More deaths in fresh fighting in Eastern Sri Lanka

Sept 6, 2006 (AFP) – At least two Sri Lankan soldiers were killed and 13 others wounded Wednesday in clashes with Tamil Tiger rebels in the country’s restive north-east, military officials said.The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) shelled military positions at Maavilaru village in Trincomalee district where security forces on Monday regained control of […]

‘s economic growth forecast for 2006-07

MANILA, Sept 6, 2006 (AFP) – China and India are expected to push developing Asia’s economic growth to a better than expected 7.7 percent this year despite high oil prices, the Asian Development Bank said in a report here Wednesday. The bank said average inflation in the region should rise to 3.8 percent this year […]

Google to offer news archive going back 300 years

WASHINGTON, Sept 6, 2006 (AFP) – Internet giant Google Inc., was expected to announce Wednesday that it will offer a free archive service enabling Internet users to search for printed articles back to the 1700s, US newspapers reported. Called Google News Archive Search, the service will direct users to both paid and free content on […]

John Keells in early talks to take over Confifi Hotels

Sept 06 (LBO) – Diversified Sri Lankan conglomerate John Keells Holdings is in early talks to buy into the Confifi Hotel group, a top official said. As part of our business strategy we look at various opportunities when they arise.In that context we have looked at this possibility of buying into the Confifi Group as […]

Troops secure town captured from Tiger control in eastern Sri Lanka

Sept 5 (AFP) – Hundreds of Sri Lankan troops worked Tuesday to clear mines and booby-trapped devices from a town they captured from Tamil Tiger guerrillas after weeks of fighting, military officials said. Fighting in Sri Lanka has intensified since December, shattering hopes for the ceasefire to continue and leaving more than 1,500 dead, according […]

Mortar attacks as Sri Lanka troops dig in near key port

TRINCOMALEE, Sri Lanka, Sept 5, 2006 (AFP) – Security forces and Tamil Tiger rebels traded mortar bomb attacks in this Sri Lankan port district Tuesday, a day after the military captured a nearby rebel artillery base. The rebels accused the military of sparking the latest fighting and said their forces were still holding Sampur’s eastern […]

China wants to head off foreign reserve growth

BEIJING, Sept 5 (AFP) – China’s forex reserves rose further to hit 954.5 billion dollars at end-July but they must not be allowed to grow much more because of the upward pressure they put on the yuan, Vice President Zeng Qinghong said in an article Tuesday.The latest figure translates into 30.3 percent growth from 732.7 […]

Cut the fiscal deficit to preserve growth : ECB

ROME, Sept 5 (AFP) – Italy must take immediate steps to improve its public finances in order to preserve its economic recovery, an Italian member of the European Central Bank’s executive board insisted on Tuesday. “To put off or dilute corrective measures means that we will continue to talk of taxes and operations on public […]

‘s economic growth trails Asian rivals

BANGKOK, Sept 5, 2006 (AFP) – Political turmoil and flagging exports have resulted in Thailand trailing its Asian rivals in economic growth, Fitch Ratings reported Monday. The international financial agency revised down the kingdom’s growth forecast from 5.0 percent to 4.3 percent for 2006, saying that political uncertainties had caused Thailand to “lose a year” […]

Trade Breaks

Sept 05 (LBO) – India is drawing up a more favourable package for Sri Lankan garment exports to the country under the Indo-Lanka trade deal. Quotas on apparel and tea have been poorly utilised and has not really taken off, Sunjay Sudhir, Counsellor, Economic and Commercial at the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka, told […]

Oil Brokering

Sept 06 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has approved new terms to limit exports of vanaspathi vegetable oil to India, with the government hopeful that local factories will re-open in a month. The two countries clocked up just under two billion dollars in bilateral trade last year a four fold increase since the free trade deal […]

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