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India retires its ageing spy planes
NEW DELHI, May 1 (AFP) – The Indian Air Force Monday retired its four ageing spy planes and said military satellites will take over the role of the Soviet-era aircraft, local media reported.“The nature of warfare is changing with satellites taking over the act of spying,” Air Chief Marshall S.P. Tyagi said at a ceremony […]
Bhutan gets first private newspaper
GUWAHATI, India, May 1 (AFP) – The first edition of Bhutan’s only privately-owned newspaper sold out within hours of hitting the stands amid ongoing constitutional moves towards democracy in the Himalayan kingdom. The weekly Bhutan Times went on sale Sunday and was snapped up rapidly, according to the website of the Kuensel newspaper, the official […]
Asia promises cricket World Cup as “big as football”
NEW DELHI, May 1 (AFP) – Asia’s cricket chiefs celebrated the award of the 2011 World Cup by vowing Monday a spectacular event that will be “as big as the one for football”. A joint bid by India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh defeated the rival bid by Australia and New Zealand 10-3 at the […]
Choices: The money of politics or the politics of money?
May 01, 2006 (LBO) – It appears that lordships have been sold in the UK, again. Tony Blair, who criticized the Tories for selling honors, is on the back foot, trying to explain away the correlation between those who loaned large sums to the Labor Party and those who were appointed to the House of […]
” despite violence
May 1 (AFP) – At least 200 people have been killed in the bloodiest month in Sri Lanka since peacebroker Norway arranged a truce four years ago, but the warring parties say their ceasefire is still holding.Sri Lanka’s government said it was committed to upholding the hugely strained ceasefire even as seven more people were […]
Five killed in Sri Lanka May Day mine attack
May 1 (AFP) – A Claymore mine exploded in Sri Lanka’s port town of Trincomalee on Monday, killing five people after political parties called off May Day rallies in fear of an attack, officials said.The dead included four civilians, local military officials in Trincomalee, 260 kilometres (160 miles) northeast of Colombo, said by telephone. The […]
Bombs, curfew spell kiss of death for normal life in Sri Lankan town
TRINCOMALEE, May 1 (AFP) – There’s nothing quite like a bloody bombing followed by a strict night curfew to deliver the kiss of death to normal day-to-day life in a town, as residents of Trincomalee will testify.Although the curfew in the strategic northeastern Sri Lankan port town only begins at 10:00 pm, the streets empty […]
Tamil Tigers say their boats defied sea transport ban
May 1 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil rebels have moved an unspecified number of fighters along the island’s northeastern coast in defiance of a ban on sea transport, a pro-rebel website reported Monday.The boats of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) were closely followed by naval craft and came under attack late Sunday from […]
Government agencies claim two rates of growth for Sri Lanka
May 01 (LBO) – The claims of two different growth rates for Sri Lanka by two agencies have highlighted inherent shortcomings in the preparation of national income accounting and also added fuel to sceptics who do not believe economic growth numbers. A tale of two economies
Sri Lanka protests monitors’ statement on extrajudicial killings
Apr. 30 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Sunday protested an allegation by Scandinavian truce monitors that government forces may have been responsible for extrajudicial killings. Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapakse met Ulf Henricsson, the head of the truce monitoring mission, to demand an explanation for Saturday’s statement, a top government official said. The Sri Lanka Monitoring […]