Category:
Sri Lanka state worker growth flattens
Apr 17, 2011 (LBO) – The expansion of Sri Lanka state workers seen since 2004 has taken a breather in 2010 reducing a key form of tax banditry practised by rulers, the latest official data shows. In 2010 however the state also froze wages helping bring down the budget deficit. However analysts say rather than […]
IPL reignites country or club debate
NEW DELHI, April 16, 2011 (AFP) – A Sri Lanka cricket board demand that national players involved in the Indian Premier League (IPL) return to prepare for an England tour has reopened the long-running club versus country debate. Eleven Sri Lankan cricketers are playing in the money-spinning IPL, including Tillakaratne Dilshan, who is likely to […]
Mumbai lose despite Tendulkar century
MUMBAI, April 15, 2011 (AFP) – Brendon McCullum and Mahela Jayawardene hit robust half-centuries as Kochi Tuskers Kerala posted an eight-wicket win over Sachin Tendulkar’s Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Friday. Skipper Tendulkar hammered an unbeaten 100 off just 66 balls for his maiden IPL hundred to help his side reach […]
Leaked UN report urges Sri Lanka war crimes probe
April 16, 2011 (AFP) – A UN panel has called for an independent inquiry into “credible” allegations that Sri Lanka committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in its final 2009 offensive against Tamil Tiger rebels. The panel of experts, appointed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, submitted its report last week, and leaked excerpts […]
Bus Losses
Apr 15, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s over-staffed state-run bus services lost 8.4 billion rupees in 2010, up 4. 9 percent from the 8.4 billion rupees a year earlier, eating up billions of rupees of taxes extracted from the people from other means. There was no mention of depreciation charges. The SLTB owned 7,746 buses […]
Freight Factor
Apr 15, 2011 (LBO) – Increased freight transport has helped Sri Lanka’s state-owned railway department sharply reduce losses in 2010, according to the central bank. “The railway network coverage, reliability and the service delivery should be improved in line with the emerging transport demand of the country,” the report said. It said the performance of […]
India BPO industry suffers 55% attrition
NEW DELHI, April 14, 2011 (AFP) – The attrition rate in India’s business process outsourcing sector jumped to 55 percent from a year earlier, dealing a potentially fatal blow to the flagship industry, a study said on Thursday. India recently lost its crown to the Philippines as the call centre capital of the world. But […]
No Padding
SAN FRANCISCO, April 13, 2011 (AFP) – Figures released on Wednesday showed that the personal computer market shrank for the first time in more than a year due to frugality and a tablet computer craze led by Apple’s hot-selling iPads. “Instead, consumers turned their attention to media tablets and other consumer electronics. ” After Apple’s […]
Reckitt Benckiser picks Indian boss in shock shake-up
LONDON, April 14, 2011 (AFP) – Reckitt Benckiser, the Anglo-Dutch household products and drugs group, on Thursday chose senior employee and Indian national Rakesh Kapoor to replace chief executive Bart Becht, who surprisingly retired. Reckitt’s share price slumped more than 7.0 percent in London on the unexpected announcements by the company whose major brands include […]
Pakistan plans own version of IPL
LAHORE, April 13, 2011 (AFP) – Pakistan hopes to launch a new cricket league based on the lucrative Indian Premier League in a bid to win back its status as an international host, an official said on Wednesday. International cricket has been suspended in Pakistan since March 2009 when gunmen attacked a convoy carrying the […]
” UN war crimes report
April 13, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka on Wednesday rejected as “flawed” and “biased” a UN-commissioned report into alleged war crimes committed during the final 2009 offensive by government troops against Tamil Tiger rebels. The External Affairs Ministry said it had received a copy of the report by a three-member expert panel who handed their […]
Sri Lanka could target inflation of 4-7 percent: IMF paper
Apr 14, 2011 (LBO) – An International Monetary Fund policy paper has proposed a forecasting and policy analysis system (FPAS) to help start an inflation targeting regime for Sri Lanka which suggested a range of 4.0 to 7.0 percent a year as a target. The paper said Sri Lanka’s tight peg also complicated monetary policy. […]