Category:
SKorean mum held after daughter, 6, pulls off bank job
SEOUL, March 21, 2008 (AFP) – South Korean police said Friday they had arrested a woman accused of telling her six-year-old daughter to steal some 140,000 dollars from a bank. The girl took cash and cheques on Thursday from a small safe under the desk in the VIP room of a bank in the southern […]
Boomerang works in space: Japanese astronaut
TOKYO, March 21, 2008 (AFP) – In an unprecedented experiment, a Japanese astronaut has thrown a boomerang in space and confirmed it flies back much like on Earth. Astronaut Takao Doi “threw a boomerang and saw it come back” during his free time on March 18 at the International Space Station, a spokeswoman at the […]
Landmark US auction marks end of analogue TV; Google wins open spectrum
SAN FRANCISCO, March 20, 2008 (AFP) – US telecom giants Verizon Wireless and AT&T on Thursday took home the big prizes in a record-setting US wireless spectrum auction while Google got the open access it eagerly craves. The 700 MHz band currently carries standard television broadcasts, and will be freed up when stations switch to […]
US strikes investment accords with Abu Dhabi, Singapore funds
WASHINGTON, March 20, 2008 (AFP) – The US Treasury said Thursday it had reached a series of agreements with two powerful sovereign wealth funds based in Abu Dhabi and Singapore covering investments in US markets. The agreements were hammered out in a meeting at the US Treasury hosted by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and come […]
Sri Lanka eyeing successful start to Caribbean tour
PROVIDENCE, Guyana, March 21, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka begin their quest to create history in the Caribbean on Saturday, when the first Test in their series of two against West Indies opens at the Guyana National Stadium.On their two previous trips to the Caribbean, the Sri Lankans have walked away empty-handed – losing 1-0 […]
Sri Lanka state TV militarization, official inaction on assaults deplored by rights bodies
Mar 21, 2008 (LBO) – International media rights bodies have deplored the appointment of a retired military general to a Sri Lankan state-run television station whose journalists have been attacked repeatedly without anyone being brought to justice. . The attacks, including knifings, assaults and slashing with razors cropped up after workers of the station held […]
Hundred Fold
Mar 20, 2008 (LBO) – A top satellite network which has dedicated one of its satellites in honour of Arthur C Clarke says more than 300 such objects are now circling the globe on geostationary or ‘Clarke’ orbit. . Eutelsat chief Giuliano Berretta says the company dedicated SESAT1, the satellite closest to Clarke’s residence in […]
Blast Mitigation
Mar 20, 2008 (LBO) – Ninety percent of the glass used in Sri Lankan buildings are vulnerable to bomb attacks and can cause excessive harm to occupants in the event of a blast, a British expert said. . “Most of the glass you got in Colombo would be plain float or annealed glass [untreated glass] […]
Net Access
March 20, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s internet access quality through broadband within the local boundary is above regional thresholds but sparse local content drives users to access overseas sites at slower speeds, researchers said. “In the ISP (Internet Service Provider) domain from the user to ISP, we have found that the results are relatively […]
Sri Lanka industry says human rights cudgel could hurt small exporters
March 20, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s apparel industry said it was confident the government would meet European Union demands to comply with human rights laws to retain critical preferential market access to the region. . It warned that any restrictions on access to the EU market would hurt mainly small and medium enterprises which […]
Sci-fi guru Arthur C. Clarke to be buried Saturday
March 20, 2008 (AFP) – British sci-fi guru Arthur C. Clarke will be buried at a private funeral in Sri Lanka’s capital on Saturday, a close aide to the late writer said.The author had been largely confined to a wheelchair as a result of post-polio syndrome for several decades. Clarke, who captured the world’s imagination […]
Oil prices continue to fall in Asian trade
SINGAPORE, March 20, 2008 (AFP) – World oil prices continued to fall in Asian trade Thursday, with more volatility expected as investors continue to assess the US economy, dealers said. In early morning trade, New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for May fell 60 cents to 101.94 dollars per barrel from its close of […]