Tag: lbo
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 […]
Sri Lanka average prices steady from February: CB
May 4, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s average price level measured by an index at the capital Colombo, has been steady since February though non-food items have taken up the slack created by falling food prices, an official statement said. In April prices rose 9.8 percent from a year earlier, despite food prices falling 1. […]
Wrong strategy could worsen dengue epidemics: study
PARIS, 2011 (AFP) – The wrong approach to wiping out the mosquitoes that cause dengue infections could lead to worse epidemics in the future, according to a study released Tuesday. Targeting only mosquito larvae, and not adults, with insecticides may work in the short run, but could result in higher resistance in the insects and […]
‘s May Day rallies reject UN war report
May 1, 2011 (AFP) – The Sri Lankan government used May Day rallies on Sunday to reject a United Nations report that alleged the military may have been guilty of atrocities during the island’s civil war. Roads were decorated in the party colours of blue, red and maroon, while billboards were erected showing the president […]
US envoy heads to Sri Lanka amid war flap
WASHINGTON, April 29, 2011 (AFP) – A US envoy heads to Sri Lanka next week to encourage a full accounting over its civil war after the government angrily rejected UN-backed allegations of atrocities, officials said Friday. Robert Blake, the assistant secretary of state handling South Asia, will leave Saturday on a six-day trip to Sri […]
Sri Lanka smokers cough up taxes worth 1-pct of GDP
Apr 30, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s smokers have coughed up 56 billion rupees in taxes collected through Ceylon Tobacco Company, a unit of British American Tobbacco which is equal to one percent of gross domestic product, the company said. Taxes rose by 3.7 percent or 7.0 percent from a year earlier. CTC chairman Jayampathy […]
Sri Lanka inflation accelerates to 9.8-pct in April
Apr 29, 2011 (LBO) – Consumer prices in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo rose 9. 8 percent in April from a year earlier, accelerating from 8.6 percent in March, data from the government’s statistics office data showed. But excess liquidity remains close to 100 billion rupees, or about a third of the money officially defined monetary […]
Fed chief hums and haws in historic press meet
WASHINGTON, April 27, 2011 (AFP) – His voice cracked and pinched. When necessary — most of the time — he retreated into policy jargon. With markets ready to pounce on any odd choice of words, US central bank chief Ben Bernanke was clearly nervous as he fielded reporters’ questions after a policy meeting for the […]
Sri Lanka Vietnam economic links to widen with re-opened embassy: envoy
Apr 28, 2011 (LBO) – Sri Lanka could attract investments from Vietnam if the path is clear and the two nations could increase two-way trade and tourism rapidly, Ton Sinh Thanh, Hanoi’s envoy heading a newly re-opened embassy in Colombo, said. FDI Vietnam itself is receiving tens of billions of dollars of investment from Japan, […]