All Blogs
Norway confident stalled Sri Lanka talks will start again
OSLO, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) – The main mediator in Sri Lanka’s peace process, Norwegian Erik Solheim, expressed confidence Tuesday that stalled talks between the army and Tamil Tiger rebels would one day start again. “It’s very clear that again they will come back to the table” of negotiations, Solheim told reporters in Oslo. “We […]
New High
VIENNA, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) – OPEC exporters agreed Tuesday to pump an extra 500,000 barrels of oil a day to cool near-record crude prices, in a victory for Saudi Arabia over its reluctant partners.Analysts said that while the gesture would ease fears about a supply crunch heading into the northern hemisphere winter, the peak […]
Sri Lanka issues tsunami warning; magnitude revised to 8.2
Sept 12, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s department of meteorology has issued a tsunami warning to the country’s eastern, northern and southern coastal regions following an earthquake in Indonesia. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii issued a watch bulletin. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre said if a tsunami is generated waves could reach Sri […]
Sri Lanka buffer zone forces fisher folk into other work: survey
Sept 12, 2007 (LBO) – A controversial buffer zone that banned re-building of homes of Sri Lankan victims near the coast after the December 2004 tsunami has forced fisher folk out of their traditional livelihood, a survey has found. “But there is urgent need to look around us not only look forward. There are still […]
Peninsular Supply
Sept 11, 2007 (LBO) – Residents in Sri Lanka’s northern Jaffna peninsular are moving beyond basic needs and are now looking for inputs to revive livelihoods, the top official in charge of supplying the area said Tuesday. S.B. Divaratne, Commissioner General of Essential Services (CGES), said regular shipments by sea to Jaffna had ensured the […]
High Seas
Sept 11, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Mercantile Shipping Company, a ship owner listed on the Colombo bourse, has said higher ship charter rates and chartering of vessels to the government have helped it turn around. The company, whose small fleet was once the island’s biggest, made a net profit of 58 million rupees for […]
Cancer Therapy
Sept 11, 2007 (LBO) – Diversified company Ceylinco Sri Lanka opened its health centre, equipped with Sri Lanka’s first linear accelerator to deliver modulated radiation therapy for cancer patients, Tuesday. “Each year, around 11,000 patients are identified having cancer in Sri Lanka. At least half of the number needs radiation therapy,” Dr Sarath Abeyakoon, medical […]
Country Head
Sept 11, 2007 (LBO) – Bhart Airtel has appointed Olof Haag, a former Ericsson executive, as the country head for Sri Lanka, the company said Tuesday. Haag would be the Chairman of Bharti Airtel Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, Sri Lanka’s fifth mobile operator which is due to start operations early in 2008. “I am confident that […]
Bin Laden taunts US on 9/11 anniversary
NEW YORK, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) – Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden eulogized one of the September 11 hijackers in a video released on Tuesday’s sixth anniversary of the attacks that still traumatize the United States. As Americans remembered the almost 3,000 people killed, an attempted bomb attack in Turkey and a security alert at […]
‘s inflation, trade surplus soar
BEIJING, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) – China’s inflation hit its highest rate in almost 11 years in August while the nation’s trade surplus soared again, official data showed Tuesday, signalling more interest rate hikes ahead.The United States and other nations argue China’s yuan currency is being kept undervalued, giving Chinese exporters an unfair advantage, and […]