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Everest conqueror Hillary dies aged 88
WELLINGTON, Jan 11, 2008 (AFP) – Edmund Hillary, the unassuming New Zealander who won world fame as the first man to climb Mount Everest, died Friday at the age of 88. Hillary, who with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of the world’s highest mountain on May 29, 1953, died of a heart attack in […]
Dollar tumbles as Bernanke says rate cuts may be needed
NEW YORK, Jan 10, 2008 (AFP) – The dollar fell sharply Thursday after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the US central bank was ready to implement fresh interest rate cuts if necessary amid lingering economic uncertainty.Traders ratcheted up their expectations that the US central bank would unleash a fresh rate cut at a looming […]
Sri Lanka to press ahead with efforts to defeat Tamil Tigers
Jan 11, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government said Friday it was pressing ahead with efforts to defeat the Tamil Tigers and dismissed rebel talk of restoring a ceasefire.Presidential spokesman Chandrapala Liyanage said the rebels had made no formal offer to revive a truce, playing down a statement from the Tigers the previous day that […]
Sri Lanka business chamber lauds media for exposing govt abuse of power
Jan 11, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s top business chamber came out in support for state television workers who broadcast live a government minister’s attempt to intimidate its news chief and called for better governance from law makers. It also called on government law enforcement agencies to act speedily on complaints of threats to the […]
Sri Lanka jets raid Tiger sea base
Jan 11, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan war planes carried out fresh raids Friday on rebel-held territory in the north, the defence ministry said, reporting 30 more guerrillas killed in ground fighting.Jets hit a naval base of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at Alampil, the ministry said, adding that the facility was destroyed. […]
‘s central bank talks down rates
Jan 10, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank says that Treasuries yields will continue to ease following steep falls seen in government securities rates in the past two weeks.“It is expected that this declining trend of the interest rate structure in the market will be continued,” the public debt office, which is part of […]
Sri Lanka sees foreign visitors surge 55-pct in December
Jan 10, 2008 (LBO) – Foreign visitors to Sri Lanka surged 55 percent in the peak winter season month of December 2007, the island’s tourism promotion office said, though the island saw 11 percent less tourists in the full year. Visitors from key Western European markets jumped 56.6 percent to 23,500 in December with the […]
Sri Lankan Airlines aircraft damaged in Frankfurt
Jan 10, 2007 (LBO) – A SriLankan Airlines aircraft has been damaged at Franfurt airport shortly before take off, but passengers had been housed in hotels and are being flown to Colombo on other carriers, a company spokesman said. In October 2007, another aircraft scraped the wing of a SriLankan Airlines aircraft while it was […]
”s cheapest car
NEW DELHI, Jan 10, 2008 (AFP) – India’s Tata Group unveiled Thursday the world’s cheapest car costing 2,500 dollars amid predictions the no-frills vehicle could revolutionise how millions in India and elsewhere travel.The launch of the Tata Nano was a landmark in the history of transportation, claimed 70-year-old tycoon Ratan Tata, the head of the […]
Beijing Hamburgh rail link to cut transit time by half
BEIJING, Jan 10, 2008 (AFP) – China and five other countries have agreed to collaborate on a train service between Asia and Europe that is expected to transport cargo twice as quickly as by sea, Chinese state media said Thursday. Under an agreement signed on Wednesday by China, Mongolia, Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany, the […]
Maldives budget deficit could undermine economy: World Bank
January 10, 2008 (LBO) — The World Bank warned Maldives, South Asia’s richest economy, that recent economic gains could unravel, if the atoll nation failed to tackle political instability and curb its budget deficit.“Constitutional changes, pressures for unsustainable fiscal deficits, and vulnerability to economic shocks could offset or potentially roll back some development gains,” Washington-based […]
Dollar weaker in Asia ahead of Bernanke speech
TOKYO, Jan 10, 2008 (AFP) – The dollar softened in Asian trade Thursday as market players waited for clues from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the chances of further US interest rate cuts, dealers said.The dollar eased to 109.87 yen in Tokyo morning trade from 109.93 in New York late on Wednesday. The euro […]