A meeting of all political party leaders is to be called by President Mahinda Rajapaksa to discuss the course of action to be taken with regards to oil exploration in the country in which American, Indian and British companies have expressed interest.

Efforts by business tycoon Harry Jayawardena to take control of Asiri Hospital were botched after few shareholders responded to his offer to sell their stock.

John Keells Holdings (JKH) is considering bids from three parties for the sale of its Pizza Hut business, a company spokesman said. He said bids from two local parties and one foreign group are being evaluated and a decision would be taken next week. The spokesman said the JKH was selling the Pizza Hut franchise as it wants to concentrate on its core businesses. He declined to give details.