Category:
High Speed
May 22, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Monday offered mobile operators the chance to set up a next generation or third generation mobile phone network, with aim of offering high speed wireless services, the telecom watchdog said. Mobitel, a unit of Sri Lanka Telecom, is expected to start test runs on 3G as early as […]
Thousands of textile workers protest for higher wages in Bangladesh
DHAKA, May 22, 2006 (AFP) – Several people were injured when security forces fired live rounds to disperse tens of thousands of textile workers protesting for higher wages near the Bangladesh capital Monday, police said.The protest started around noon at the Export Processing Zone, and its adjoining areas at Ashulia, 40 kilometres (25 miles) north […]
Indian stocks recover after plunge halts trade, close down 4.18 percent
MUMBAI, May 22, 2006 (AFP) – Indian share prices recovered from a 10 percent plunge Monday that halted trading for an hour to close down 4.18 percent as domestic funds helped prop the market, dealers said. “In light of the developments in the stock exchanges, the RBI has been in touch with major settlement banks […]
Japan considering further cut in foreign aid, defense spending: report
TOKYO, May 22, 2006 (AFP) – The Japanese government is considering whether to continue slashing foreign aid and defense spending through fiscal 2011, a news report said Monday. The latest proposal would ensure that the current policy of cutting government spending would continue after Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi steps down in September, the Nihon Keizai […]
Decline in English proficiency in Philippines threatens economy
MANILA, May 22, 2006 (AFP) – For decades the troubled Philippines economy has been able to bank on one key asset in attracting foreign investors — proficiency in the English language.In recent years it has helped win outsourcing contracts in the booming business process and call center sectors, one of the few areas of the […]
India ready to join ASEAN free trade agreement
NEW DELHI, May 22, 2006 (AFP) – India has agreed to cut tariffs on a basket of products to pave way for the implementation of a proposed free trade argreement (FTA) with Southeast Asia, a report said Monday.The agreement between India and the 10-member ASEAN is scheduled to come into effect on January 1, 2007 […]
Traffic congestion: On the road to Seoul or London?
May 22, 2006 (LBO) – Most people trying to move across the city of Colombo in recent days have experienced increased difficulties. A trip that used to take 20 minutes now takes double that time or more, especially around the recently closed upper section of Bauddhaloka Mawatha and the Sri Uttarananda Mawatha. One may ask […]
” threat
May 22, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka was banking on the European Union to tame Tamil Tiger guerrillas as the rebels warned that the killing of their top intelligence operative could force them into a “major war.” Scandinavian truce monitors have said that the February 2002 truce now existed only on paper.The rebel Liberation Tigers […]
Sri Lankan fisherman tells of massacre on navy-held islet
JAFFNA, Sri Lanka, May 22, 2006 (AFP) – An elderly Sri Lankan fisherman described Monday how gunmen shot dead six members of his family on a navy-controlled northern Sri Lankan islet and left him wounded in both legs.The man, 61, lies on a hospital bed at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital with white bandages around both […]
UN condemns attack on aid workers in Sri Lanka
May 22, 2006 (AFP) – A United Nations agency Monday condemned the bombing of international aid agencies in Sri Lanka and said it was appalled by the continuing “despicable attacks”. The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sri Lanka said grenade attacks on three non-governmental organisations in the Trincomalee district Sunday injured one international staff […]
Tigers accuse Sri Lanka army of killing top operative
May 22, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels on Monday accused government forces of killing a senior field commander in the island’s restive eastern region at the weekend, a pro-rebel website said.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said their chief intelligence operative in the region — identified as Ramanan — was gunned […]
EU pushing Sri Lanka peace to critical stage: rebel political leader
KILINOCHCHI, Sri Lanka, May 22, 2006 (AFP) – The European Union’s “shocking” move towards blacklisting Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tigers will push the peace process to a critical stage, the head of the rebels’ political wing said in an interview with AFP.The EU agreed in principle late Thursday to ban the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam […]