England register historic series win against Sri Lanka

Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) – Alastair Cook hit a masterly 80 as England thrashed Sri Lanka by five wickets in the fourth one-day international here Wednesday to clinch their first series win in the subcontinent for 20 years. The 22-year-old left-hander shared a 110-run stand for the third wicket with Kevin Pietersen (63 not out) […]

” Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) – Stunned local media slammed “amateurish” Sri Lanka Thursday after they slumped to their first home series defeat to England since joining cricket’s elite in 1982.Sri Lanka, who became a Test nation in 1982, are due to travel to Australia for two Test matches starting on November 8.Paul Collingwood’s tourists […]

Fed money printing drives platinum to record high, gold hits 27-year peak

LONDON, Oct 11, 2007 (AFP) – The price of platinum forged a record high on Thursday as the white metal was hit by tight global supplies, while gold soared to the best level since 1980 on the back of the weak US dollar, analysts said. Platinum surged as high as 1,408.50 dollars an ounce on […]

”’ pancake mix

Oct 11, 2007 (LBO) – The Hilton hotel in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo will muster up to 40 chefs to make what’s considered a record-breaking two-tonne ‘kottu roti’ pancake mix to mark its 21st anniversary. Hilton also plans to partner with the school for the deaf and blind to raise funds for the physically […]

Port Bids II

Oct 11, 2007 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government Thursday opened four financial bids by private sector consortia to build a new container terminal in the new Colombo south port project, officials said. No official word of the bids was available but a consortium including PSA Corp and an independent bid by Hutchison Port Holdings […]

Sri Lanka plans record defence spending

Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka plans to hike overall defence spending by 20 percent to a record 1.48 billion dollars amid a rise in fighting with Tamil Tiger rebels, according to a bill tabled in parliament on Wednesday.More than 5,500 people have been killed since December 2005, after a 2002 Norwegian brokered truce […]

Sri Lanka plans arms dealing restrictions: report

COLOMBO, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government is planning to introduce a blanket ban on its nationals’ involvement in officially authorised arms dealing, a state-run newspaper said Wednesday.The new restrictions appear to be part of an effort by Colombo to centralise its own burgeoning weapons purchases, which in the past have been conducted […]

Sri Lanka minister wants Atapattu back

Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge is keen to bring back former captain Marvan Atapattu into the squad for next month’s tour of Australia, a ministry official said here Wednesday. “The minister hopes to see Marvan in the next few days to hear his side of the story. He is […]

Singapore dollar at 10-year highs

SINGAPORE, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) – The Singapore dollar was trading at 10-year highs against the greenback on Wednesday after the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) signalled a slight tightening of its policy, dealers said.In morning trade the local unit was at 1.4665 to the US dollar, up from 1.4752 on Tuesday. MAS, the de […]

Sri Lanka dockyard chases new navy and civil jobs

Oct 10, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Colombo Dockyard, the island’s sole listed ship builder, is bidding for three new local ship building contracts, including one from the navy where it has tied up with a Croatian yard, officials said. The yard, a subsidiary of Japan’s Onomichi Dockyard Co. which provides management and technical expertise, […]

‘s academy

NEW DELHI, Oct 10, 2007 (AFP) – Renowned coach Dav Whatmore has accepted a job with India’s cricket academy four months after being snubbed for the post of the national team’s head coach.The former Australian Test batsman, 53, will take over as director of operations at the Bangalore-based National Cricket Academy later this month, the […]

Port Bids

Oct 10, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court Wednesday ordered the government to open all four financial bids to build a new container terminal in the new Colombo south port project, officials said. The order came after a consortium led by conglomerate John Keells Holdings sought court intervention when their technical bid for the […]

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