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” remark
Nov 11, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s chief selector Asantha de Mel on Sunday declined to comment after being called a “joker” by senior batsman Marvan Atapattu during the ongoing opening Test in Australia. “I do not want to comment and I want to ignore his comments. All that I am keen as the chief […]
India urges peaceful solution in Sri Lanka
Nov 11, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka and Tamil Tiger rebels must forego violence and return to the negotiating table to resolve their decades-old conflict, India’s finance minister said Sunday during a visit to the island.The minister, P. Chidambaram, said while New Delhi backed Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, military action would not bring […]
China tightens monetary policy; reserve ratio 13.5-pct
BEIJING, Nov 10, 2007 (AFP) – China’s central bank announced Saturday that it would raise the reserve ratio requirement for banking institutes by half a percentage point to 13.5 percent as of November 26. Despite repeated measures to cool growth largely driven by excess cash in circulation, China’s economy expanded by 11.9 percent in the […]
Bears feast as Wall Street gloom deepens
NEW YORK, Nov 9, 2007 (AFP) – The gloom on Wall Street has intensified with investor confidence shaken by the banking industry’s troubles and the economic outlook becoming darker. In a punishing week for the market, the main indexes fell sharply as record-high crude oil prices and a sagging dollar further undermined sentiment. The Dow […]
Scotland wins 2014 Commonwealth Games at Sri Lanka parley
Nov 9, 2007 (AFP) – Glasgow on Friday convincingly clinched the 2014 Commonwealth Games, shattering Nigeria’s hopes of being the first African nation to host the event. Scotland’s biggest city won by 47 votes to 24 for its only rival, Abuja, at the Commonwealth Games Federation annual assembly in Sri Lanka, president Mike Fennell announced. […]
Clashes kill 19 in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO, Nov 10, 2007 (AFP) – At least 19 people were killed and 24 injured during fighting between Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels in the island’s north, the defence ministry said Saturday.Tens of thousands of people have died since the ethnic conflict began in 1972.Eighteen rebels were killed and 24 wounded in clashes […]
Sri Lanka top chamber says budget commitments good, but implementation is key
Nov 09, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s most powerful business chamber welcomed a government commitment to lower the budget deficit next year, but said reaching the targets was important. “We have repeatedly pointed out in the past that implementation is the key to success in achieving the budgetary targets,” the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce said […]
Savings Giant
Nov 09, 2007 (LBO) – Fitch Sri Lanka has affirmed the National Savings Bank’s (NSB) ‘AAA(lka)’ rating with a stable outlook, but said high taxes and narrower margins were eroding profitability. “The rating reflects the full state ownership of the bank, low credit risk on its assets due to its significant exposure to government securities […]
Sri Lanka to buy 200MW of private power
Nov 09, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will shortly call for the supply of 200MegaWatts of private power to bridge an energy deficit until a coal plant comes on stream, officials said. Energy Minister John Seneviratne told LBO that the cabinet of ministers had given the nod to call for proposals from existing independent power […]
Cellphone slump sends NTT profit down
TOKYO, Nov 9, 2007 (AFP) – Japan’s largest telecom group NTT said Friday its operating profit for the first half dropped 18.4 percent as its cellphone unit DoCoMo suffered a slump amid a price war.Net profit is seen at 530 billion yen, up from 460 billion yen, but the revenue forecast was cut to 10.6 […]