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Broad Sweep
June 27, 2007 (AFP) – About 300 people were detained in Sri Lanka’s capital Wednesday in connection with a foiled bomb attack by suspected Tamil rebels on an oil storage depot, police said.Heavily armed police raided the area in the capital where a 20-kilogram (44-pound) bomb was found on Tuesday inside the fuel tank of […]
Blair era ends, Brown takes over in Britain
LONDON, June 27, 2007 (AFP) – Prime Minister Tony Blair resigned Wednesday, after a decade in power, handing over power to party rival Gordon Brown who has vowed to impose his own style on Britain. “I spoke to him about this on Friday night when he told me that he was going to take it […]
‘s new economic law: buy now or pay double later
HARARE, June 27, 2007 (AFP) – Accountant Shawn Kureva was left cursing his decision to delay buying cement at a Harare hardware store until he had compared prices elsewhere in inflation-ravaged Zimbabwe. “(The) Chronicle can reveal that the British and United States goverments, after failing to incite public revolt against the government of Zimbabwe are […]
Iran petrol rationing spark riot
TEHRAN, June 26, 2007 (AFP) – Angry Iranian youths attacked a petrol station in the capital Tehran on Tuesday, burning a car and pumps after the government announced it was going to begin rationing fuel, witnesses said.However, problems in distributing the cards have delayed implementation of the rest of the plan. Pumping gas into the […]
Japan voices concern over Sri Lanka economy, human rights
TOKYO, June 27, 2007 (AFP) – Japan, the single largest donor to Sri Lanka, on Wednesday expressed concern about the human rights situation in the island nation during a visit by Colombo’s foreign minister, the government said. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso raised “the Japanese public’s heightening concerns over the human rights situation in Sri […]
” in Western aid cut
WASHINGTON, June 26, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka told Western donor nations Tuesday that it would be a “tragic error” to cut aid to the island nation due to alleged human rights abuses linked to a longstanding ethnic conflict.Britain, Germany and the Netherlands have already slashed various forms of aid to Colombo due to human […]
” economy
June 27, 2007 (LBO) – Areas bordering Sri Lanka’s western province, which is open to the world and has good infrastructure, grew fastest last year with a rapidly advancing service sector, the Central Bank has said. “In contrast, all the other provinces had per capita value added below the country average, ranging between 0.8 in […]
Pacey Numbers
June 26, 2007 (LBO) – Sampath Bank is raising 1.5 billion rupees through an unsecured debenture which Fitch has rated AA- (lka), but the rating agency says more capital may be needed to maintain its loan growth rate in to the medium term. It has two associates, a Bangladesh-based non-bank financial institution LankaBangala Finance Ltd […]
Sri Lanka drops controversial new tea export tax
June 26 (LBO) – A proposal to increase a tax on Sri Lankan tea exports to fund subsidies has been dropped after opposition from producers and exporters, a top official said.The government proposed increasing the export cess by two rupees to six rupees per kilo in response to demands from small holders to subsidise fertiliser […]
Different Jump
June 26, 2007 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan athletics coach participating in an international training programme has disappeared in Italy, a senior official said Tuesday in Colombo.Gayan Malika, a triple jump coach, went missing after flying to Italy for an athletics meet as part of a training programme sponsored by the International Olympic Council, the […]