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” lawmakers seek action
WASHINGTON, June 13, 2007 (AFP) – The US Treasury stopped short of branding China a “currency manipulator” Wednesday even as new efforts were launched in Congress to punish Beijing for maintaining an undervalued yuan. The Treasury, in a much-anticipated semiannual report, said China’s tightly controlled exchange rates have led to a variety of economic problems […]
Sri Lanka names Bayliss as coach
June 14, 2007 (AFP) – World Cup finalists Sri Lanka on Thursday named ambitious Australian Trevor Bayliss as their new coach on a two-year deal.Bayliss, 44, who currently coaches New South Wales, replaces another Australian Tom Moody, who quit last month to work with Western Australia. “Bayliss has been appointed for a two-year period starting […]
Australians in running for Sri Lanka coaching job
June 14, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka has short-listed a handful of Australian coaches to take over the national team, officials said Thursday.Former Sri Lankan fast bowler Rumesh Ratnayake will assist Penney until the formal appointment of a new coach.“Terry Oliver and Trevor Bayliss are under consideration,” a Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) source told AFP. […]
Filipino aid worker for US charity in Sri Lanka shot
June 14, 2007 (AFP) – A Filipino aid worker has been shot and wounded in northeastern Sri Lanka, a hospital spokeswoman said Thursday. Antonio Villeomour, of the US charity Mercy Corps, was being treated at Colombo’s National Hospital, spokeswoman Pushpa Soysa said. “He is conscious and not in a critical condition,” she told AFP. Villeomour […]
Sri Lanka slums to get facelift with UN, private sector help
June 14, 2007 (LBO) – The United Nations Habitat section has teamed up with Sri Lanka’s urban development ministry to improve living conditions of low income families living in the capital city’s slums. The program was launched by the UN Human Settlement Program with the help of Ministry of Urban Development and Emerging Markets Group […]
Sri Lanka trade deficit expands in April but BOP steady
June 14, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s exports grew 11.5 percent and imports by 7.4 percent in the first four months of 2007, keeping the trade deficit at last year’s level, but the gap in the month of April itself widened, the Central Bank said.In April exports grew 6.8 percent to 535 million dollars, slower […]
Sri Lanka interest rates up on heavy government borrowing
June 13, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s 3-month risk free yields gained 15 basis points at the latest treasuries auction, while a ministerial decision to fix electricity and fuel prices announced this week threatens to send rates higher. . The average bids accepted for the 3-month bill rose to 17.09 percent, while 6-month bills edged […]
Wrong List
WASHINGTON, June 12, 2007 (AFP) – US Middle East allies Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, as well as key trading partner Malaysia were added Tuesday to a Washington blacklist of countries trafficking in people.Algeria and Guinea were the other additions to the blacklist of the US State Department’s annual “Trafficking in Persons Report,” which analyzed […]
Sri Lankan defence official slams West over rights outcry
COLOMBO, June 13, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s top defence official has accused Western nations of bullying his government over human rights and defended the eviction of ethnic Tamils from the capital, a report said Wednesday.Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse also rejected warnings from Britain that the former colony risked international isolation over the deteriorating rights […]
Sri Lanka economy slows in first quarter as expansionary stimulus wears off
June 13, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s economy slowed sharply to 6.1 percent in the first quarter of 2007 from 7.9 percent last year, as the conflict began to take its toll and the effects of an expansionary stimulus wore off. The government’s statistics office said this compared with gross domestic product (GDP) growth of […]