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Teen on mechanical heart gets transplant
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) – A Malaysian teenage girl desperately looking for a new heart has successfully undergone a transplant operation after being hooked up to a mechanical heart for over a year, reports said Friday. Tee Hui Yee, 14, received a heart in a 10-hour operation at the National Heart Institute late […]
Nobel prize season opens Monday
STOCKHOLM, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) – The 2007 Nobel prize season opens Monday with the announcement of the medicine prize, as the fight against climate change is tipped for the Nobel Peace Prize and speculation is rife for the literature award. Laureates receive a gold medal, a diploma and 10 million Swedish kronor (1.53 million […]
European, UK central banks sit tight on rates
VIENNA, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) – Europe’s two biggest central banks kept interest rates on hold Thursday as they scoured financial and economic data for signs of damage in the wake of a global banking crisis.“This underpins our call for the ECB to be firmly on hold for now,” Bartsch said.The European Central Bank and […]
Sprint queen Marion Jones admits doping: report
WASHINGTON, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) – Sprint superstar Marion Jones, who has dodged doping allegations for years, has admitted using steroids before her triumphant 2000 Olympics campaign, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.The Post, in a story posted on its website, said Jones had written to family and friends to tell them she would plead […]
England taste rare one-day success in Sri Lanka
DAMBULLA, Sri Lanka, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) – Ryan Sidebottom and Stuart Broad shared four big wickets as England ended a 25-year wait with a 65-run win over Sri Lanka in the second one-day international here on Thursday. The pace duo built on man-of-the-match Owais Shah’s superb 82 as England dismissed the World Cup runners-up […]
Sri Lanka to start victim and witness protection
Oct 05, 2007 (LBO) – The Sri Lankan government announced Thursday it will soon introduce regulations to protect and compensate victims and witnesses of crimes with the aim of improving the efficacy of the criminal justice system. Policy guidelines have already been prepared by the Attorney General that will help formulate a legal framework to […]
‘s Sri Lanka lending hit by shifting policies and conflict
Oct 05, 2007 (LBO) – Asian Development Bank (ADB), the second largest lender to Sri Lanka, says two decades of aid has mixed results and the relevance of its current 5-year lending program has ‘diminished’ due to conflict and shifting government policy. Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) policy supporting loans, conflict assistance and agriculture sector lending […]
Sri Lanka treasuries yields edge up with high spending
Oct 04, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka treasuries edged up again this week as a high budget deficit drained funds from the domestic markets and the central bank fought to limit money printing in a bid to avoid further inflation. . The average yield of the benchmark 3-month treasuries went up 20 basis points to […]
Sri Lanka John Keells in deal to buy three Confifi hotels
Oct 04, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s John Keells Holdings announced a take-over of three Confifi group hotels Thursday, paying for the deal with the stock of its leisure division. Meanwhile in the broader market, the All Share index closed up 0.45 percent at 2,589.7 points and the more liquid Milanka Index 0.31 percent at […]
Sri Lanka slaps new levy on rubber products
Oct 04, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has slapped a new tax on rubber products to raise funds for rubber sector development officials said, amid industry protests that cash from an existing levy was not being ploughed back to the sector. Since then however, natural rubber prices have more than doubled, making the sector an […]
Flying High
Oct 04, 2007 (LBO) – The boom in civil aviation especially in the Asian region is opening up vast opportunities for professionals, especially in engineering, in Sri Lanka, a senior airline official said. Eardley Abayaratna, manager, technical services of the engineering arm of the national carrier Sri Lankan Airlines, said the rapid rate at which […]
ECB to hold rates steady as euro rocks near record high
VIENNA, Oct 4, 2007 (AFP) – The European Central Bank was set to hold interest rates steady Thursday amid concern that the euro’s strength and a slowing economy were stirring up stiff headwinds for the 13-nation eurozone.The Bank of England was expected to leave its main lending rate unchanged as well, at 5.75 percent after […]