|
MANILA: Many developing countries are paying higher
salaries to their state employees than they can afford and stunting
economic growth in the process, a study by the Asian Development
Bank shows. “The higher the relative government pay rates, the
lesser the economic growth attained,” the study of 19 Asian,
African and Latin American countries said. “The high relative
government pay rates cost the country in terms of economic growth,
while the higher employment share does not seem to have any economic
growth impact,” it said.
--AFP
BEIJING: The six-nation talks
aimed at ending North Korea’s nuclear programs will resume in
Beijing on Thursday, China confirmed on Tuesday. “The six parties
have agreed to hold the meetings of the heads of delegations from
July 10 in Beijing,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told
reporters on Tuesday. China is the host of the talks, which began in
2003 with the aim of convincing the North to abandon its nuclear
programs.
--AFP
TOYAKO: Leaders of the Group of
Eight countries have agreed on the long-term target of at least
halving global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, participants of the
G8 summit in northern Japan said Tuesday. “A new, shared vision by
the major economies on the climate challenge within the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change framework has emerged
from the G8 in Toyako,” European Commission President Jose Manuel
Barroso said. “We have agreed that we should also set up mid-term
targets, as the EU is already establishing for 2020.”
--Xinhua
SYDNEY: The leader of the
Catholic Church in Australia on Tuesday denied trying to cover up
allegations of sex abuse against a priest, just days before Pope
Benedict XVI is due to visit for World Youth Day. Sydney Archbishop
Cardinal George Pell defended his actions over sex abuse allegations
against Father Terence Goodall, which he said had been investigated
by the Church and police and had resulted in the priest being stood
down.
--AFP
LOS ANGELES: High temperatures
are expected to heat up many parts in California this week,
prompting calls for residents to stay in the shade and fears that
the state’s frightening wildfire season could soon worsen. Heeding
warnings from the US National Weather Service, California Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday directed state agencies to implement
procedures outlined in the state’s plan for excessive heat
emergencies. Over the next three days, daytime highs are expected to
reach 40.6 degrees Celsius or higher in many areas.
--Xinhua
QUITO: Ecuador is willing to
receive a visit from French-Colombian politician and recently
rescued Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) hostage Ingrid
Betancourt, who was interested in meeting with Ecuadorian leaders,
authorities said Monday. “If she is interested, there is no reason
for not receiving her,” Foreign Minister Maria Isabel Salvador
told an Ecuadorian radio station. “We have not had any official
communication . . . [but] we are ready to ease her arrival.”
Betancourt was rescued last week after six years of captivity.
--Xinhua
PARIS: French President Nicolas
Sarkozy’s remarks, which appeared to be downplaying the impact of
general strikes in the country, have continued to stir controversy,
with opposition politicians and labor union representatives lining
up to condemn the head of state. On Saturday, President Sarkozy was
quoted as telling the National Council of the ruling Union for a
Popular Movement (UMP) that “now, when there is a strike, nobody
takes note,” welcoming the fact that France was “in the process
of changing.”
--Xinhua
BANGKOK: Thailand’s Cabinet
violated the constitution by backing a Cambodian bid to grant a
disputed 11th-century temple World Heritage status, a top court
ruled Tuesday. Thailand and Cambodia have disputed the border around
the mountaintop Preah Vihear temple for decades. The Constitutional
Court ruled the Cabinet should have sought parliamentary approval
for the joint communiqué backing Cambodia’s bid for recognition
by the UN cultural agency,” the court’s Secretary-General
Paiboon Varahapaitoon said.
--AFP
|
