Tag: lbo
Sri Lanka private sector urged to hire former combatants
May 23, 2011 (LBO) – An international terrorism expert has suggested Sri Lanka’s private sector should employ former Tamil Tiger separatist fighters who have been rehabilitated to help ensure they don’t return to violence. Sri Lanka’s 30-year ethnic war ended in May 2009 resulting in accelerated economic growth and a tourism boom. Gunaratna said many […]
A call against ad hoc state food restrictions in new bubble
BIG SKY, May 22, 2011 (AFP) – As high food prices push millions of people into poverty, major farming nations are resisting calls to impose trade restrictions and are committing to keep global markets open. APEC — a 21-member Asia-Pacific bloc that encompasses more than half of the world economy and includes the United States, […]
Sri Lanka war-torn regions to show highest nominal growth: CB Governor
May 21, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka former war-torn has shown the highest nominal growth among all regions (before inflation adjustment) after the end of a 30-year war and the momentum is expected to continue, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said. The war in the north ended in May 2009, but military activities in the […]
Top Fed official says core inflation should be dumped
May 19, 2011 (LBO) – A top US central banker has suggested that the Federal Reserve drop ‘core inflation’, a sham index that has been used to deceive people for decades and fire economic bubbles by setting a deceptive target that understates actual price rises. Core inflation excludes prices of food and energy and represents […]
Sri Lanka frees 850 prisoners on Buddhist holiday
May 17, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lanka freed 858 convicts on Tuesday to mark the most important day in the Buddhist calendar, a prison official said. President Mahinda Rajapakse granted freedom to 13 women and 845 men held at 29 prisons across the country to commemorate Vesak, which marks Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death, commissioner […]
Sri Lanka intercepts Tamil Tiger propaganda
May 17, 2011 (AFP) – Sri Lankan authorities on Tuesday detained a Canada-bound container with a cargo of propaganda material for the island’s Tamil Tiger rebels, a police official said. Police were asked to investigate the consignment of promotional material for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), on its way to Canada from the […]
Sri Lanka urged by India to probe rights record
NEW DELHI, May 17, 2011 (AFP) – India broke with past practice on Tuesday and called on Sri Lanka to investigate allegations of human rights abuses during the island’s civil war, upping pressure on President Mahinda Rajapakse. India has not joined recent demands from the United Nations and Western countries for a probe into alleged […]
Sri Lanka holds policy interest rates
May 16, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank said it is holding policy rates steady as last month’s hike in the reserve ratio was effective in draining excess liquidity and inflation was likely to fall from next month. Inflation, as measured by the year-on-year change in Colombo Consumers’ Price Index (CCPI) hit 9.8 percent […]
Sri Lanka govt expands overstaffed public service
May 12, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government has created a new service within an already bloated public service to give jobs to 15,000 unemployed graduates and another 15,000 youth, a statement said. The Cabinet of ministers has approved a proposal to establish a ‘Sri Lanka Development Officers’ Service’ and a ‘Sri Lanka Development Assistants’ […]
Central banks urge budget corrections: Trichet
BASEL, May 9, 2011 (AFP) – Central bankers are pressing advanced economies to gradually improve their budgets while fast growing emerging nations must guard against overheating, ECB chief Jean-Claude Trichet said on Monday. The European Central Bank chief warned, after a regular gathering with other leading central banks, that there was no room for complacency […]
Australia defends Malaysia asylum seekers plan
SYDNEY, May 8, 2011 (AFP) – Australia on Sunday defended plans to send hundreds of asylum seekers to Malaysia, saying it was an important signal to people smugglers, but refugee advocates slammed the proposal as cruel. Australia wants to transfer 800 boat people to Malaysia for processing as part of a yet-to-be-finalised one-off deal which […]
‘s rise: ADB
HANOI, May 4, 2011 (AFP) – Reducing corruption and improving government accountability are the greatest challenges to making Asia the world’s wealthiest region by 2050, the Asian Development Bank said Wednesday. The continent is undergoing a historic transformation, according to a study for the bank unveiled at its annual meeting in Vietnam. “If it continues […]