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Missing adventurers wife asks court to declare him legally dead
CHICAGO, Nov 27, 2007 (AFP) – The wife of American adventurer Steve Fossett has asked a court to declare him legally dead, nearly three months after his small plane vanished over the Nevada wilderness, a newspaper reported Tuesday.Last year, he guided his Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer some 42,000 kilometers (26,000 miles) around the world, setting the […]
HSBC bails out investment funds
LONDON, Nov 26, 2007 (AFP) – European share prices closed lower Monday, while Wall Street slipped back as investors looked past sharp gains in Asia and continued to fret about the global credit squeeze, dealers said.They said a constant flow of bad news about the impact of the crisis in the US subprime or higher […]
Wall St. sees red as economic fears spark losses
NEW YORK, Nov 26, 2007 (AFP) – Wall Street saw a sea of red Wednesday in a heavy selloff as investors voiced fears that the housing slump and credit crunch could derail US economic growth. Analysts said retail sales over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend had appeared robust, but economists said the American consumer is being […]
Sri Lanka Tamil Tiger leader slams foreign powers, vows to hit back
Nov 27, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran Tuesday accused the international community of abandoning its efforts to find a peaceful solution to the island’s ethnic problem and vowed to hit back at government forces. Prabhakaran, in his annual policy speech, maintained his demand for a separate state for minority Tamils […]
Sri Lanka jets bomb Tamil Tiger radio
Nov 27, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has bombed the radio station operated by Tamil Tiger guerillas Tuesday, the island’s defence ministry said, as the group’s leader was due to make an annual policy speech. The radio station which broadcasts on VHF bands was based in the Tiger stronghold of Kilinochchi in the northern Wanni […]
Sri Lanka clamps down on Unicef
Nov 27, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government on Tuesday slapped restrictions on the United Nations children’s fund over allegations the organisation has been helping Tamil Tiger guerrillas.Seventeen Sri Lankan employees of the French charity Action Against Hunger were murdered near Trincomalee in August 2006. The island’s foreign minister told parliament that UNICEF supplies being […]
Sri Lanka vows to kill Tamil Tiger leader
Nov 27, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government has marked the birthday of Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran with a vow to kill him.The island’s powerful defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, said Colombo now had the upper hand in the long-running conflict, with the elusive guerrilla chief limited in both his movements and ability to score […]
Flying Oil
Nov 27, 2007 (LBO) – Lanka IOC, a unit of Indian Oil Corporation, had applied to supply aviation fuel at a proposed new airport in southern Sri Lanka, a top official said. “We have applied to the government to provide aviation fuel at the new Weerawila airport,” Lanka IOC managing director K Ramakrishan told LBO. […]
Sri Lanka getting hooked on debt, economists say
Nov 27, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government is becoming addicted to debt and putting at risk the country’s future, private sector economists said. “We’re on a slippery slope of debt,” says Harsha de Silva, an economist at the LIRNEasia think tank. “If it continues the country is going to crash land. The economy will […]
Space Crunch
Nov 26, 2007 (LBO) – Colombo port, Sri Lanka’s main harbour, plans to build a dedicated cargo village to cater to rapidly increasing volumes of containers, a senior port official said. “We’re running short of space,” declared Nihal Keppetipola, a master mariner who is now the additional managing director of the Sri Lanka Ports Authority […]
Australian republicans eye break with British monarchy
SYDNEY, Nov 26, 2007 (AFP) – Australian republicans Monday said prime minister John Howard’s removal from office opened the way for a bipartisan push for the country to break its ties with Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.When the referendum failed to get the votes required to pass, Malcolm Turnbull, who was then chairman of the Australian […]
Commonwealth summit wraps up, without Pakistan
KAMPALA, Nov 25, 2007 (AFP) – Commonwealth leaders called on Pakistan on Sunday to remain engaged with the group as they wrapped up a summit here that saw the suspension of President Pervez Musharraf’s country. Leaders from the 53-nation federation “called on the government of Pakistan to respond positively to the Commonwealth’s desire to remain […]