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Road Runner
May 11 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is to begin work on the Colombo-Katunayake toll road this month tying up a construction deal with China Metallurgical Construction Group.Cabinet approval for the project came through on Wednesday, Jeyraj Fernandopulle, Minister of Highways told a Cabinet press briefing on Thursday. The tentative kick-off date for the building the […]
Reliance Petroleum creates waves on Indian stock exchange debut
MUMBAI, May 11, 2006 (AFP) – Reliance Petroleum shares jumped almost 70 percent on listing Thursday as investors rushed to buy a piece of the company operating what will be the world’s largest refinery complex, dealers said.Reliance Petroleum, a unit of India’s largest private company, Reliance Industries, opened at 101.95 rupees (2.66 dollars), compared to […]
World Bank finds explosive rise in carbon trading
WASHINGTON, May 10, 2006 (AFP) – The global market for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions — an innovative offshoot of the Kyoto pact on global warming — has shown explosive growth, the World Bank said Wednesday.But in a new report, the World Bank also noted that recent events in the European Union’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) […]
Archaeologist sweats as fierce sun savages Taj Mahal
AGRA, India, May 11, 2006 (AFP) – An Indian archaeologist is praying for a respite from a heat wave engulfing the Taj Mahal town of Agra, warning that heavy dust in the dry air could permanently scar the marble monument to love.Temperatures hovered this week at 45 Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit) in the city, 200 […]
‘s Jayasuriya heads for England
May 11, 2006 (AFP) – Veteran batsman Sanath Jayasuriya will join his Sri Lanka team-mates in England later this week after reversing his decision to quit, chief selector Asantha de Mel said on Thursday. The left-hander, 36, will arrive in England well ahead of the second Test in Edgbaston from May 25 and stay for […]
Air strikes on Sri Lanka rebels after sea battle leaves 45 dead
May 11, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military hit back with air strikes on Thursday after a fierce sea battle with Tamil Tiger rebels left at least 45 dead, according to the navy, and punched another hole in a flimsy three-year truce.In January, suspected Tamil Tiger rebels blew up another Dvora gunboat, killing 15 sailors, […]
Sri Lanka resumes air strikes as Tigers sink gunboats
May 11, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels sank two Sri Lankan navy gunboats in sea battles on Thursday and attacked a ferry transporting 700 soldiers, Scandinavian truce monitors said, as the military hit back with air strikes.The military called in jets to bomb suspected Tamil Tiger positions after the sinkings at two locations along […]
Tigers sink two navy gunboats: monitors
May 11, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels sank two navy gunboats in separate incidents and were firing at a ferry transporting some 700 troops, a spokesman for the Scandinavian truce monitors told AFP.“They are now attacking Pearl Cruiser and are putting the lives of our monitors in danger,” Olafsdottir said, adding that […]
Sri Lanka vows to crack down on killings to save peace bid
May 11, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has vowed tough action to stem a wave of killings following the latest Japanese bid to save faltering peace efforts, diplomats and government officials said Thursday.The Sri Lankan government assured Japan’s special peace envoy Yasushi Akashi that it will halt excesses and end the “culture of impunity,” a […]
Breaking Ground
May 11 (LBO) – Sri Lanka began construction of it first coal power plant on Thursday in Norachcholai on the island’s West Coast, amidst protests by environmental lobbies. The 300 Megawatt plant is being built at a cost of 455 million dollars, largely funded by a 20-year concessionary loan from the China Export and Import […]