Category: Other
Saudi Clearance
July 31, 2007 (LBO) – The tribal leader of a victim’s family will only intervene on behalf of a teenaged housemaid on death row once clearance is given by the Saudi foreign ministry, Sri Lankan officials have been told. Rizana Nafeek who was 17 years old at the time of the incident has been convicted […]
News Corp. bid for Dow Jones on brink as deadline passes
NEW YORK, July 30, 2007 (AFP) – Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. late Monday awaited a decision from the family that controls Dow Jones & Co. on its five-billion-dollar offer for the company and its crown asset, The Wall Street Journal. A reported deadline for members of the Bancroft family — which controls 64 percent of […]
Citizen journalism website gets multi-million-dollar boost
SAN FRANCISCO, July 30, 2007 (AFP) – NowPublic announced Monday that the fast-growing citizen journalism website has scored 10.6 million dollars (US) in financing to fuel its drive to become the world’s largest news agency.The Vancouver-based start-up says it is growing at a rate of 35 percent monthly and has nearly 120,000 contributing “reporters” in […]
Former Bangladesh PM challenges extortion charges
DHAKA, July 29, 2007 (AFP) – Former Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed on Sunday challenged extortion charges brought by the military-backed emergency government, her lawyer said, calling the case against her a sham. Sheikh Hasina, leader of the opposition Awami League party who served as premier from 1996 to 2001, was last week charged […]
‘s Bajaj in talks with Renault to make small car
NEW DELHI, July 28, 2007 (AFP) – Indian two-wheeler maker Bajaj Auto said Saturday it was in talks with French automaker Renault for a business partnership. The two companies issued a statement follows media reports they were close to concluding a deal for Renault’s proposed plans to manufacture a 3,000-dollar car. In it, they said […]
Sri Lanka™s Bogawantalawa Tea Estates loses money but enters export marketing
July 26, 2007 (LBO) – Bogawantalawa Tea Estates Ltd. has reported loss last year but its marketing subsidiary, about whose viability auditors have raised doubts, has made a breakthrough in overseas markets with contracts to pack teas for private labels. Bogawantalawa Tea Estates reported a group net loss of 121.6 million rupees for the year […]
Open Plan
July 28, 2007 (LBO) – An anti-graft action plan developed with the involvement of civil society and state agencies was presented to representatives of Sri Lanka’s judiciary, government and parliament at conference in Colombo Saturday. The National Anti-Corruption Action Plan prepared with funding from the United States Agency for International Development, proposes actions to be […]
No Papers
RIYADH, July 28, 2007 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan minister on Saturday wrapped up a mission to Saudi Arabia aimed at securing clemency for a teenage maid condemned to death, saying he was confident the visit would “bear fruit.” They are a key source of foreign currency for Sri Lanka. A total of 110 people […]
Bruised Wall Street sees more losses as global markets reel
NEW YORK, July 27, 2007 (AFP) – The bruised US stock market slid further Friday as investors retrenched amid fears of a housing slump and a potential credit crunch that led to a massive rout a day earlier. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 208.10 points (1.54 percent) to close at 13,265.47, a day after […]
Toyota to test electric plug-in hybrid Prius cars
SAN FRANCISCO, July 27, 2007 (AFP) – Toyota announced this week a partnership with the University of California to road test two plug-in hybrid cars, a step toward getting the fuel-efficient vehicles to consumers. The study to be launched this fall will be the first time a major automaker puts the experimental cars on US […]
Saudi Sword
July 26 (LBO) – The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has urged the Sri Lankan government to ratify part of an international treaty to help save the life of a young girl facing a death sentence in Saudi Arabia. The called came as it emerged that more Sri Lankans were facing executions in Saudi Arabia. […]
US new home sales plunge 6.6 percent in June
WASHINGTON, July 26, 2007 (AFP) – Sales of new homes in the United States dropped 6.6 percent in June to an annualized 834,000 units, in a further sign of the persistent slump in the housing sector, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The June number of new home sales, the lowest since March, was significantly below […]