Category: Other
‘s Atapattu mulls Sydney move: report
HOBART, Australia, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lankan opening batsman Marvan Atapattu is considering quitting international cricket after the second Hobart Test and playing club cricket in Sydney, reports said Saturday.But he went on to score 51 in the first innings to keep his place in the team.In 89 Tests Atapattu has scored 5,397 […]
Bangladesh fears thousands killed by cyclone
DHAKA, Nov 17, 2007 (AFP) – Bangladesh said Saturday it feared thousands of corpses were littering its southern coast after the worst cyclone in years tore through the impoverished and low-lying area.Officials said the army and relief workers were still battling to reach the worst-hit districts, where village after village were flattened when cyclone Sidr […]
Bhutto freed, Musharraf to swear in new government
ISLAMABAD, Nov 16, 2007 (AFP) – Pakistani authorities freed former premier Benazir Bhutto and a leading human rights activist from house arrest Friday as a senior US official headed to Islamabad to urge an end to emergency rule.The orders ending their detention came just hours before President Pervez Musharraf was to swear in a caretaker […]
Sri Lanka Tea Board waives fees for online documentation
Nov 16, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Tea Board Friday announced it was waiving documentation fees for exporters who use an electronic export document processing system in an effort to encourage more automation. . The system, designed and implemented by eServices Lanka, enables tea exporters to submit documents electronically seeking approval for export without having […]
US change on accounting rules welcomed by EU
WASHINGTON, Nov 15, 2007 (AFP) – A top EU regulator on Thursday welcomed a move by the US Securities and Exchange Commission to abolish rules that had obliged publicly-listed European companies to comply with US accounting standards. SEC regulators approved new rules which will no longer oblige publicly-traded EU companies with operations in the United […]
Impractical to peg Hong Kong dollar to yuan: monetary authority
WASHINGTON, Nov 14, 2007 (AFP) – Hong Kong’s de facto central bank on Wednesday dismissed suggestions that the Hong Kong dollar, which is at present pegged to the US dollar, be repegged to the Chinese yuan currency. It is impractical and does not make economic sense, Eddie Yue, the deputy chief executive of the Hong […]
‘s rebel league
NEW DELHI, Nov 14, 2007 (AFP) – Former Test captains Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul Haq were on Wednesday confirmed to play in India’s rebel Twenty20 league following a goof-up over players’ lists.The names of Lara and Inzamam, touted as star attractions of the Indian Cricket League (ICL), were missing when the six teams for the […]
Drunk Briton fined for Singapore air rage
SINGAPORE, Nov 15, 2007 (AFP) – A British man was fined 3,472 US dollars in a Singapore court after he pleaded guilty to abusive behaviour during a flight from London, a court official said Thursday. Gareth Gaudion admitted in court Wednesday that he was drunk and abused the Singapore Airlines crew during the November 2 […]
‘s economy 40 percent smaller than estimated: analyst
WASHINGTON, Nov 15, 2007 (AFP) – China’s economy is 40 percent smaller than most recent estimates, a US economist said Wednesday, citing data from the Asian Development Bank and guidelines from the World Bank.That effort is “still very much work in progress,” he said.“It’s too early to tell what the final implications will be.” Albert […]
Sri Lanka Tamil charity asset frozen by US for terror funding
Nov 15, 2007 (LBO) – The United States has frozen the assets of the Tamils Rehabilitation Organization (TRO) for raising funds and buying arms for the Tamil Tigers, which is a designated terrorist organization, the US embassy in Colombo said. “In the United States, the TRO has raised funds on behalf of the LTTE [Liberation […]
Sad Situation
DUBAI, Nov 14, 2007 (AFP) – The governments of Gulf countries including Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, as well as Lebanon, are failing to curb abuses against Sri Lankan domestic workers, Human Rights Watch charged Wednesday. “While much remains to be accomplished, the UAE government — working with the private sector and […]
‘s globe sells for 100,000 dollars
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 13, 2007 (AFP) – A globe kept by Adolf Hitler in his Eagle’s Nest compound and retrieved from the rubble after the end of World War II sold Tuesday for 100,000 dollars to an art collector and entrepreneur. The globe sat for 62 years in John Barsamian’s dusty attic in Oakland but […]