All Blogs
Sri Lanka downturn cushioned by Maldives profits of top leisure firms
June 15, 2007 (LBO) – Two of Sri Lanka’s leisure sector players have managed to cushion a downturn in tourism on the island, with profits from resorts they own in the Maldives. . John Keells Holdings, one of the biggest capitalised firms in the Colombo bourse, and Aitken Spence, have been expanding in to the […]
Telemedicine
June 15, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has equipped a rural hospital with computer facilities and a broadband link to offer patients remote consultation, diagnosis, and treatment through telemedicine, the government information technology agency ICTA said Friday. The project in Kurunegala, in the island’s north-central region, was launched under the Information and Communication Technology Agency™s […]
Smoke Sales
June 15, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to set up a carbon fund to promote carbon trading and provide financial as well as technical support for potential project developers, a government minister said Thursday. The concept imitates an ecosystem that produces food and manages the land. Trees and vegetables useful to mankind will be […]
‘s oldest monastery
BEIJING, June 15, 2007 (AFP) – Chinese authorities have removed a giant Buddhist statue from Tibet’s oldest monastery, in a move US-based rights group said Friday reflected an ongoing crackdown in the Tibetan region.The 30-foot (nine metre) gold and copper-plated statue of Guru Rinpoche, the founder of Buddhism, was torn down by Chinese police in […]
Tokyo bourse buys stake in Singapore exchange
June 15, 2007 (AFP) – The Tokyo Stock Exchange said Friday that it had acquired a stake of almost five percent in the Singapore stock exchange operator as part of its efforts to forge links with overseas bourses.The Singapore group welcomed the move and said it was ready to explore prospects for further collaboration with […]
Outrage as Chinese slave scandal deepens
BEIJING, June 15, 2007 (AFP) – More than 450 people, including young children, have been freed from slavery in Chinese brick factories and mines but hundreds of others are believed to still be trapped, police said Friday. “It is outrageous that transient rural labourers were forced to work 20 hours a day and one was […]
New coach say Sri Lanka can win World Cup
June 15, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s new coach Trevor Bayliss Friday said he was hopeful that the island could win the next World Cup.Bayliss, 44, was picked Thursday night to replace another Australian, Tom Moody, who quit last month to work with Western Australia after having guided Sri Lanka to the World Cup final. […]
Sri Lankan President says own steps under way to probe killings
GENEVA, June 15, 2007 (AFP) – President Mahinda Rajapakse of Sri Lanka and senior Sri Lankan officials said Friday that they were taking their own steps to find the truth behind recent killings of humanitarian workers and alleged rights violations.However, Rajapakse stopped short of responding directly to an appeal Amnesty International made to him Thursday, […]
Sri Lanka urged to invite UN monitors to probe rights abuses
GENEVA, June 15, 2007 (AFP) – Amnesty International urged Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse to invite UN monitors to verify claims of human rights violations by both sides in the country’s bitter ethnic civil war.After meeting the president here Thursday, the watchdog group’s Secretary General Irene Khan said an escalation of rights abuses over the […]
Off-Grid
June 15, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will be able to light up 60,000 rural homes and also connect new private-sector renewable energy to the urban power grid with a new World Bank credit, the multilateral lender said. Only three-fourths of households in Sri Lanka have grid-connected power and it is too expensive for the […]