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‘s Tiger rebels
Nov 16, 2006 (AFP) – A British envoy was holding talks with Sri Lanka’s Tiger rebels Thursday to help salvage a faltering peace initiative, while in the capital the president wooed moderate Tamils, officials said.British MP Paul Murphy toured the violence-hit port city of Trincomalee Wednesday and began talks with Tamil Tiger guerrillas at the […]
Sri Lanka lowers economic forecasts for 2006
November 16, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank Thursday cut the island’s next year economic growth to 7.5 percent from 8.0 percent announced earlier. In its half yearly review of this year’s economy, the bank expects year-end gross domestic product to touch 7.4 percent, led by growth in telecom, ports, industrial and agricultural services. […]
Sri Lanka plans war budget
Nov 15, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka plans to announce a war budget Thursday in which it will hike defence spending next year by 45 percent amid a spiralling conflict with separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, officials say. However money sent by Sri Lankans working abroad grew by 23 percent to 1.73 billion dollars and helped […]
Disk Doctor
Nov 15, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Government and the ICT Agency will launch an emergency response unit next month to counter threats and vulnerabilities affecting computer systems and networks, officials said Wednesday. The response unit CERT (Computer Emergency Response Team) will be a source of expertise to assist member organizations in responding to and […]
Bangladesh exports set new quarterly record
DHAKA, Nov 15, 2006 (AFP) – Bangladesh exports grew a record 31.5 per cent to 3.25 billion dollars in the first quarter of the 2006-2007 financial year amid a boom in the textile industry, an official said Wednesday. The growth was powered by a 33.5 percent year-on-year growth of textile shipments such as t-shirts, jeans […]
Seven banks announce plan for new European stock market
LONDON, Nov 15, 2006 (AFP) – Seven big investment banks said on Wednesday that they planned to create a new pan-European platform for trading shares to rival established stock markets. The seven banks are Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS. The initiative by the banks is aimed at […]
Nobel laureate touts microcredit, but how does it work?
HALIFAX, Canada, Nov 14, 2006 (AFP) – Few people had heard of microcredit before a determined Bangladeshi economist called Muhammad Yunus won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, but Yunus has put the industry in the spotlight as a potential poverty-busting tool.“Governments in developing countries must demonstrate a strong political commitment towards supporting microfinance as an […]
China plans to expand luxury tax
BEIJING, Nov 15, 2006 (AFP) – China is planning to expand a consumption tax on luxury items and adjust upward other taxes in an effort to even out income distribution and reduce poverty, state press reported Wednesday.Ongoing tax reforms should include adjustments to the personal income tax, property tax, and consumption tax in an effort […]
Choices: Half full or half empty?
November 15, 2006 (LBO) – At a recent discussion on comparative rankings of economic performance, an esteemed economist decried the tendency of Sri Lankans to see the glass as half-empty; to think that Sri Lanka was in bad shape and getting worse. “Development will come only when we pump up our self-esteem and think of […]
Slain Sri Lankan Tamil legislator cremated amid protests
JAFFNA, Sri Lanka, Nov 15, 2006 (AFP) – Slain Tamil legislator Nadarajah Raviraj was cremated at his home district of Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka Wednesday as supporters shut businesses to protest his assassination.Raviraj, 44, was cremated at the Chavakachcheri cemetery while heavily armed security forces kept a low profile along the funeral procession from […]