly 4,000 points in the past six weeks, dealers said. They said hopes that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may cut key interest […]