A、The key post of Finance Minister was vacated by Yongyuth Mayalarp. B、Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont resigned. C、Former World

The island nation of Sri Lanka has undergone significant changes in the 59 years since it emerged from colonial rule as an independent nation.
    Its transition to a market economy began in 1979 with a series of structural reforms. Since then, the country has enjoyed strong economic growth. The government has set this year’s target at nearly eight percent.
    Colombo is concentrating on ways to boost the national economy for 2007 with particular focus on raising per capita income.
    Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lankan President, said, "This government has introduced a 10-year development plan to usher in a new era for all Sri Lankans. The aim is to invigorate our economy and put the country on a strong economic footing. Our plan has led to an economic renaissance with a focus on agriculture, industries and service sectors."
    The King of Thailand on Wednesday signed the royal decree to endorse a minor cabinet reshuffle submitted by Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont on Tuesday.
    Government spokesman Yongyuth Mayalarp Wednesday announced the new lineup, in which the key post of finance minister, vacated by Pridiyathorn Devakula who resigned last week, was assigned to Chalongphob Sussangkarn, former World Bank economist and president of economic think tank Thailand Development and Research Institute.
    Chalongphob was to take over the tough job left by Pridiyathorn, who last Wednesday announced his resignation from both posts as Deputy Prime Minister in charge of economic affairs and Finance Minister.
    49 people were killed and 44 others injured after a passenger plane was burned when landing in Indonesia’s Yogyaklarta province, provincial government said on Wednesday.
    "The latest data of the death is 47 people, 43 of them Australian and Japanese," the government spokesman named only Robiyanto told Xinhua by phone from the province.
    Provincial police spokesman Budi Santoso said that six of the passengers were foreign citizens, but he did not give further detail.
    He said that the plane landed too far from where it supposed to be and skid off the runway.
    "Twice explosions were heard immediately after the plane landed and the axis of the tyre was broken," he said.
    Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) Prachanda reiterated that declaring country a republic through the interim parliament could be the new basis for eight-party unity, according to the website ekantipur.com Tuesday.
    Addressing a talk program organized by the Reporters’ Club, Prachanda also said Monday that there is no guarantee that constituent assembly election will be held even after six months.
He also said that all agreements between the CPN-M and the seven-party alliance (SPA) since the 12-point understanding in 2005 had been broken after the Election Commission (EC) expressed its inability to hold the election in June.
    Bangladesh’s immediate past Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who handed power to an interim administration in last October, has finally agreed to go in exile to Saudi Arabia under tremendous pressure from the caretaker government and on condition that her two sons will also be allowed to join her.
    "Her younger son Arafat Rahman will be going to Bahrain and the elder son Trique Rahman to Oman later on," The Daily Star quoted a highly placed source in the government on condition of anonymity as saying on Tuesday. "She will be leaving the country in a couple of days," the source said.
    After failing to persuade Khaleda Zia to go in exile, the top officials of joint forces arrested her second son Arafat Rahman on Monday, compelling her to yield to the pressures, the Daily said.
6. Which of the following statements is true about the current economic situation in Sri Lanka?
7. What’s happened to the Thai cabinet?
8. How many people were killed in the Indonesian plane fire?
9. What did the Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Prachanda stress again according to the website?
10. Where is Bangladesh’s immediate past Prime Minister Khaleda Zia probably going to stay in the future?