Tag: Sri Lanka
US statement on Sri Lanka HR council vote
Mar 27, (LBO) – The following is a statement from US Secretary of State John Kerry on UN resolution on Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan people are resilient. They have demonstrated grit and determination through years of war. Now, they are demanding democracy and prosperity in years of peace. They deserve that chance. The United […]
India explains abstention on Sri Lanka UN HR council vote
Mar 27, 2013 (LBO) – India abstained on voting on a resolution on Sri Lanka’s human rights which called for a external probe. The full statement is reproduced below:- India’s Explanation of Vote on Resolution œPromoting Reconciliation, Accountability, and Human Rights in Sri Lanka (A/HRC/25/L.1/Rev.1) Mr. President, 1. The UN Human Rights Council has adopted […]
Sri Lanka rejects UN rights probe, president tells AFP
COLOMBO, March 27, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse rejected Thursday’s UN Human Rights Council resolution ordering a war crimes probe, telling AFP that he would instead press ahead with his own reconciliation plan.“We reject this,” Rajapakse said. “This resolution only hurts our reconciliation efforts.It does not help. “But I am not discouraged. […]
Sri Lanka can improve environment to retain talent and boost skills: biz leaders
Mar 26, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka could retain more highly skilled workers by boosting overall conditions and well as re-orienting its education system towards the needs of the market, senior business leaders said.He said people who had moved abroad would come back if conditions if education and health system quality was better. “But the […]
UN rights council launches Sri Lanka war crimes probe
GENEVA, March 27, 2014 (AFP) – The UN Human Rights Council on Thursday launched an inquiry into alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka, despite Colombo’s fierce efforts to block an investigation.But they question the credibility of his efforts to come clean on the past and to stem what they say are ongoing rights violations. “The […]
Sri Lanka faces censure at US rights body
COLOMBO, March 26, 2014 (AFP) – Sri Lanka faces fresh condemnation at the United Nations’ top human rights body this week in a move that observers say could lead to an international criminal investigation for war crimes.A US-led resolution demanding accountability for thousands of deaths of ethnic Tamil civilians five years ago is almost certain […]
Sri Lanka exports up in Jan 2014, trade gap down amid low credit growth
Mar 26, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s exports surged 23.3 percent to 898.0 million US dollars in January 2014, and the trade gap narrowed 5.9 percent to 755.9 million US dollars amid low credit growth, official data showed. Industrial exports rose 23.6 percent to 691.6 million US dollars with apparel also up 23.4 percent to […]
Sri Lanka private credit shrinks in January 2014
Mar 24, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s commercial bank credit to business contracted 42.1 billion rupees in January 2014 to 1,369.7 billion rupees from a month earlier, while central bank credit to the state rose, official data show. The central bank said the contraction in January came from a reduction in gold-backed loans and repayments […]
Sri Lanka has to radically reform public service to combat corruption: legislator
Mar 24, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka needs ‘broad based radical reform’ of the public service to combat corruption and end a process where competitive tendering for state projects has become an exception, a legislator said. Some analysts however say corruption cannot be tackled or rule of law upheld without re-building Sri Lanka’s broken public […]
‘s Ceylon Chamber marks 175 years
Mar 24, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Chamber of Commerce said it was seeking to build a society that thrives on merit and enterprise as it marks 175 years. In 1883 tea auctions had begun in Colombo and in 1898 the Chamber had provided space. The auctions are conducted by the Ceylon Chamber of […]
Sri Lanka policy rates steady; inflation, credit growth benign
Mar 21, 2014 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is holding a policy rate corridor at 6.5 to 8.0 percent, the Central Bank said amid benign credit growth and inflation.In 2011 a drought which reduced hydro power generated was accommodated by the banking credit which eventually saw the rupee falling to 130 from 100 to the US […]
Fed Chair Yellen keeps printing money at a lower rate
WASHINGTON, March 19, 2014 (AFP) – New Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen kept the central bank firmly on the path set by predecessor Ben Bernanke Wednesday, shrugging off recent economic weakness as largely weather-caused. The Fed slightly cut its forecast for economic growth, trimming the high end of the ranges by 0.2 percentage point to […]