Author: lbostgadmin
International donors express serious concern over Sri Lankan crisis
WASHINGTON, Aug 12, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s international donors have expressed serious concern over a growing humanitarian crisis stemming from the island’s ethnic conflict and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities. The United States, Japan, the European Union and Norway said they were “deeply concerned” by continued violence which they feared was “seriously […]
Sri Lankan Muslims say fighting has further marginalized them
KANTALAI, Sri Lanka, Aug 12, 2006 (AFP) – At an overcrowded mosque in Sri Lanka’s northeast, thousands of Muslim refugees displaced by fighting between government troops and Tiger rebels gather to console each other. His message blared from megaphones outside the mosque, but the men were not easily placated, demanding protection from the government, and […]
Widow of aid worker appeals for truth about Sri Lanka massacre
TRINCOMALEE, Sri Lanka, Aug 11, 2006 (AFP) – S. Ganesh was a 16-year veteran aid worker who had followed Sri Lanka’s Tamil insurgency since it began, so his wife thought little of his routine trip near a conflict zone last week. But six days after he left his modest home on July 31, his body […]
Three killed handling unexploded mortar in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Aug 11, 2006 (AFP) – Three villagers were killed in Sri Lanka on Friday when they tried to prise open an unexploded mortar found near a military munitions dump that exploded overnight, doctors said. The blast came amid heavy long-range attacks in the same district where troops and Tamil Tiger rebels had been locked […]
French charity vows to “get to bottom” of Sri Lanka massacre
COLOMBO, Aug 11, 2006 (AFP) – The head of a French charity vowed Friday to “get to the bottom” of the massacre of 17 employees in Sri Lanka and said his group was reassessing its operations given the escalating conflict there. The 13 men and four women, aged 23 to 54, worked mostly as engineers […]
Fighting in Jaffna, Sri Lanka jets bomb Tiger base: rebels
COLOMBO, Aug 11, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lankan troops shelled Tamil Tiger positions in the northern peninsula of Jaffna Friday shortly after launching air strikes elsewhere in the island, the guerrillas said.The military began firing artillery across a de facto front line at Muhamalai in Jaffna, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) military spokesman […]
Sri Lanka faces refugee crisis as fighting erupts on two new fronts
COLOMBO, Aug 11, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tigers Friday warned of a humanitarian crisis after 42,000 people were displaced by a surge in violence that has left Sri Lanka’s truce in tatters, as fighting erupted on two new fronts. There were similar gatherings elsewhere too.” The latest fighting has been the worst in Sri Lanka […]
Passengers face delays, extra checks at Asian airports
HONG KONG, Aug 11, 2006 (AFP) – Passengers at Asian airports faced delays and were stopped from taking electronics and liquids on board US-bound flights Friday as security was stepped up after British police foiled an alleged plot to blow up planes over the Atlantic Ocean. Additional dog squads and bomb disposal and detection teams […]
PCs still changing the world at 25 years old
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug 10, 2006 (AFP) – Personal computers have transformed society in a mere 25 years and they are just getting warmed up.In the short time since IBM launched its pioneering PC on August 12, 1981, teenagers have gone from hiding secrets in locked diaries to baring all on social networking websites such as […]
Bloggers Heaven
PARIS, Aug 11, 2006 (AFP) – Fifty million blogs — online multi-media journals — were tracked on the Internet last month, a 100-fold increase over three years, according to a new study published online. Technorati, a website devoted to tracking the growth of the worldwide “blogosphere”, claims their number has doubled every five to seven […]
Dial Free
Aug11 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom’s mobile subsidiary Mobitel just launched aggressive new post-paid tariffs, on the heels of a licence to also rollout Third Generation (3G) services. œWe are approaching it cautiously. On the one hand, the price of a handset is a deterrent. So we will not be rolling out 3G infrastructure island […]
Big Favours
August 11 (LBO) – Sri Lanka™s Board of Investment is to expand a selective list of exporters and importers who get Green Channel or speedy clearance through customs. We are in the process of considering further investors who are eligible for the scheme and we will add on another five to ten a month to […]