Author: lbostgadmin
Sri Lanka eye cricket second spot behind Australia
GALLE, Sri Lanka, Dec 15, 2007 (AFP) – Mahela Jayawardene’s Sri Lanka will leapfrog from world number five to second behind Australia if they win the third and final Test against England starting here on Tuesday. A win would give the hosts a 2-0 series success and lift Jayawardene’s men past India, South Africa and […]
Human rights violations increase in high inflation Zimbabwe: Amnesty
JOHANNESBURG, Dec 14, 2007 (AFP) – Violence and torture by Zimbabwe’s police against rights activists and opposition members are on the increase despite ongoing mediation efforts, Amnesty International said on Friday. “Organised police violence and torture has continued during the SADC mediation — in fact, the severity of beatings and torture has been increasing,” said […]
US inflation 4.3-pct amidst fresh money printing; can it continue?
NEW YORK, Dec 14, 2007 (AFP) – The dollar rose sharply Friday as a larger-than-expected spike in US inflation suggested the US Federal Reserve may not find it so easy to continue cutting interest rates. Dealers said the latest figures showed that the Fed, like many central banks, was now caught between keeping rates high […]
Sri Lanka reserves up on government borrowings
Dec 14, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s official foreign reserves had shot up to 3,226 million dollars in October from following a 500 million dollar sovereign bond issue, allowing the country to record a 475 million dollar surplus for the year, the Central Bank said. In January foreign reserves were 2,526 million US dollars. Total […]
Sri Lanka October trade gap widens, 10-month deficit still down
Dec 14, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s trade deficit for the first ten months of 2007 narrowed 3.7 percent to 2,846 million US dollars period, though the gap in October widened, the Central Bank said Friday. Total export earnings during January-October 2007 totalled 6,286 million dollars, following a growth of 13.1 per cent from the […]
Sri Lanka govt wins crucial budget vote
Dec 14, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government Friday won a crucial vote in parliament on its 2008 budget, despite a last minute crossover of a cabinet minister, removing uncertainty that had plagued the country for weeks. The turning point was the abstention of the 38 member Marxist-nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) who voted against […]
Sri Lanka govt minister defects to opposition ahead of crucial vote
Dec 14, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s national heritage minister, Anura Bandaranaike, crossed over to the opposition benches in parliament a few minutes ago, just an hour ahead of a crucial budget vote in the house. Updated/corrected portfolio Bandaranaike’s defection weakens the ruling coalition’s already wafer thin majority in parliament. Bandaranaike is the brother of […]
Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger suspects on trial in Australia
Dec 14, 2007 (LBO) – Three Australians of Sri Lankan Tamil origin are to stand trial in Australia’s Supreme Court for engaging in terrorism related offences there, Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry said. On Friday afternoon, a Magistrates Court in Melbourne committed the three, Aruran Vinayagamoorthy, Sivarajah Yathavan and Arumugam Rajeevan, to stand trial in the […]
Shareholders OK Murdoch takeover of Dow Jones, WSJ
NEW YORK, Dec 13, 2007 (AFP) – Rupert Murdoch completed his hard-fought takeover of The Wall Street Journal and its parent company Thursday as Dow Jones & Co. shareholders formally approved a takeover by Murdoch’s News Corp. The vote formalized a victory for Murdoch in his bid to wrest control of the Journal, the prestigious […]
Germany unhappy at 3.1-pct inflation in November
BERLIN, Dec 14, 2007 (AFP) – Inflation hit 3.1 percent in Germany, the biggest eurozone economy, last month, final figures released Friday by the national statistics office showed.Consumer prices rose by more than an initially estimated 3.0 percent, to reach their highest increase since January 1994, the Destatis office said. On Thursday, European Central Bank […]
New Aussie govt. promises fiscal discipline to curb inflation
SYDNEY, Dec 14, 2007 (AFP) – Australia faces an extended battle against inflation as China and India fuel an unprecedented economic boom in a period of global uncertainty, the country’s new Treasurer Wayne Swan warned Friday.The treasurer outlined plans to combat price rises by launching an era of strict fiscal discipline to slash “wasteful spending” […]
Indian inflation up to 3.75-pct; warnings on money supply
NEW DELHI, Dec 14, 2007 (AFP) – India’s annual inflation rate jumped unexpectedly nearly three-quarters of a point to 3.75 percent on rising fuel and food prices, official data on Friday showed.Inflation rose to 3.75 percent for the week ended December 1 from 3.01 percent the previous week, according to the wholesale price index, India’s […]