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Budget Broadband
Oct 15, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s celcos are looking at ways to sell broadband services in small chunks, to reach cost-conscious customers, who do not need long hours of continuous connectivity, officials said. Sri Lanka’s mobile penetration is now 44 percent and the island’s telecom regulator says the country would hit 50 percent by […]
Cheaper Calls
Oct 15, 2008 (LBO) – South Asian telecommunications regulators meeting for a regional conference in New Delhi, India will today discuss lowering roaming tariffs, officials said. Tariffs on calls made between the member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation are much higher than calls made to distant countries like the UK and […]
Sri Lanka fighting kills 43
October 15, 2008 (AFP) – Heavy fighting broke out across Sri Lanka’s northern area of Kilinochchi, leaving 37 Tamil Tiger rebels and six soldiers dead, the defence ministry said Wednesday.It said 34 rebels and 25 soldiers were also wounded in the fierce fighting that took place on several fronts on Tuesday. The Liberation Tigers of […]
Sri Lanka budget airline to fly again
15 Oct, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan budget airline Mihin Lanka’s new chairman says they are trying to re-launch the defunct carrier’s operations by December 2008. Raja Edirisuriya, former chairman of the State Engineering Corporation, Wednesday officially took over the government’s airline operator Mihin Lanka which has been grounded since May. He says that after […]
Rice market tight next year despite big harvest: IRRI
MANILA, October 15, 2008 (AFP) – World rice markets are likely to remain tight next year despite an expected record harvest after key producers clamped down on exports, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) said Wednesday.Export prices of one of the world’s most important grains almost tripled between last November and May, triggering riots in […]
Bad economy helps military recruitment: Pentagon
WASHINGTON, October 14, 2008 (AFP) – The US economic crisis could well make life easier for US military recruiters, who have struggled in recent years to meet their services’ enlistment goals in a time of war. “We do benefit when things look less positive in civil society,” said David Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel […]
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CHENNAI, October 15, 2008 (AFP) – A group of MPs from southern India have threatened to quit unless the government intervenes to halt “atrocities” against fellow Tamils in Sri Lanka. The 38 deputies from Tamil Nadu are allies of India’s ruling Congress party and their resignations could threaten the stability of the national government. “If […]
Hissing Noise
LONDON, October 15, 2008 (AFP) – The price of oil slumped below 72 dollars on Wednesday, its lowest level for more than 13 months, as recession fears raised concerns about a prolonged drop in energy demand, analysts said. The global financial crisis will give a vicious twist to an economic slowdown and is hitting world […]
US slipping into recession: Federal Reserve
NEW YORK, October 15, 2008 (AFP) – The United States has slipped into recession, the head of the San Francisco branch of the Federal Reserve, the nation’s central bank, said. “The recent flow of economic data suggests that the economy was weaker than expected in the third quarter, probably showing essentially no growth at all,” […]
Policy Track
Oct 14, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lana’s government plans to deregulate railway freight rates and invite private sector participation to increase movement of goods by rail, according to a new transport policy unveiled recently.“Railway freight tariffs will be de-regulated and the Sri Lanka Railways will be permitted to determine tariffs competitively to attract freight transport […]