61.   However, the study noted that the situation varied widely from country to country and even region to region.

62.   In the now defunct state of East Germany, sterilisation had hardly been used as a method of birth control, the study noted.

63.   The study noted however that actual lost sales for US companies probably exceeded that figure because many effects of the boycott were difficult to quantify.

64.   The study noted that the depreciation of the US dollar against several major foreign currencies had lowered the costs of new US investments for overseas firms.

65.   The study further noted that most of the operations at the maternity wing were carried out by junior doctors without supervision from senior surgeons.

66.   Studies meanwhile note a widening gap between the rich and poor in a country which prides itself on egalitarianism.