All Blogs
Sri Lanka reports 12% drop in tourist in Oct; lowest monthly decline since Dec. ˜05
November 10, 2006 (LBO) – Holidaymakers to Sri Lanka fell 12.0 percent for the 12 months to October, the Sri Lanka Tourist Board said Friday, amidst soaring violence in the North and East. Sri Lanka greeted 38,815 visitors in October, the largest monthly decline since December 2005, as government troops and Tamil Tigers stepped up […]
Dialling Up
November 10, 2006 (LBO) – Telecom operator Suntel, a unit of Sweden’s Overseas Telecom AB, plans to spend 3.5 billion rupees next year to expand its network, officials said Friday. Suntel’s other key shareholders includes: Metrocorp (Pvt) Ltd., Townsend Limited of Hong Kong, the NDB Bank, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – a member […]
The Drift
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 9, 2006 (AFP) – A Helio mobile telephone service launched in the United States on Thursday lets users track friends and plot routes using satellite-mapping technology. Helio’s Drift model telephone, custom-built by South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, has a “Buddy Beacon” feature that maps the whereabouts of as many as 25 selected people […]
‘s costly fees drive foreign students into sex work: study
SYDNEY, Nov 10, 2006 (AFP) – The crippling cost of studying in Australia is forcing foreign students to take up risky sex work to make ends meet, a researcher said Friday.A sharp rise in university fees in recent years and visas that restrict international students’ working hours had driven some into illegal prostitution, Sarah Lantz […]
Asia on brink of diabetes disaster, experts warn
PARIS, Nov 10, 2006 (AFP) – Health services across Asia could crash in the face of a worsening epidemic of obesity-led diabetes, experts warn. The more common Type 2 diabetes results mainly from an unhealthy diet and inactivity. In 2003, 194 million people in Asia had diabetes and by 2025, the tally could be 333 […]
‘s poorest
WASHINGTON, Nov 10, 2006 (AFP) – What do Bill Gates, Queen Sofia of Spain, Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus and billionaire philanthropist George Soros all have in common?They all believe that small business loans known as microcredit can help lift tens of millions of the world’s poorest people, who mainly live across Asia, out […]
Tamil MP killed amid heavy Sri Lanka fighting
Nov 10, 2006 (AFP) – Gunmen assassinated a pro-rebel Tamil MP in the capital Colombo Friday as Sri Lanka’s warring parties fought fresh battles and faced rising international condemnation over civilian killings.“They are clearly not going to get a solution through violence,” Boucher warned.Unidentified gunmen shot dead legislator Nadarajah Raviraj, 44, and his bodyguard as […]
Sea battles in Sri Lanka, government under fire over killings
Nov 10, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil rebels and Sri Lanka’s navy fought a fierce sea battle Friday amid mounting international condemnation over heavy civilian casualties in the separatist conflict. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) destroyed two naval gunboats in fighting overnight Thursday, with the navy hitting back in the morning and destroying two […]
UN slams deadly Sri Lankan army artillery shelling
UNITED NATIONS, Nov 9, 2006 (AFP) – UN relief coordinator Jan Egeland on Thursday slammed an indiscriminate artillery bombardment by the Sri Lankan army that left at least 65 Tamils dead.“Yesterday’s massive attack on civilians shows that force continues to be used indiscriminately in the conflict in Sri Lanka,” said Egeland, the UN under secretary […]
Open Up
SINGAPORE, Nov 9, 2006 (AFP) – Asia should further liberalise its airline industry to unleash the region’s full growth prospects or risk losing billions in unrealised potential, industry experts said Thursday.“Often they are liberalisation’s biggest winners,” said Herdman. “We must ensure that the regulatory framework keeps pace with industry needs.” “We need one more revolution […]