EU slams Sri Lanka snub to Sweden as ‘grave mistake’

Sri Lanka barred Sweden’s foreign minister Tuesday from entering the island on a humanitarian mission, as diplomatic tensions mounted over the conduct of the war on the Tamil Tigers. Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt had been due to travel to the war-torn country this week to press demands for aid workers to be given full access to civilians trapped by heavy fighting between government troops and the rebels. Full Story : AFP….

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences 2008

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2008 to Paul Krugman. The prize is awarded for the theory Krugman formulated which answers the effects of free trade and globalization and the driving forces behind worldwide urbanization. Paul Krugman is a Professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University, US. The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel is commonly referred to as the Nobel Prize in Economics and it is identified with the Nobel Prizes, although it is not one of the five Nobel Prizes. The Prize in Economics, as it is frequently referred to by the Nobel Foundation, is a prize established and funded by the Bank of Sweden, in memory of Alfred Nobel. It was first awarded in 1969 to the Dutch and Norwegian economists Jan Tinbergen and Ragnar Frisch, “for having developed and applied dynamic models for the analysis of economic processes.”

2008 Nobel Peace Prize

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2008 to Martti Ahtisaari for his important efforts, on several continents and over more than three decades, to resolve international conflicts. For the past twenty years, he took a prominent role in resolving several serious and long-lasting conflicts.

Ahtisaari contributed significantly solving some serious crisis in world stage such as 1989-90 Namibia’s independence,Aceh conflicts in Indonesia and conflict in Kosovo. In 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded for Al Gore Jr. for his efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change.

2008 Nobel Prize in Literature Goes To French Author

The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2008 is awarded to the French writer Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio. Le Clezio has written some 30 books including novels, essays, and short stories. He grew up with two languages, French and English. The Swedish Academy said Le Clezio was an “author of new departures, poetic adventure and sensual ecstasy, explorer of a humanity beyond and below the reigning civilization.” Among Le Clézio’s most recent works are Ballaciner (2007) and Ritournelle de la faim.

2008 Nobel Prize for Physics Honors Subatomic Breakthroughs

Two Japanese scientists and an American won the 2008 Nobel Prize in physics for their work in subatomic physics. Yoichiro Nambu of University of Chicago,United States receive the half price and Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa share the other half. The insights of the three scientists “give us a deeper understanding of what happens far inside the tiniest building blocks of matter,” said the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

2008 Nobel Prize for Medicine goes to AIDS pioneers and Cancer researcher

Luc Montagnier, and Francoise Barre-Sinoussi won half the prize of 10 million Swedish crowns (£800,000) for discovering HIV virus. Harald zur Hausen shared the other half of the prize for the discovery of “human papilloma viruses causing cervical cancer.” Medicine is traditionally the first of the Nobel prizes awarded each year. Since 1901, the Nobel Prize has been honoring men and women from all corners of the globe for outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and for work in peace. The foundations for the prize were laid in 1895 when Alfred Nobel wrote his last will, leaving much of his wealth he earned from his dynamite business to the establishment of the Nobel Prize.

Unlimited Music Service by Sony Ericsson

Sony Ericsson today announced the launch of PlayNow™ plus, which will offer users download, play and recommend unlimited amounts of music wherever they are and whenever they like. The service, PlayNow plus, will first be offered in Sweden with a global launch to follow next year, according to Sony Ericsson. The music service will cost 99 Swedish kronor (US$15) per month. Wireless operator Telenor will offer the service with a W902 Walkman phone for 2 year contract.