Author: lbostgadmin
‘s tolerance of inflation
NEW DELHI, Feb 11, 2007 (AFP) – Inflation is rearing its head in booming India, sparking warnings that soaring food prices spell misery for the poor and that the country’s economy may be overheating.The wholesale price index, India’s most closely watched cost-of-living indicator, on Friday showed inflation at 6.58 percent, the highest reading since December […]
Killer blaze at Korean detention centre that also held Sri Lankan illegals
SEOUL, Feb 11, 2007 (AFP) – At least nine foreign migrants including eight Chinese were killed and 18 others hurt in a blaze early Sunday at a detention centre in the South Korean port of Yeosu, local officials said. “The Prime Minister instructed Justice Minister Kim Sung-Ho to examine all detention facilities for illegal immigrants […]
Sri Lanka president strips security from three sacked ministers
COLOMBO, Feb 10, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s President Mahinda Rajapakse on Saturday withdrew the security detail from three ministers sacked a day earlier, following dissension within the newly appointed jumbo cabinet.Samaraweera was a key ally of Rajapakse during the 2005 presidential election campaign but fell out of favour after he criticised the president for […]
G7 calls for vigilance on hedge funds
ESSEN, Germany, Feb 10, 2007 (AFP) – Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers and central bank chiefs called Saturday for “vigilance” on hedge funds, a trillion-dollar industry that has grown strongly and rapidly in recent years. “Given the strong growth of the hedge fund industry and the instruments they trade, we need to be vigilant,” […]
Flying Blind
February 10 (LBO) – SriLankan Airlines’ strategic decision-making has been hit by uncertainty over a management deal between its two main shareholders, a top official said. SriLankan is majority owned by the government of Sri Lanka, but its management was given to Emirates when the Dubai based airline bought a 40 percent stake in 1998. […]
Alternative Fund
February 09 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will set up an agency to administer the renewable energy sector in Sri Lanka and also establish a fund to support newer forms of energy, a senior minister said. Sri Lanka’s cabinet of ministers had approved the setting up of Sustainable Energy Authority, but the draft law would have […]
Sri Lanka town shuts down to mourn slain Hindu priest
Feb 9, 2007 (AFP) – A town in Sri Lanka’s embattled east shut down Friday as a sign of respect for a Hindu priest gunned down four days after he welcomed President Mahinda Rajapakse to a former guerrilla stronghold.Military officials said shops closed and transport was halted in Valachchenai to mourn Selliah Parameswar, who was […]
Sri Lanka president sacks three ministers in surprise move
COLOMBO, Feb 9, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s president Friday sacked three ministers, including the former foreign minister, amid growing dissension within the newly-elected 54-member cabinet, officials said. With last month’s defections, Rajapakse’s Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) enjoys a majority and the sacking of the three ministers will not immediately cause any problems for […]
China catching up with India in call centre services
BEIJING, Feb 9, 2007 (AFP) – China is catching up with India in providing call centre services, one of the fastest-growing areas of global outsourcing, Chinese state media and a research firm said Friday. The number of employees at call centres in China is likely to rise 22 percent in 2007 to 158,000, while in […]
More Bangladesh politicians arrested for graft
DHAKA, Feb 9, 2007 (AFP) – Two more Bangladeshi politicians including a former minister have been detained as part of the interim government’s anti-corruption drive, officials said Friday.The arrests bring the number detained to 25, ten of whom are former ministers. The detainees have links to both the main political parties. Outgoing junior energy minister […]
Hello Hello
February 09 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom’s profits surged in the last quarter by 160 percent driven by strong revenue growth taking annual profits up by 76 percent, results released Friday showed. SLT’s group revenue with mobile services rose 25 percent to 40 billion rupees in the year to December, while profits after-tax grew to […]
Health Cover
Feb 03 (LBO) – Large numbers of refugees in Sri Lanka are at increased risk of insect borne diseases and failing health, with officials looking for new and novel ways to fight off infection. The number of Sri Lanka™s internally displaced people (IDP) has gone up by 2.8 percent between April 2006 and the end […]