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On Tap
Nov 13, 2006 (LBO) – Increasingly wealthy countries tend to have better access to water and sanitation, but some countries like Sri Lanka do far better despite lower incomes, a new report on human development, shows. This is well below Australia ranked number one with 113.2 percent but close to Niger ranked last at 172 […]
Saudi posted 58-billion-dollar budget surplus in 2005
RIYADH, Nov 13, 2006 (AFP) – Oil powerhouse Saudi Arabia posted a record budget surplus of 58 billion dollars in 2005 on the back of surging crude prices while its gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 6.5 percent, newspapers reported Monday. In its annual report on the Saudi economy, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), […]
British to push for Sri Lanka peace
Nov 13, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s former colonial ruler Britain will send a special envoy to the island Tuesday to help salvage a tattered peace process, diplomats said.British MP Paul Murphy will meet with Sri Lankan leaders during a three-day visit and share his experience of the Northern Ireland peace process, the British High […]
Sri Lanka faces child soldier charge as Britain tries to save peace
Nov 13, 2006 (AFP) – The United Nations accused Sri Lanka Monday of recruiting child soldiers to battle Tiger rebels as Britain moved to help save a crumbling peace process.Even as mourners protested the assassination of a moderate Tamil legislator, a top UN official issued a scathing attack on government security forces, accusing them for […]
Sri Lanka steps up security ahead of protest over assassination
Nov 13, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s police stepped up already tight security in the capital Monday ahead of a mass protest over the assassination of a moderate Tamil legislator and growing rights abuses, officials said.Several major roads in the city were closed and vehicle inspections intensified as anti-war demonstrators prepared to stage a march […]
Eight killed in Sri Lanka in fresh violence
Nov 13, 2006 (AFP) – At least four Sri Lankan soldiers and four Tamil Tiger rebels were killed in separate violence in the island’s embattled northeast, the defence ministry said Tuesday.Three soldiers were killed when Tamil Tiger rebels detonated a bomb in the northern district of Vavuniya on Tuesday, the ministry said, adding that another […]
Sri Lankan markets jittery as bullets fly ahead of next week’s budget
November 10, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lankan share prices are breaking records amidst flying bullets, but financial markets are uneasy that the government may use next Thursday’s budget to tax capital gains, analysts said. One of Asia’s best performing indexes, the island’s tiny stockmarket is up over 30 percent since January, largely on deal making […]
’07 budget may lift taxes, foreign borrowing
November 10, 2006 (Dow Jones)–The Sri Lankan government is likely to lift taxes and increase foreign borrowing in its 2007 budget in a bid to meet bloated defense costs and fund large development projects, say analysts. They expect the budget deficit next year at 7.5%-8.0% of gross domestic product, down from an expected 9% this […]
Flying Cheap
SINGAPORE, Nov 10, 2006 (AFP) – Costs, not competition, worry Tony Fernandes of AirAsia Bhd, who said Friday he foresees continued expansion for the Malaysian-based lowcost pioneer. “The only thing that we worry about is our cost,” said Fernandes, the airline’s group chief executive. “There can be a hundred low cost carriers out there. It […]
Robust Growth
November 10, 2006 (LBO) – Commercial Bank of Ceylon, one of Sri Lanka’s most profitable commercial banks, Friday posted a 40 percent growth in net profits for the nine months ended Sept. 30, helped partly by capital gains from selling part of shares in DFCC Bank. During the period, the bank also hired Hewitt Outsourcing […]