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Woman would-be suicide bomber caught in Afghanistan: officials
GHAZNI, July 18, 2008 (AFP) – Police arrested a woman and a 13-year-old child they alleged were suicide bombers planning to kill a provincial governor in central Afghanistan, officials said Friday. President Hamid Karzai pardoned the boy and handed him over to his parents. The pair were arrested late Thursday as they were fixing explosives […]
Sri Lankan air force jets bomb rebel arms supply boats
July 18, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan air force jets bombed three large Tamil Tiger rebel “logistics vessels” off the northeastern Mullaithivu lagoon early Friday morning. Air force officials told LBO the rebels were trying to unload heavy weapons off their Mullaithivu jungle stronghold. Two of the rebel boats were destroyed in the air strike […]
Oil rallies after falling 15 dollars in three days
LONDON, July 18, 2008 (AFP) – Oil prices rallied on Friday after three days of heavy falls that pulled the market down by 15 dollars on worries over economic growth and slowing demand, traders said. New York’s main oil contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, won back 2.39 dollars to 131.68. London’s Brent North […]
” despite higher growth
WASHINGTON, July 17, 2008 (AFP) – The IMF on Thursday lifted growth forecasts modestly for the world including the United States but said the global economy is in a “tough spot” due to rising inflation amid a slowdown. Global output is expected to climb 4.1 percent in 2008, up from its April projection of 3.7 […]
SAARC leaders can reduce expensive telecom tariffs in South Asia
July 18, 2008 (LBO) – We have been talking regional cooperation for a long time; SAARC itself is over 20 years old. There must be some real results; something that citizens can feel.Or it’s high time that we started to produce some. This article makes a modest proposal that is easy to implement and which leverages […]
Media group says Sri Lanka journalists harassed
July 18, 2008 (AFP) – Journalists covering Sri Lanka’s war with Tamil Tiger rebels are being harassed despite a government pledge to take action to protect the press, a rights group said Friday. The Free Media Movement (FMM) reported eight incidents of threats and intimidation, just two weeks after a ministerial committee was formed to […]
Local Lube
July 18, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s diversified Laugfs Holdings has introduced lubricants to the local market, working capture 30 percent share in two years, top officials said. The lubricants were launched through the subsidiary of Laugfs Holdings, Laugfs Lubricants Limited. “As a fully Sri Lankan company, we are proud to enter a market which […]
Sri Lanka not ready to sign trade pact with India: officials
July 18, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is not ready to sign a trade pact with India, senior officials said as protests mounted from domestic business interests and a partner of the ruling coalition.Local business interests that fear Indian competition also spoke out against the deal. They said the government should first ensure that true […]
Sri Lanka trade deficit up on oil imports, slow industrial exports
July 18, 2008 LBO) – Sri Lanka’s trade gap had expanded 79 percent to 2.5 billion US dollars in the five months to May 2008 on higher imports of oil while industrial exports slowed, government data showed. The Central Bank said 58 percent of the increase in imports came from oil and 21 percent from […]
Sri Lanka gets more World Bank money for roads
July 18, 2008 (LBO) – The World Bank is giving 98 million US dollars in additional financing for road re-building in Sri Lanka amid soaring costs of oil based materials, the multilateral lender said. “The project has made good overall progress,” says World Bank infrastructure specialist Amali Rajapaksa. “Importantly, it has played a pivotal role […]
Cheap Talk
July 16, 2008 (AFP) – South Asian leaders meeting in Sri Lanka next month should agree to slash telecom tariffs in their countries to promote inter-regional trade, a policy think-tank said Wednesday.Regional policy group LIRNEasia said reducing call costs between members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) would encourage trade and improve […]
”: Britain
July 17, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s former colonial ruler Britain has called for trust between multi-ethnic communities to end Sri Lanka’s spiralling violence, while also voicing concerns about rights abuses.British lawmaker Mark Malloch-Brown told reporters in Colombo that London was worried about an escalation in the separatist conflict, which has left scores dead on […]