Heavy fighting in Sri Lanka as troops move to secure port

Aug 28, 2006 (AFP) – At least four Sri Lankan soldiers were killed and 41 wounded as security forces launched a ground offensive Monday to push back guerrilla artillery threatening a strategic naval port, officials said.More than 60,000 people have been killed in Sri Lanka’s drawn out Tamil separatist conflict and political talks on ending […]

Aitken Spence floats debenture to pay off loans

August 28, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence & Co Ltd secured a AA(lka) rating for its upcoming 500 million debenture, but Fitch Rating Lanka expressed concerns on the group’s exposure to the monopoly state power distributor and a worsening ethnic conflict. The bluechip conglomerate is tapping the corporate debt market with a 500 […]

New clashes in Sri Lanka as foreigners head for safety

Aug 27, 2006 (AFP) – The Red Cross ferried 150 foreign nationals to safety from the embattled Jaffna peninsula Sunday as the Sri Lankan military claimed fresh fighting left 12 Tamil Tiger rebels dead.Aid agencies complained they have been unable to reach many of the 200,000 who have fled fighting from across the island’s northeast […]

‘s mission impossible

Aug 27, 2006 (AFP) – The new head of Sri Lanka’s truce monitors takes over a team cut by nearly half this week amid warnings by his predecessor of “mission impossible” to satisfy both sides in the vicious separatist conflict. Former Norwegian army chief Lars Solvberg will run a 30-strong group after members from the […]

” over global warming

KUMAMOTO, Japan, Aug 27, 2006 (AFP) – A Japanese bank is doing its bit to raise interest over global warming, in more ways than one. The Kumamoto Family Bank on the southern island of Kyushu has taken eco-consciousness to a new level by basing its interest rate on the average temperature, giving customers a reason […]

Explosion kills six in Sri Lanka as foreigners prepare to ship out

Aug 26, 2006 (AFP) – A bomb killed six Sri Lankan soldiers and wounded 11 Saturday as they cleared up after fierce fighting with Tamil Tiger rebels in the besieged northern Jaffna peninsula, a military source said. In some areas fuel was being sold at four times the normal price and piped water was available […]

Sri Lankan rebels release policeman after nearly one year

26, 2006 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan policeman was released Saturday after being held for nearly a year by Tamil Tigers when he pursued a suspected British paedophile into rebel-held territory, ceasefire monitors said. The officer and two others were seized in September last year after they went into the jungle and crossed into the […]

Battle Plan

August 26, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is trying to clinch a free trade deal with Canada to push its apparel exports, with the industry also promised a government goodie bag like cheap land and electricity, to battle China and Vietnam. “We are working with the government for a duty free deal with Canada it […]

UN says food running out in parts of Sri Lanka

Aug 25, 2006 (AFP) – The United Nations said Friday food was running out in strife-torn parts of Sri Lanka with the government stalling the entry of the organisation’s aid convoys into rebel-held areas.The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said it was unable to get to northern parts of the country held by the Liberation […]

Aid ship docks at Jaffna as five killed in Sri Lanka clashes: military

Aug 25, 2006 (AFP) – A food relief ship began unloading in northern Sri Lanka Friday to lift a two-week siege of the Jaffna peninsula as fresh clashes left five rebels dead, the defence ministry said.Workers began the slow task of unloading 1,500 tonnes of food for the 350,000 civilians trapped by fierce fighting between […]

Umpire Hair no stranger to controversy

LONDON, Aug 25, 2006 (AFP) – Australian umpire Darrell Hair is no stranger to controversy. Hair, who sparked international cricket’s latest crisis after Pakistan’s forfeiture of the fourth and final Test, is a love-hate figure within the cricket world.He also delivered a bouncer to the ICC on Friday by revealing he had offered his resignation […]

WSJ to team up with new Indian business newspaper

NEW DELHI, Aug 25, 2006 (AFP) – The Wall Street Journal said Friday some of its pages will appear in a business newspaper soon to be launched in India by the country’s second-largest print media company, HT Media.HT Media Ltd earlier this year announced plans to launch a national business newspaper aimed at “global Indian […]

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