Category:
Ward Rounds
Feb 16, 2008 (LBO) – A ban on representatives of Sri Lanka’s healthcare firms visiting hospitals has been lifted following a presidential order after the industry agreed to follow a code of conduct, an industry body said. Sri Lanka’s health ministry had banned visits by representatives to hospitals as part of a series of regulations […]
India opens massive weapons fair, denies arming for war
NEW DELHI, Feb 16, 2008 (AFP) – A massive defence fair opened in India’s capital Saturday, with hundreds of global weapons firms competing for billions of dollars of sales to one of the world’s largest armies and biggest spenders. Some 450 firms from countries including the United States, Russia, Britain, Russia and Israel are displaying […]
WHO wants tobacco firms to stop smuggling with new treaty
GENEVA, Feb 15, 2008 (AFP) – The World Health Organisation announced Friday that it planned to adopt a new international treaty on the illegal tobacco trade by 2010. The existing FCTC agreement, signed in February 2005, aims to rein in the estimated five million annual deaths caused by smoking, which the WHO says will double […]
US scientists pinpoint 14 top technological challenges
BOSTON, Massachusetts, Feb 16, 2008 (AFP) – The US National Academy of Engineering has announced the grand challenges for engineering in the 21st century that, if met, would improve people’s lives.The list of 14 tasks was unveiled Friday by a diverse committee of experts from around the world, convened at the request of the US […]
‘s Jayawardene says batsmen must lift
PERTH, Australia, Feb 16, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene said his team needed to play smarter cricket at international level after this week’s 63-run loss to Australia.Sri Lanka blew their chance to go top of the tri-series ladder here Friday when several batsmen threw their wickets away as they were dismissed for […]
Sri Lanka airforce bombs rebel base: ministry
Feb 16, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s airforce kept up air strikes on suspected Tamil Tiger rebel targets in the island’s north for the third day in a row on Saturday, the defence ministry said.It did not give details of casualties or damage but said a rebel coordination centre in Mannar on the northwest coast […]
Sri Lanka shares fall, high interest rates herald uncertainty
Feb 15, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lankan shares ended lower Friday with transactions in Royal Ceramics and HNB non-voting shares the main feature of the day but continuing high interest and inflation rates are seen dampening investor interest in stocks. The All Share Price Index lost 20.85 points or 0.83 percent to end at 2,485.05 […]
‘s Reach
Feb 15, 2008 (LBO) – International Finance Corporation, the World Bank’s private sector financing arm, has given a 75 million dollar standby loan for John Keells Holdings (JKH) which can be invested abroad, the firms said in a joint statement. “This will promote cross border business and growth of infrastructure across the region,” the statement […]
Negative Outlook
Feb 15, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s rating outlook has been lowered to ‘negative’ by Standard and Poor’s (S&P) who warned that the underlying B+ rating rating could also be downgraded if budgets worsened. The rating agency said short term foreign borrowing was rising and an “apparent” fall in national debt was largely coming from […]
Indonesian shares close 0.5 percent higher
JAKARTA, Feb 15, 2008 (AFP) – Jakarta share prices closed 0.5 percent higher Friday rebounding from morning losses after the government’s announcement of strong 2007 growth data, dealers said. They said for 2007, the economy expanded 6.32 percent, the fastest for Indonesia since the Asian financial crisis 11 years ago.It remained below the pre-crisis level […]
‘s inflation surges to 66,000 percent
HARARE, Feb 14, 2008 (AFP) – Zimbabwe’s inflation rate, already the highest in the world, has soared to a new high of 66,212.3 percent, according to official figures obtained by AFP on Thursday.“The year-on-year inflation rate for the month of December 2007, as measured by the all items Consumer Price Index (CPI) stood at 66,212.3 […]
Dollar slips after Bernanke opens door to rate cuts
NEW YORK, Feb 14, 2008 (AFP) – The dollar eased against other major currencies Thursday after US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke highlighted economic risks, signaling further interest rate cuts to bolster growth.Around 2200 GMT, the euro was at 1.4637 dollars, up from 1.4573 dollars in New York late Wednesday. The dollar also fell to […]