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Tough road lies ahead for global climate deal
BANGKOK, April 5, 2008 (AFP) – There have been numerous disagreements during a week of intense climate change talks in Bangkok but there is one point all sides agree on — a long, tough road lies ahead. The five-day negotiations stretched past midnight on Friday before reaching a deal aimed solely at setting up more […]
‘s major banks begin to show sub-prime losses
TOKYO, April 5, 2008 (AFP) – Combined net profit at Japan’s six major banks is estimated to have dropped more than 40 percent for the year to March 2008, weighed down by losses related to US subprime mortgages, a daily said Saturday. The six banks are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Mizuho Financial Group Inc., […]
Mixed emotions for Sri Lanka captain after day two
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, April 5, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene had mixed feelings about the way his side performed on the second day of the second and final Test against West Indies on Friday at Queen’s Park Oval. Sri Lanka captured six wickets in the final session to get back into […]
Battling Windies close in on Sri Lanka total
PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, April 4, 2008 (AFP) – West Indies, replying to Sri Lanka’s first innings total of 278, reached 268 for seven when bad light stopped play on the second day of the second Test on Friday. Sri Lanka’s bowlers exploited the lively Queen’s Park Oval pitch and heavy conditions to keep scoring […]
Sri Lanka high inflation threatens recent gains in poverty, inequality
April 05, 2008 (LBO) – Lower average inflation and a temporary halt in an internal conflict have lowered Sri Lanka’s poverty levels by 2006, government statistics showed, amid warnings that rising prices may reverse the gains. The number of people below the official poverty line fell to 15 percent from nearly 22.7 percent in 2002, […]
Sri Lanka stocks weaken ahead of lengthy New Year holiday
April 04, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka stocks closed marginally lower Friday with unstable macro economic conditions and an approaching lengthy traditional New Year holiday weakening investor interest, brokers said. Total turnover was 231.8 million rupees, provisional data from the Colombo Stock Exchange showed. The market’s All Share Price index slipped 0.17 percent (4.53 points) […]
Tele Rating
April 04, 2008 (LBO) – Fitch Ratings has cut Sri Lanka Telecom’s foreign currency credit rating by one notch to ‘B+’ after the country’s sovereign rating was slashed a day earlier, saying the exit of Japan’s NTT from the firm was not a reason for the downgrade. SLT’s local ratings were based on its own […]
Sri Lanka tea trade online transactions on the rise
April 04, 2008 (LBO) – The volume of transactions on Sri Lanka’s automated tea export document processing system is on the rise but the number of exporters using it is still limited, a senior Tea Board official said. . Tea commissioner N. Udugampola said the electronic data interchange system started last August speeded up transaction […]
Atom Chip
April 04, 2008 (LBO) –Intel has launched a new low-power chip which can be used in mobile devices and simple computers for internet surfing that it says would be useful in Sri Lanka’s e-governance initiative. Products like Intel’s Atom family of processors will help Sri Lanka achieve its goal of 60 percent computer literacy by […]
‘ broken aid promises
PARIS, April 4, 2008 (AFP) – British charity Oxfam released Friday figures on aid spending showing that rich countries had broken promises made to substantially increase assistance to developing countries.The figures showed that in many of the Group of Eight (G8) richest nations, aid spending as a percentage of gross national income (GNI) had dropped […]