Author: lbostgadmin
‘s tense east to vote under shadow of the gun
BATTICALOA, Sri Lanka, March 9, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s restive east will hold local elections on Monday against a backdrop of fear, even though Tamil Tiger rebels were pushed out of the area months ago.The government has poured nearly 6,500 security personnel into the coastal district of Batticaloa, 300 kilometres (190 miles) from Colombo, […]
Sri Lanka says 60 killed in heavy weekend battles
March 9, 2008 (AFP) – At least 56 Tamil Tiger rebels and four government troops have been killed in heavy fighting across Sri Lanka’s embattled north over the weekend, the defence ministry said Sunday. Helicopter gunships were deployed against suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) strongholds in the coastal district of Mannar on Saturday, […]
” after switch in accounting system
ANKARA, March 8, 2008 (AFP) – Turkey has changed its method of calculating its gross domestic product, switching to the system used in the Europen Union which it is hoping to join, the country’s statistics office said Saturday. The change to the European System of Accounts (ESA95) has resulted in a steep “rise” in Turkey’s […]
‘s polls shock rattles investors: economists
PENANG, Malaysia, March 9, 2008 (AFP) – Weekend elections that have reshaped Malaysia’s political landscape will reverberate in the stock market and could dampen investor confidence, economists said Sunday. Massive defections by the small but economically dominant Chinese community and once loyalist minority Indians have highlighted resentment towards the Malay-led government’s economic policies, they said. […]
Islamic finance expands as wealth grows in oil-rich Gulf
DUBAI, March 9, 2008 (AFP) – The market for Islamic finance and banking is growing rapidly in the oil-rich Gulf thanks to burgeoning wealth and attractive financial instruments.Studies have put the total value of Islamic equity funds in the Gulf region at around 30 billion dollars (19.5 billion euros), said Khaled al-Masri, partner in asset […]
Sri Lanka Tamil journalist arrested: rights group
March 7, 2008 (AFP) – A Sri Lankan Tamil columnist was detained by police Friday while the authorities were also trying to arrest another media activist, a rights group said.J. S. Tissanayagam, columnist of the Sunday Times newspaper here, was taken in for questioning by police Friday after the arrest of two more journalists on […]
Sri Lanka roadside blast kills soldier: police
March 8, 2008 (AFP) – At least one soldier was killed and two others critically wounded in southern Sri Lanka Saturday when their vehicle was hit by a roadside blast, police said.The victims were being transported to hospital in the Moneragala district where several similar attacks have been reported in recent weeks, police said. There […]
Feb expands credit facilities for distressed banks
WASHINGTON, March 7, 2008 (AFP) – The US Federal Reserve on Friday announced moves to pump 200 billion dollars into the financial system to try to contain contagion from a housing-related credit crunch that is pummeling the economy. “And there is a real possibility, given the escalating turmoil in credit markets, that the cut will […]
Sprinter Marion Jones reports to jail
FORT WORTH, Texas, March 7, 2008 (AFP) – Former Olympic champion Marion Jones, sentenced in January to six months prison for lying about using steroids, Friday reported to a Texas jail, US Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Traci Billingsley said. All Jones’ results since September 1, 2000, have been stricken from the records and Jones has […]
Searching questions as Fed printing fuels inflation rather than growth
WASHINGTON, March 7, 2008 (AFP) – As more signs point to a US economy that is sinking fast, the Federal Reserve is struggling to find ways to reignite growth even as confidence wanes among consumers, businesses and banks, analysts say.“Perhaps the ultimate resolution to the problem might have to come from some governmental action not […]
” to seek British apology for brutality: report
NEW DELHI, March 8, 2008 (AFP) – British brutality during colonial rule in India cannot be forgotten but the nation is too polite to ask for an apology, India’s vice president Hamid Ansari said, according to a report on Saturday.“The amount of brutality by the British cannot be forgotten,” Ansari was quoted as saying by […]
Private Call
March 08, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), the island’s dominant fixed line operator, has invested over 100 billion rupees in the business since it was privatized a decade ago, the company says in its 2007 annual report. The firm has also given more than a million connections since then, with its fixed access […]