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French are rudest, most boring people on earth: British poll
LONDON, May 20, 2006 (AFP) – The French were voted the world’s most unfriendly nation by a landslide in a British poll published on Saturday. They were also voted the most boring and most ungenerous. A decisive 46 percent of the 6,000 people surveyed by travellers’ website Where Are You Now (WAYN) said the French […]
‘s de facto front lines
May 20, 2006 (AFP) – Government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels traded artillery fire across a de facto front line in the island’s north Saturday, military officials said.There were no immediate reports of casualties on either side after a 30-minute exchange of fire at Muhamalai in the Jaffna peninsula, but the main entry and exit […]
Mysticism, modernity collide in ritual at Indonesia’s Merapi
KINAHREJO, Indonesia, May 19, 2006 (AFP) – The guardian of Indonesia’s Mount Merapi leads a silent procession — or what should be — around his hamlet under the cover of night in a bid to appease the volcano’s ancient spirits. Merapi, which means “Mountain of Fire”, has been belching potentially deadly heat clouds from its […]
Sri Lanka tourism stays steady in April, despite local violence
May 19 (LBO) – Tourist traffic to Sri Lanka stayed steady in April to reach 46,000 travelers, despite ongoing political instability and civil unrestthe island’s main tourism promotion body said Friday. Our advisory was updated to include a reference to local elections that take place next week and warning against political gatherings and demonstrations, John […]
Bigger Footprint
May 19 (LBO) – Dialog Telekom, a unit of Telekom Malaysia, Friday kicked off a 150 million dollars expansion drive to grow its mobile and broadband business in Sri Lanka. For the three months to March 31, Dialog’s net profits soared 39 percent to 2.39 billion rupees, while revenues jumped 55 percent to 5.95 billion […]
Muslim jeans for worshippers cause a stir in Pakistan
KARACHI, May 19, 2006 (AFP) – A new line of jeans for Muslims who want to stay comfortable when they pray has drawn mixed reactions from religious hardliners in Pakistan, where the trousers are being made. Designed by an Italian company and named after the Arabic term for Jerusalem, Al Quds Jeans are baggy with […]
‘s Merapi
KINAHREJO, Indonesia, May 19, 2006 (AFP) – The guardian of Indonesia’s Mount Merapi leads a silent procession — or what should be — around his hamlet under the cover of night in a bid to appease the volcano’s ancient spirits. Merapi, which means “Mountain of Fire”, has been belching potentially deadly heat clouds from its […]
Power cuts plunge half Bangladesh into darkness
DHAKA, May 19, 2006 (AFP) – Almost half of Bangladesh was plunged into darkness as the national electricity grid tripped, shutting down most of the country’s power generation units, reports said Friday. The capital Dhaka and districts across the north were affected by the more than two-hour shutdown late Thursday as summer temperatures soared above […]
Norway fears isolation over role in Sri Lanka peace process
OSLO, May 19, 2006 (AFP) – The European Union’s decision to place the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on its list of terrorist organisations risks isolating Norway, which has played a key role in the nation’s peace process, chief negotiator Erik Solheim said on Friday. Norway, which is not an EU member, has mediated […]
EU agrees in principle to ban Sri Lankan rebels
COLOMBO, May 19, 2006 (AFP) – The European Union has agreed in principle to blacklist Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels as a “terrorist” group, EU diplomats said Friday, in a move the rebels said would only lead to war in the country. US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Camp […]
EU ban on Sri Lanka rebels will only lead to war: rebel negotiator
COLOMBO, May 19, 2006 (AFP) – A European Union ban on Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels will only lead to war in the country, the rebels’ top negotiator said in comments received Friday. The statement by Anton Balasingham came as Sri Lanka’s foreign minister visited Japan where he sought the help of donor nations to […]
Sinking Further
May 17 (LBO) – Petroleum retailer Lanka IOC, Friday reported a 7.1 billion rupee loss for the year ended March 31, as the Sri Lankan government fail to settle its subsidy bills. A unit of the Fortune 500 Indian Oil Corp., LIOCs financial health has been deteriorating since total subsidy claims climbed up to 7.695 […]