Author: lbostgadmin
Lifestyle disease deaths may double by 2015, WHO warns
SEOUL, Sept 14, 2007 (AFP) – World deaths from “lifestyle” diseases will double by 2015 unless all-out efforts are taken to combat them, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned Friday.It said about 17 million people die prematurely each year as a result of the global epidemic of largely preventable chronic diseases — the leading cause […]
Bid Probe
Sept 14, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s top law official has begun probing a complaint of anti-competitive practices against one of the main bidders to build and operate a container terminal in the planned new deep-draft port next to Colombo, officials said. Hyundai Engineering Construction of Korea made the lowest bid at 36 billion rupees […]
Canal Block
NEW DELHI, Sept 14, 2007 (AFP) – India’s government said Friday it was putting on hold its bid to dredge a crucial shipping lane after being accused of blasphemy by Hindu activists who argue the project will damage a sacred site. The government denied the existence of a Hindu god to justify the project, which […]
Sri Lanka bond yields plummet; rupee at new record low
Sept 14, 2007 (LBO) – Foreign names bought into a popular rupee bond sending yields crashing down and raising fears of manipulation Friday, while the Sri Lanka currency closed at a new low against the greenback with deals done at 113.40 rupees, dealers said. The rupee which opened at 113.30/32 in spot trade closed at […]
Sri Lanka economy slows to 6.2% in 1H2007
Sept 13, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s economy expanded 6.4 percent in the second quarter clocking up a 6.2 percent growth for the first half, coming off record highs in 2006, the government’s statistics office said. The growth in gross domestic product (GDP) has slowed compared to an expansion of 7.8 percent in the first […]
Price War
Sept 13, 2007 (LBO) – The bunker fuels subsidiary of John Keells Holdings, a top money-spinner of the group, looks set to face heightened competition with a rival supplier in Colombo port threatening to cut prices. The Sri Lanka Shipping Group, which sells ship fuel through its bunkering subsidiary, Lanka Maritime Services, has said it […]
Peak Price
SINGAPORE, Sept 13, 2007 (AFP) – Crude oil prices weakened in Asian trade Thursday on profit-taking after scaling new peaks on concerns over tight US supplies and hurricane worries, dealers said. At 10:35 am (0235 GMT), New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for October delivery dropped 25 cents to 79.66 US dollars a barrel […]
Gas Market
Sept 13, 2007 (LBO) – Lanka Auto Gas and Fuel Systems (LAUGFS) plans to set up a gas storage terminal in southern Galle at a cost of 12 million dollars, a top official said. Laugfs decided to build their own terminal because the liquid petroleum gas market was growing and also because of difficulties in […]
Sri Lanka issues tsunami alert; no warning
Sept 13, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has issued a tsunami alert following an aftershock of a magnitude of 7.8 on the Richter scale in Indonesia at 05.19 am local time and asked people to await further instructions. Following are the message definitions used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States […]
Sri Lanka calls for Red Cross escorts for food ships to Jaffna
Sept 13, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Secretariat for Coordinating the Peace Process has urged the international Red Cross to resume escorting vessels taking supplies and passengers to the northern Jaffna peninsula by sea. It said in a statement that it was keen to reduce restrictions on movement between the north and south and to […]
Sri Lanka gets USAF help to mop up rotten teeth in newly captured areas
Sept 13, 2007 (LBO) – A team of U.S. Air Force medics has helped treat patients in territory recently captured from Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka’s east, the United States embassy in Colombo Thursday. “A nine-person team of USAF medics recently completed a medical/dental humanitarian assistance mission that benefited civilians living in the recently-liberated eastern […]
Sri Lanka jets bomb Tiger territory
Sept 13, 2007 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s military said Thursday it had bombed the rebel-held north of the island and caused “heavy damage” to Tamil Tiger targets, but rebels said the attack only sparked panic among civilians.More than 5,400 people have been killed in the fighting in the past 21 months following the breakdown of […]