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Sri Lanka troops, rebels keep up attacks as peace bid stalls
Oct 7, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels kept up attacks against each other for a second day Saturday, as the rebels said the new fighting represented a serious blow to peace efforts. Air attacks against the rebels continued amid exchanges of fire in the eastern district of Batticaloa where heavy […]
Credit card ousts the giving basket at US churches
WASHINGTON, Oct 6, 2006 (AFP) – The days of donating at church by dropping money into a basket may become a thing of the past if Marty Baker has his way.Baker, a pastor in the southern state of Georgia, has come up with a divine idea to raise money for the Lord — automated teller […]
Headache-immune woodpeckers, picky dung beetles win IgNobels
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, Oct 6, 2006 (AFP) – Scientists who answered questions such as why woodpeckers don’t get headaches, whether dung beetles like their diet and if rectal massage can cure hiccups have at last been recognised for their work.The IgNobel Prizes, a tongue-in-cheek alternative to their more formal Scandinavian counterparts, were presented by genuine Nobel […]
Charities demand access to 200,000 in Sri Lanka war zones
Oct 6, 2006 (AFP) – International relief agencies on Friday demanded access to some 200,000 people displaced by Sri Lanka’s worsening ethnic conflict and denounced restrictions on aid workers. A group of foreign non-governmental organisations in a joint appeal asked both the Sri Lankan government and Tamil Tiger rebels to ensure that aid workers had […]
Fresh fighting erupts as Sri Lanka peace bid stalls
Oct 6, 2006 (AFP) – Heavy sea and land battles erupted Friday in Sri Lanka with the military reporting the recovery of 22 bodies of Tamil rebels after a Norwegian envoy failed to secure a deal to re-launch peace talks.Some 60,000 people have been killed in the separatist conflict since 1972. The military and the […]
Sri Lanka plans to spend more and borrow further next year
October 5, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to spend more and borrow further next year as expenses for defence hardware and fuel related subsidies escalate. Total state spending will climb 42 percent to 804.6 billion rupees from 568.3 billion rupees in 2006, the government said Thursday while tabling the 2007 budget appropriation bill before […]
Biting Bullets
Oct 5, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka plans to increase overall defence spending by 45 percent in calendar 2007 amid an upsurge in fighting between security forces and Tamil Tiger rebels, officials figures showed Thursday.The government’s initial budget estimates placed before parliament forecast defence spending would rise to 139.55 billion rupees (1.39 billion dollars) from […]
‘s Tata Tea buys 33 pct stake in South African tea firm
NEW DELHI, Oct 5, 2006 (AFP) – Tata Tea, the world’s second-biggest branded teamaker, said Thursday it has bought a 33 percent stake in leading South African tea firm, Joekels Tea Packers, as part of its global expansion drive.Tata Tea, part of India’s hotels-to-steel Tata conglomerate, has signed an agreement with Joekels Tea Packers, South […]
‘s value added tea exports dip, despite record highs in Aug
Oct 05 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has shipped less value added teas for the eight months to August, as a key buyer Libya is yet to place any big orders, a commodity broker said Thursday.The island main export crop earned 56.48 billion rupees by shipping 218.13 million kilos from Jan-Aug, a growth of 12 percent […]
Zimbabwe crisis signals boom time for Zambian tourism
VICTORIA FALLS, Zambia, Oct 5, 2006 (AFP) – For years it was regarded as a backwater and the poor relation to its southern neighbour, but the spiralling crisis in Zimbabwe has led to a massive upsurge in Zambia’s tourism industry.A total of 650,000 foreign visitors travelled to Zambia last year, a rise of nearly half […]