Author: lbostgadmin
Saudi campaign for OPEC output rise gathers pace
VIENNA, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) – OPEC ministers head into crunch talks about the cartel’s output on Tuesday, with signs that the group might bend to the will of Saudi Arabia and increase production.It has an output target of 25.8 million barrels, but the 10 members constrained by output limits are estimated to be producing […]
‘s inflation, trade surplus soar
BEIJING, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) – China’s inflation hit its highest rate in almost 11 years in August while the nation’s trade surplus soared again, official data showed Tuesday, signalling more interest rate hikes ahead.The United States and other nations argue China’s yuan currency is being kept undervalued, giving Chinese exporters an unfair advantage, and […]
Bin Laden taunts US on 9/11 anniversary
NEW YORK, Sept 11, 2007 (AFP) – Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden eulogized one of the September 11 hijackers in a video released on Tuesday’s sixth anniversary of the attacks that still traumatize the United States. As Americans remembered the almost 3,000 people killed, an attempted bomb attack in Turkey and a security alert at […]
Country Head
Sept 11, 2007 (LBO) – Bhart Airtel has appointed Olof Haag, a former Ericsson executive, as the country head for Sri Lanka, the company said Tuesday. Haag would be the Chairman of Bharti Airtel Lanka (Pvt) Ltd, Sri Lanka’s fifth mobile operator which is due to start operations early in 2008. “I am confident that […]
Cancer Therapy
Sept 11, 2007 (LBO) – Diversified company Ceylinco Sri Lanka opened its health centre, equipped with Sri Lanka’s first linear accelerator to deliver modulated radiation therapy for cancer patients, Tuesday. “Each year, around 11,000 patients are identified having cancer in Sri Lanka. At least half of the number needs radiation therapy,” Dr Sarath Abeyakoon, medical […]
High Seas
Sept 11, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Mercantile Shipping Company, a ship owner listed on the Colombo bourse, has said higher ship charter rates and chartering of vessels to the government have helped it turn around. The company, whose small fleet was once the island’s biggest, made a net profit of 58 million rupees for […]
Peninsular Supply
Sept 11, 2007 (LBO) – Residents in Sri Lanka’s northern Jaffna peninsular are moving beyond basic needs and are now looking for inputs to revive livelihoods, the top official in charge of supplying the area said Tuesday. S.B. Divaratne, Commissioner General of Essential Services (CGES), said regular shipments by sea to Jaffna had ensured the […]
Swann and Wright selected for Sri Lanka one-day series
LONDON, Sept 10, 2007 (AFP) – England have selected off-spinner Graeme Swann and all-rounder Luke Wright for their forthcoming one-day international tour of Sri Lanka.Paul Collingwood (Durham, capt), James Anderson (Lancashire), Ian Bell (Warwickshire), Ravi Bopara (Essex), Stuart Broad (Leicestershire), Alastair Cook (Essex), Andrew Flintoff (Lancashire), Dimitri Mascarenhas (Hampshire), Monty Panesar (Northamptonshire), Kevin Pietersen (Hampshire), […]
Oil price danger looms over OPEC meeting
VIENNA, Sept 10, 2007 (AFP) – OPEC oil ministers arrive in Vienna on Monday, under pressure to help combat high crude prices, which have surged to near-record highs and loom as a new risk for the global economy.The outcome is uncertain of a formal meeting on Tuesday, when the group will decide whether to raise […]
WHO says time to get tough with tobacco giants
JEJU ISLAND, South Korea, Sept 10, 2007 (AFP) – A top World Health Organisation official on Monday urged the world to get tough with tobacco companies, saying smoking deaths are an international scandal. “The deaths and misery caused by smoking continue to be one of the greatest scandals of our time,” said Shigeru Omi, WHO […]
‘s economy shrinks, adding to global concerns
TOKYO, Sept 10, 2007 (AFP) – Japan’s economy contracted in the second quarter of 2007 as firms cut spending on new factories and equipment, the government said Monday, adding to jitters over the global economic climate. Past GDP estimates were also revised, showing the economy shrank by 0.1 percent in the third quarter of 2006, […]
Central bankers warn sub-prime crisis could hit whole US economy
BASEL, Switzerland, Sept 10, 2007 (AFP) – The crisis in the US housing market risks spreading to the whole of the nation’s economy, European Central Bank chief Jean-Claude Trichet said Monday on behalf of world central bankers.Trichet was speaking in his capacity as head of the G10 group of central bankers from industrialised and emerging […]