Category:
Sri Lanka facing attacks, international isolation: analysts
June 17, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has vowed to wage more attacks against Tamil rebels but analysts warn it faces the prospect of devastating retaliation and risks international isolation over rising rights abuses.State-run media said last week that Tamil Tiger rebels were preparing for attacks on the capital’s harbour, oil storage complex and electricity […]
Synthetic Fuel
WASHINGTON, June 17, 2007 (AFP) – A fiery debate has been rekindled in Washington as US lawmakers mull proposed incentives to produce diesel fuel from coal.“By using one of our nation’s most abundant natural resources, coal, to produce transportation fuels, we can address fuel cost concerns, make our nation less reliant on imports from politically […]
Sailing Away
June 15, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Aitken Spence conglomerate is exiting from its ship-owning business because of lower earnings from chartering and rising maintenance costs, the company has said. The group has begun selling its fleet of small cargo ships which until recently helped boost the group’s bottom line. The group made a “strategic […]
Digital Sheep
WASHINGTON, June 15, 2007 (AFP) – The FBI is in the process of locating and notifying the users of one million computers controlled by hackers through automated crime networks or “botnets,” officials said Friday.The FBI warned computer users that it would not contact victims online, and said any e-mails suggesting this should be viewed with […]
Heaven Sent
June 16, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s power utility has increased its hydro storage after heavy rains in the last three days, and if the trend continues it may be able to avoid power cuts in the immediate future, LBO learns. The Ceylon Electricity Board warned that power cuts were imminent after monsoon rains were […]
Sri Lanka downturn cushioned by Maldives profits of top leisure firms
June 15, 2007 (LBO) – Two of Sri Lanka’s leisure sector players have managed to cushion a downturn in tourism on the island, with profits from resorts they own in the Maldives. . John Keells Holdings, one of the biggest capitalised firms in the Colombo bourse, and Aitken Spence, have been expanding in to the […]
Telemedicine
June 15, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has equipped a rural hospital with computer facilities and a broadband link to offer patients remote consultation, diagnosis, and treatment through telemedicine, the government information technology agency ICTA said Friday. The project in Kurunegala, in the island’s north-central region, was launched under the Information and Communication Technology Agency™s […]
Smoke Sales
June 15, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka plans to set up a carbon fund to promote carbon trading and provide financial as well as technical support for potential project developers, a government minister said Thursday. The concept imitates an ecosystem that produces food and manages the land. Trees and vegetables useful to mankind will be […]
‘s oldest monastery
BEIJING, June 15, 2007 (AFP) – Chinese authorities have removed a giant Buddhist statue from Tibet’s oldest monastery, in a move US-based rights group said Friday reflected an ongoing crackdown in the Tibetan region.The 30-foot (nine metre) gold and copper-plated statue of Guru Rinpoche, the founder of Buddhism, was torn down by Chinese police in […]
Tokyo bourse buys stake in Singapore exchange
June 15, 2007 (AFP) – The Tokyo Stock Exchange said Friday that it had acquired a stake of almost five percent in the Singapore stock exchange operator as part of its efforts to forge links with overseas bourses.The Singapore group welcomed the move and said it was ready to explore prospects for further collaboration with […]
Outrage as Chinese slave scandal deepens
BEIJING, June 15, 2007 (AFP) – More than 450 people, including young children, have been freed from slavery in Chinese brick factories and mines but hundreds of others are believed to still be trapped, police said Friday. “It is outrageous that transient rural labourers were forced to work 20 hours a day and one was […]
New coach say Sri Lanka can win World Cup
June 15, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s new coach Trevor Bayliss Friday said he was hopeful that the island could win the next World Cup.Bayliss, 44, was picked Thursday night to replace another Australian, Tom Moody, who quit last month to work with Western Australia after having guided Sri Lanka to the World Cup final. […]