Author: lbostgadmin
Envoy returns expressing deep concern over Sri Lanka bloodshed
COLOMBO, Nov 24, 2006 (AFP) – A top Indian envoy left for home Friday after conveying New Delhi’s “deep concern” over escalating violence in Sri Lanka, as government troops and Tamil Tigers were locked in long-range attacks. Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon left for New Delhi following meetings with top leaders, including President Mahinda […]
Sri Lanka violence leaves 30 dead: army
COLOMBO, Nov 24, 2006 (AFP) – Renewed fighting in Sri Lanka’s embattled northern and eastern regions has left at least 30 people dead, according to defence ministry figures Friday. The bitter ethnic conflict has claimed at least 60,000 lives since it began in 1972. Security forces killed 19 Tamil Tiger rebels in two clashes Thursday […]
Sri Lanka seeks Indian help to patrol maritime border
COLOMBO, Nov 24, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka will seek India’s help to step up patrols of their common maritime border to prevent drug and arms smuggling and cross-border terrorism, President Mahinda Rajapakse said Friday. Rajapakse said he was also keen to boost bilateral trade with India, currently running at an annual two billion dollars, […]
Sri Lanka seeks foreign help to supply Jaffna civilians
COLOMBO, Nov 24, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president on Friday asked foreign relief agencies to help supply food and other essentials to half a million civilians trapped in the embattled northern Jaffna peninsula. President Mahinda Rajapakse said essentials had been shipped to the peninsula, 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of the capital, but distribution […]
Six Sri Lankans jailed in Singapore for credit card fraud
SINGAPORE, Nov 24, 2006 (AFP) – Six Sri Lankan men were handed jail terms of up to 11 years in Singapore for stealing money from automated cash machines using cloned credit cards, court officials said Friday. The Sri Lankans, who were residents in London and were in Singapore on social visit passes, swiped the money […]
Sales boom at Barista coffee houses as high spending urban Sri Lankans socialise
November 24, 2006 (LBO) – Young urban Sri Lankans are steadily patronising India’s Barista Coffee Co.‘s, chains in Colombo, for a piece of cheescake and sip cappucino, while they surf the Internet, play board games and browse through magazines, officials said. “Our aim is to add two stores every year.We managed to do that this year, […]
Rated Footwear
Nov 24, 2006 (LBO) – An old-established family footwear company from the deep south of Sri Lanka, has published its credit rating, before entering the country’s debt markets through a debenture issue. The group’s origins dates back to the 1930’s and have interests in information technology, power generation and food processing. The holding company of […]
Sri Lanka troops mount fresh offensive: Tigers
COLOMBO, Nov 23, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan soldiers backed by tanks and artillery launched a fresh ground offensive Thursday into territory held by Tiger guerrillas in the east of the island, a rebel spokesman said. The bitter ethnic conflict has claimed at least 60,000 lives since it began in 1972. Troops were advancing into […]
Fresh fighting erupts in eastern Sri Lanka as Indian envoy arrives
COLOMBO, Nov 23, 2006 (AFP) – Heavy fighting gripped Sri Lanka on Thursday as Tamil Tiger rebels and troops blamed each other for the renewed battles and India sent a top envoy to discuss the worsening violence. Sri Lanka’s defence ministry said war planes pounded bases of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) […]
Terminally ill Tiger peace negotiator laments fate of Tamils
COLOMBO, Nov 23, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger peace negotiator Anton Balasingham has confirmed he has terminal cancer but that it is “minor” compared to the “immense suffering” of Sri Lanka’s minority Tamils, a report said Thursday. The London-based Anton Balasingham, 68, who was diagnosed with bile duct cancer last week, also said he was […]
As online shopping grows, so do the dangers of fraud and theft
WASHINGTON, Nov 23, 2006 (AFP) – As growing numbers of Americans turn to the Internet for holiday shopping, experts warn that online dangers such as fraud and identity theft are increasing as well. One out of 10 people shopping online could become a victim of online fraud this holiday season, according to a report by […]
Millions in British tsunami aid unaccounted for: report
LONDON, Nov 23, 2006 (AFP) – More than nine million pounds (13 million euros, 17 million dollars) of British government aid for victims of the Asian tsunami may not yet have been spent, a parliamentary committee said Thursday. The British government committed 75 million pounds in humanitarian assistance following the December 26, 2004 disaster, including […]