Toyota Expects to Post Operating Loss

TOKYO — Toyota Motor will lose money in its core automaking business for the first time in 70 years this fiscal year, the company said Monday, in a sign of how the global economic crisis is hurting even the mightiest carmakers.

The Japanese auto giant, which has been neck and neck with General Motors to be the world’s largest vehicle-maker, said it still expects to eke out a narrow group net profit for the year, which ends March 31, 2009.

But the company, which just a few months ago appeared to be riding above the ills that have crippled Detroit, said it has seen plunging sales not only in North America but even in emerging markets, which initially seemed to be immune to the United States malaise.

“The change in the world economy is of a magnitude that comes once every hundred years,” Toyota’s president, Katsuaki Watanabe, told a press conference in Nagoya, Japan, near the company’s Toyota City headquarters. Sales last month dropped “far faster, wider and deeper than expected.”

With some $18.5 billion in cash, and relatively little debt, Toyota is still in far better shape to weather the downturn than G.M. and Chrysler, which on Friday received a $17.4 billion emergency bailout from Washington.

Courtesy: Dailymirror

Cable breaks cut Internet in Mideast, South Asia

Breaks in submarine cables which link Europe and the Middle East disrupted Internet and international telephone services in parts of the Middle East and South Asia, officials said.

The disruption reduced Egypt’s Internet capacity by about 80 percent and technicians were restoring some capacity by diverting communications traffic through the Red Sea, said a Communications Ministry official who asked not to be named.

Egypt’s state news agency MENA quoted the National Telecom Regulatory Authority as saying it expected Internet services to improve gradually to between 50 and 60 percent of full capacity.

India’s Bharti Airtel (BRTI.BO) said a fibre had been cut on the SEA-ME-WE 4 and other major submarine cables near Palermo in Italy, affecting the overall traffic between India and Europe.

A Tata Communications (TATA.BO) spokesman blamed the problems, which began late on Friday, on seismic activity in the Mediterranean.

MENA quoted an unnamed official as saying that the Italian authorities had confirmed that five cables had been cut, though there was no immediate confirmation from the Rome authorities.

In January, breaks in undersea cables off the Egyptian coast disrupted Internet access in Egypt, the Gulf region and south Asia, forcing service providers to reroute traffic and disrupting some businesses and financial dealings.

Pakistan Internet service provider Micronet Broadband said its customers faced degraded Internet services because of issues on the SMW-3, SMW-4 and FLAG lines.

Etislat, the largest of two telecom firms in the United Arab Emirates, said it was using alternative routes to ensure continuity of service.

Users in the Gulf Arab nation said their connections were much slower than usual and suffered occasional disconnections.

PHONES HIT

Kuwait’s Telecommunications Ministry said late on Friday it was trying to secure continued services until the damage to the cables was repaired and asked for users’ understanding.

Several Egyptian residents said late on Friday it was impossible to call the United States but calls to Europe appeared to be going through.

The International Cable Protection Committee, an association of submarine cable operators, said on its website it was aware of multiple submarine cable failures affecting Internet speeds on some routes but did not know what had caused the problem.

Officials with AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications, the two largest U.S.-based carriers, said some customers in the Middle East had lost all service, while others were experiencing partial disruptions on Internet connections.

Verizon had rerouted some of its traffic by sending it across the Atlantic, then the United States, across the Pacific, and on to the Middle East. (Additional reporting by Jim Finkle in Boston, Juan Lagorio and Elinor Comlay in New York, Robert Birsel in Islamabad, Inal Ersan in Dubai; Editing by Jon Boyle)

Courtesy: Dailymirror (Reuters)

Defence Advisors of 7 Nations visit Wanni battlefronts

Defence Advisors/Attaches of 7 nations visited battlefronts in Wanni on Monday (Dec 15). In a one-day visit organized by the Ministry of Defence, Sri Lanka, Defence Attaches the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Maldives visited Security Forces Headquarters Wanni, Army 57 Division and 59 Division Headquarters.

The commanders of respective areas briefed the security situation to the visitors. They were also enlightened on the purpose of the on going counter terrorist offensives.

During the visit, the Defence Attaches met IDPs and surrendered LTTE cadres and observed welfare measures taken by the government. Also, the visitors had the first-hand information how certain Aid Organizations and NGO’s had misused vital humanitarian aid sent from foreign countries before the areas were liberated.

Courtesy: Ministry of Defence

Sri Lankan Nurses to serve in Middle-East

Five thousand Sri Lankan trained nurses will be sent to Middle-Eastern countries to serve in the hospital sector, Minister of Healthcare and Nutrition, Nimal Siripala de Silva said.

The decision was made by the Government in response to requests made by several Middle-Eastern countries, including UAE, Oman and Libya.

According to Ministry sources this will provide employment opportunities for Sri Lankan nurses who have training and experience in the respective fields.

The Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry is already providing special training to 126 nurses to send them abroad by the end of this year. Interviews will be held by the end of this month for nurses wishing to take foreign employment, Ministry sources said.

Meanwhile the United States (California), Canada, and Australia have also made similar requests. Accordingly steps are being taken to send trained nurses to these countries.

The Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry has requested the receiving countries to follow several important conditions in employing Sri Lankan nurses in their hospitals and other institutions to ensure their safety, well-being and economic stability.

The Ministry has strictly adhered to the policy of entering into agreements with respective countries seeking the services of Sri Lankan nurses which provides a high salary, quality accommodation, safety and insurance, Ministry sources added.

K N Choksy calls for a federal solution for the countries conflict

K. N. Choksy, reputed lawyer, former Minister of Constitutional Affairs and Finance and UNP appointed MP called for a Federal solution to Sri Lanka’s conflict yesterday (05) in Parliament.

He said a federation of states was not Eelam, which had been rejected by the majority of the people.

The United States of America, Canada, Switzerland and Australia are examples of federations which have stood the test of time, and prospered said MP Choksy.

A Federation of States is not a new idea for Sri Lanka. The Donoughmore Commission was set up by the British in 1928. This Commission gave the country what became known as the Donoughmore Constitution and the State Council in 1930.

There is no hard and inflexible mould in which federalism is cast. It is a constitutional concept that varies with the historical and political experiences of the country concerned.

Winding up his speech MP Choksy said that the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) had to be invited to the All Party Representative Committee (APRC).

Courtesy: Lankapuvath