Tag: Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka half-year budget deficit on track
Sept 14, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka budget deficit up to June 2010 is on track with projected numbers though deficit monetization in subsequent weeks points to greater net cash deficits, official data show. Tax revenues picked up 16.0 percent to 309 billion rupees in the first six months of the year from a year […]
” to begin in October
Sept 14, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s statistics office has completed most of the preliminary work to conduct its first island-wide population count in 30-years with a ‘pilot census’ to begin in October, an official said. The census office started piling work a new building in Battaramulla, near Sri Lanka’s parliament Tuesday. The 62 year […]
Cuba to axe one million state jobs
HAVANA, September 14, 2010 (AFP) – Cuba has announced plans to slash one million state jobs and encourage the growth of its emerging small business sector in a gamble it hopes can keep its communist system and floundering economy afloat. Workers laid off from government jobs will no longer be sent home with partial pay, […]
” by S&P
Sept 14, 2010 (LBO) – Standard & Poor’s has raised its long-term foreign currency sovereign credit rating on Sri Lanka to ‘B+’ from ‘B’ and the long-term local currency rating to ‘BB-‘ from ‘B+’ with a stable outlook, a statement said. At the same time, Standard & Poor’s confirmed the ‘B’ short-term rating on the […]
Info on Tamil refugees stolen in Canada break-in
MONTREAL, September 13, 2010 (AFP) – Information about the 492 Tamils refugees who arrived in Canada last month aboard a cargo ship has been stolen from a Tamil organization in Toronto, the group said Monday. The Canadian Tamil Congress (CTC), which serves as the voice of Tamil Canadians, said that someone broke into its headquarters […]
Sri Lanka 83rd in Forbes best countries for business list
Sept 13, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has been ranked 83rd in the latest Forbes Best Countries for Business list, behind India which was placed 77th but ahead of Pakistan at 92 and Bangladesh at 109. Denmark tops the list, followed by Hong Kong in second place, New Zealand in third, Canada in fourth and […]
Campaigners seek more reactive UN rights council
GENEVA, September 12, 2010 (AFP) – Five years after the Human Rights Council was set up, the United States, once among its biggest critics, has now confirmed its full engagement in the UN body. She acknowledged that there are still many critics who “are still arguing that the US should not have joined in the […]
IMF warns of debt menace as recovery slows
WASHINGTON, September 10, 2010 (AFP) – High levels of national debt and a still shaky financial sector threaten to derail the global economic recovery, the IMF warned on Friday. The Washington-based body warned of a funding bottleneck as European nations try to extend their borrowing by rolling over bonds. “Sovereign debt maturing in vulnerable euro […]
‘s constitution changes draw US concern
WASHINGTON, September 11, 2010 (AFP) – The United States on Saturday expressed concern over changes to the Sri Lankan constitution, which strengthened the presidency, saying they were undermining the principles of democracy. “The United States is concerned that this constitutional amendment weakens checks and balances and thus undermines the principles of constitutional democracy,” State Department […]
‘ worth of gold to Bangladesh
WASHINGTON, September 9, 2010 (AFP) – The International Monetary Fund on Thursday announced it would sell 10 metric tons of gold to Bangladesh, worth around 403 million dollars. “This transaction is part of the total sales of 403.3 metric tons approved by the executive board,” the IMF said in a statement. That decision was taken […]
Sri Lanka ministers hails new powers for president
September 9, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lankan ministers on Thursday denied that the president now enjoyed dictatorial powers under a post-war constitutional revamp, but observers worried about the chilling effect on democracy. The national parliament voted in favour of the 18th amendment to the 1978 constitution on Wednesday, scrapping a two-term limit on the presidency […]
Sri Lanka president set to cement grip
September 7, 2010 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s parliament will vote Wednesday on constitutional reforms enabling President Mahinda Rajapakse to seek a third term, in changes critics say point to the country’s slide into autocracy. Under the proposed amendments, the two-term limit will be scrapped, allowing the populist Rajapakse, who was resoundingly re-elected for the second […]