Category:
Archaeologist sweats as fierce sun savages Taj Mahal
AGRA, India, May 11, 2006 (AFP) – An Indian archaeologist is praying for a respite from a heat wave engulfing the Taj Mahal town of Agra, warning that heavy dust in the dry air could permanently scar the marble monument to love.Temperatures hovered this week at 45 Celsius (115 degrees Fahrenheit) in the city, 200 […]
‘s Jayasuriya heads for England
May 11, 2006 (AFP) – Veteran batsman Sanath Jayasuriya will join his Sri Lanka team-mates in England later this week after reversing his decision to quit, chief selector Asantha de Mel said on Thursday. The left-hander, 36, will arrive in England well ahead of the second Test in Edgbaston from May 25 and stay for […]
Air strikes on Sri Lanka rebels after sea battle leaves 45 dead
May 11, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military hit back with air strikes on Thursday after a fierce sea battle with Tamil Tiger rebels left at least 45 dead, according to the navy, and punched another hole in a flimsy three-year truce.In January, suspected Tamil Tiger rebels blew up another Dvora gunboat, killing 15 sailors, […]
Sri Lanka resumes air strikes as Tigers sink gunboats
May 11, 2006 (AFP) – Tamil Tiger rebels sank two Sri Lankan navy gunboats in sea battles on Thursday and attacked a ferry transporting 700 soldiers, Scandinavian truce monitors said, as the military hit back with air strikes.The military called in jets to bomb suspected Tamil Tiger positions after the sinkings at two locations along […]
Tigers sink two navy gunboats: monitors
May 11, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels sank two navy gunboats in separate incidents and were firing at a ferry transporting some 700 troops, a spokesman for the Scandinavian truce monitors told AFP.“They are now attacking Pearl Cruiser and are putting the lives of our monitors in danger,” Olafsdottir said, adding that […]
Sri Lanka vows to crack down on killings to save peace bid
May 11, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has vowed tough action to stem a wave of killings following the latest Japanese bid to save faltering peace efforts, diplomats and government officials said Thursday.The Sri Lankan government assured Japan’s special peace envoy Yasushi Akashi that it will halt excesses and end the “culture of impunity,” a […]
Breaking Ground
May 11 (LBO) – Sri Lanka began construction of it first coal power plant on Thursday in Norachcholai on the island’s West Coast, amidst protests by environmental lobbies. The 300 Megawatt plant is being built at a cost of 455 million dollars, largely funded by a 20-year concessionary loan from the China Export and Import […]
New Wing
May 11 (LBO) – The government has given state oil giant Ceylon Petroleum Corporation the go ahead for a feasibility study to double capacity at its Sapugaskanda refinery. “We have got Cabinet approval for a feasibility study as well as a million dollars to fund the study,” M H M Fowzie, Minister for Petroleum Resources […]
Violence, oil cast shadow on Sri Lanka
May 11 (Dow Jones)–The course of Sri Lanka’s peace process has become crucial to the country’s economy, as high oil prices threaten double-digit inflation. High oil prices may also force the central bank to hold back an anticipated cut in interest rates, which could have spurred the economy and offset some of the pressure caused […]
Murali aiming for five-wicket Lord’s haul
LONDON, May 10, 2006 (AFP) – Muttiah Muralitharan wants to mark his first Test appearance at Lord’s by taking five wickets in an innings for Sri Lanka against England and getting his name on the dressing room honours board.“He will be the most important wicket for us as far as I’m concerned because when he […]
Sri Lanka still examining ‘pregnant bomber’ claim
May 10, 2006 (AFP) – Investigators have yet to find any evidence that a woman suicide bomber who tried to assassinate Sri Lanka’s army chief was really pregnant as some local media reports had claimed, police said Wednesday.Logs at the army headquarters showed the bomber entered the military compound and staged the attack last month […]
Face Lift
May 10 06 (LBO) – The government planning to re-surface the runway of the main international airport of the country, an official said. Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority, H M C Nimalsiri said that a team of Sri Lankan engineers was working on the project to re-surface the runway. The Bandaranaike International Airport […]