Category:
Sri Lanka gets tough on UN, aid visas
July 17, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government on Thursday unveiled new restrictions on how long United Nations and other foreign aid staff are allowed to work on the war-torn island.The new regulations come amid a backdrop of mounting tensions between the government and the United Nations and key member states, who have been highly […]
Sri Lanka looking for intelligence at Asian security meet
SINGAPORE, July 17, 2008 (AFP) – From Pakistan to Sri Lanka and southern Thailand, people are dying in Asia’s numerous conflict zones — but progress in resolving the unrest is unlikely at Asia’s main security meet next week, observers say. Ministers and top officials from Asia, Europe and the United States gather in Singapore on […]
Sri Lankan industrialists, professionals oppose new trade pact with India
July 17, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan industrialists and professionals have appealed to the government not to sign a new trade pact with neighbouring India, due to fears that their market shares would be cut without reciprocal access being given to the larger country. “We have to be extremely cautious when signing an agreement of […]
Asia ready for WTO deal but not at any price: analysts
TOKYO, July 17, 2008 (AFP) – Asia’s economic giants, under pressure to yield ground in key global free trade talks next week, are ready to open their markets to spur growth, but not at any cost, analysts said. Many of the region’s economies rely heavily on foreign trade to power their growth and the breakdown […]
Videogames getting more social
LOS ANGELES, July 17, 2008 (AFP) – Videogame makers are riding the social-networking wave with a flood of soon-to-be-released titles that let friends play online as teams and even create their own characters.The world’s big three console makers — Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony — are providing frameworks for players to connect with hardware and software […]
Lure of gold leaves Olympics prone to doping cheats
LONDON, July 17, 2008 (AFP) – The Beijing Olympics will see the biggest anti-doping effort in history but the omens for a drug-free Games are not good.Alongside steroids and the blood-booster EPO, testers have promised developments in tracing substances such as human growth hormone, which are undetectable with standard testing methods. The chairman of the […]
Sri Lankan shares close down
July 16, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares closed one percent lower Wednesday on losses in telco stocks and the John Keells Holdings conglomerate as sentiment remained weak, brokers said.The All Share Price Index closed down 25.08 points at 2,415.07 while the Milanka lost 1.85 percent (54.43 points) to close at 2,881.86. Turnover was 200 […]
Harbour Moves
July 16, 2008 (LBO) – Colombo port plans to order more quay-side gantry cranes, mobile cranes and tractors to boost productivity and cope with increasing cargo flows, a senior official said.Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) chairman Saliya Wickramasuriya said the new equipment acquisition was part of the ports efforts to improve efficiency and the port’s […]
Sri Lanka scrambles to stop Japan travel warning
July 16, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is scrambling to head off an imminent travel warning from Japan, in a bid to save the struggling tourism industry from a new blow, a top official said.Tourism secretary George Michael said Sri Lanka has learned of an imminent travel warning from Japan and tourism minister Milinda Moragoda […]
Aussie Arrest
July 16, 2008 (LBO) – Australian police have arrested the director of a Melbourne business school over links with Tamil Tigers following a request from US authorities, a media report said.The Australian newspaper said Thulasitharan Santhirarajah, 34, is expected to be extradited to the United States. “The man is wanted to face prosecution for alleged […]
Peninsular 3G
July 16, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Dialog Telekom, a unit of Telekom Malaysia, said it had launched third generation (3G) mobile services allowing video calling in the island’s northern Jaffna peninsular. Dialog’s video calling comes with a conferencing facility that allows users in six different locations to talk. Dialog says is 3G network now […]
My Phone
July 16, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Tigo, a unit of Millicom International Cellular is issuing plastic-card ownership certificate in response to anti-terror rules, which can be piggy-backed to give additional benefits to customers, an official said. The new regulations introduced by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka require mobile customers to give on […]