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Sri Lanka budget banks on car taxes to boost coffers
Sri Lanka budget banks on car taxes to boost coffers
by  AFP

Sri Lanka is banking on vehicle import taxes to boost revenue and revive the island nation's battered economy, leftist President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's maiden budget showed on Monday. "For the year 2025, the bulk of revenue gains is expected to be delivered by the liberalisation of motor vehicle imports," the president told parliament.

China's Xi meets business leaders including Alibaba's Jack Ma
China's Xi meets business leaders including Alibaba's Jack Ma
by  AFP

Chinese President Xi Jinping held a meeting Monday with top private business leaders including Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma, state media footage showed. State broadcaster CCTV reported Monday that the meeting had taken place at Beijing's Great Hall of the People, with video showing Ma standing and applauding as Xi entered a lavish room.

End of the road for Kolkata's beloved yellow taxis
End of the road for Kolkata's beloved yellow taxis
by  AFP

Kolkata locals cherish their city's past, which is why many in the one-time Indian capital are mourning a vanishing emblem of its faded grandeur: a hulking and noisy fleet of stately yellow taxis. Nowadays it is rarely spotted outside Kolkata, where it serves as the backbone of the metropolitan cab fleet and a readily recognisable symbol of the eastern city's identity.

Japan 2024 growth slows despite stronger fourth quarter
Japan 2024 growth slows despite stronger fourth quarter
by  AFP

Japan's economic growth slowed sharply last year, official data showed Monday, although the rate for the fourth quarter topped expectations. The fourth-quarter figure was also more than double market expectations of 0.3 percent growth.

Most Asian markets start week on positive note
Most Asian markets start week on positive note
by  AFP

Asian markets mostly rose Monday as investors assessed the global economic outlook while Donald Trump pushes ahead with his trade war. Investors are also keeping tabs on developments over the Ukraine war after Trump said Sunday he could meet Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin "very soon", adding he believed he genuinely wanted to stop the fighting.