Tag: Sri Lanka
Myanmar junta leader suffers stomach bug in Sri Lanka: doctor
KANDY, November 13, 2009 (AFP) – Myanmar junta leader General Than Shwe was treated for a mild stomach bug hours after his arrival in Sri Lanka, a doctor from the hospital that treated him said Friday.The reclusive junta leader complained of discomfort after his entourage had checked into a deluxe hotel in the central Buddhist […]
22 refugees leave Australian ship: Indonesia police
TANJUNG PINANG, November 13, 2009 (AFP) – A group of 22 Sri Lankan asylum seekers left an Australian customs ship to come ashore in Indonesia Friday, police said, partially easing a standoff which began last month.The group, who were among a total of 78 ethnic Tamils on the Oceanic Viking anchored off Bintan island near […]
Sri Lanka expects 6.0-pct growth from 4Q: CB Governor
Nov 12, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s economic growth is projected to touch 6.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009 allowing the country to return to a higher growth path from 2010, Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal said.Cabraal said government tax revenues, another direct indicator of economic activity, have also picked up. “Overall we […]
‘s top general quits: military source
November 12, 2009 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s top general, Sarath Fonseka, the architect of the army’s victory over Tamil rebels who was switched to a more ceremonial position, quit Thursday, a military source said.Fonseka declared during a visit to the United States last month that he was willing to shed his uniform and take up […]
‘s boat people: Dying to strike it rich
MARAWILA, November 11, 2009 (AFP) – For 50 young Sri Lankans who had paid up to 1,500 dollars each for the chance of a new life, a five-week voyage in the hold of a fishing boat ended in an Australian camp for illegal migrants.Their families had sold property and whatever other assets they had to […]
Sri Lanka state to recruit 17,000 unemployable graduates
Nov 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government is to recruit 17,000 graduates from state universities unemployable in productive sectors, expanding an already bloated public sector, ahead of planned national polls due early next year.Graduates from state universities, who are educated at the expense of the people through general taxes, have successfully cultivated a perception […]
‘s central bank battles inflation expectations
Nov 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s central bank is in a battle to dampen high public inflation expectations after capping price rises in the island’s capital Colombo to low single digits for more than a year.In 2009 the Central Bank is hoping to end the year with inflation at 3.5 percent after seeing only […]
Sri Lankans should ask for single digit wage hikes: Treasury official
Nov 11, 2009 (LBO) – Sri Lankan workers should ask for to 3.0 to 5.0 percent annual wage hikes with the Central Bank targeting low inflation in the future, the island’s most senior Treasury official said. The output of Sri Lanka’s people have largely appropriated by a top heavy state sector. Last year more than […]
” for Australian ship to stay
JAKARTA, November 11, 2009 (AFP) – Indonesia has “no problems” with extending permission for an Australian customs ship loaded with 78 Sri Lankan asylum seekers to stay in the country, the foreign ministry said Wednesday.Indonesia will look at any request by Australia to extend the stay of the Oceanic Viking, which is anchored off Bintan […]
Myanmar dissidents condemn S.Lanka over junta visit
November 11, 2009 (AFP) – Dissident Myanmar monks living in Colombo on Wednesday criticised the Sri Lankan government for inviting junta leader General Than Shwe for a state visit. The monks said Sri Lanka’s increasingly close relations with Myanmar’s military regime would further raise international concern over the island’s human rights record. They said President […]
Sri Lanka IMF country report released
Nov 10, 2009 (LBO) – The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released country report and staff papers covering the background and economic analysis leading up to a stand by loan to the island in July.Sri Lanka’s economic management has improved in recent months with both inflation and interest rates coming down, but external borrowings have […]
Sri Lanka agriculture, fishing revive in former war zone
Nov 10, 2009 (LBO) – Farmers and fishermen have been among the main borrowers under a Sri Lankan government loan scheme to revive economic activity in the former northern war zone, the Central Bank said. It said in a statement that a total of 1,875 loans valued at 264 million rupees has been disbursed under […]