Category: Other

NEW YORK, Jan 10, 2008 (AFP) – The dollar fell sharply Thursday after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the US central bank was ready to implement fresh interest rate cuts if necessary amid lingering economic uncertainty.Traders ratcheted up their expectations that the US central bank would unleash a fresh rate cut at a looming […]

WELLINGTON, Jan 11, 2008 (AFP) – Edmund Hillary, the unassuming New Zealander who won world fame as the first man to climb Mount Everest, died Friday at the age of 88. Hillary, who with Sherpa Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of the world’s highest mountain on May 29, 1953, died of a heart attack in […]

TOKYO, Jan 10, 2008 (AFP) – The dollar softened in Asian trade Thursday as market players waited for clues from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on the chances of further US interest rate cuts, dealers said.The dollar eased to 109.87 yen in Tokyo morning trade from 109.93 in New York late on Wednesday. The euro […]

January 10, 2008 (LBO) — The World Bank warned Maldives, South Asia’s richest economy, that recent economic gains could unravel, if the atoll nation failed to tackle political instability and curb its budget deficit.“Constitutional changes, pressures for unsustainable fiscal deficits, and vulnerability to economic shocks could offset or potentially roll back some development gains,” Washington-based […]

BEIJING, Jan 10, 2008 (AFP) – China and five other countries have agreed to collaborate on a train service between Asia and Europe that is expected to transport cargo twice as quickly as by sea, Chinese state media said Thursday. Under an agreement signed on Wednesday by China, Mongolia, Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany, the […]

NEW DELHI, Jan 10, 2008 (AFP) – India’s Tata Group unveiled Thursday the world’s cheapest car costing 2,500 dollars amid predictions the no-frills vehicle could revolutionise how millions in India and elsewhere travel.The launch of the Tata Nano was a landmark in the history of transportation, claimed 70-year-old tycoon Ratan Tata, the head of the […]

WASHINGTON, Jan 8, 2008 (AFP) – The global economy is expected to slow to a modest 3.3 percent growth pace this year, but the pace could worsen if the United States slips into recession, the World Bank said Tuesday. Despite financial turmoil unleashed by a meltdown in the US mortgage market, global growth slowed in […]

COLOMBO, Jan 9, 2008 (AFP) – Police in the Maldives said Wednesday they arrested four more people in connection with an unsuccessful attempt to kill the Indian Ocean archipelago’s president. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who has ruled Maldives with an iron fist since 1978, escaped assassination while touring the atoll’s northern islands on Tuesday thanks to […]

BRUSSELS, Jan 7, 2008 (AFP) – The European Union on Monday called on the Sri Lankan government to offer “substantive devolution” to Tamil rebels as fierce fighting, renewed since Colombo scrapped a ceasefire, claimed more victims.The Slovenian EU presidency voiced deep regret at the Sri Lankan government’s decision to end the truce with the rebel […]

Jan 8, 2008 (AFP) – The president of the Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, escaped an assassination attempt Tuesday, a senior minister told AFP. “The president was greeting people when a young boy pulled out a knife and tried to stab him in the stomach,” Information Minister Mohamed Nasheed said by telephone from the island capital […]

Jan 08, 2008 (LBO) – Maldives president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom was saved by a 15-year old youth as he was stabbed by a man who had a knife concealed inside a national flag, a report said. The boy Mohamed Jaisham was treated for injuries to his hand, Minivan News, an online news service from the […]