Announcing an official higher or lower poverty number by the country sends the following kinds of signals to the international stakeholders, ie, foreign governments, multilateral and bilateral donors, international NGOs and foreign private investors: A high poverty number or rising trend in poverty incidence signifies that the country needs continuous financial assistance in many forms to alleviate transitory, chronic and extreme poverty among its citizens. Implicitly the high poverty incidence indicates that since real incomes are low or not rising, purchasing power is weak and therefore the country cannot be pressed for raising revenues through direct or indirect taxes and moreover would require loans on easy terms.

When an Egyptian officer said recently on national television that the conflict with Ethiopia over the waters of the Nile was "not yet" a military one, his words sounded more threatening than reassuring. Colonel Ahmed Mohammed Ali may have been trying to calm tempers, but long-standing animosities between the two countries has flared up with renewed bitterness.

"Dar told the finance committee that he would waive the one percent rise in sales tax if the committee helps the government generate 60 billion rupees."