Category: Other

SYDNEY, Oct 26, 2007 (AFP) – Grumpy Australian coal miners are getting lessons on “exploring their wives” to revive their sex lives and boost production at work.Men working at the Bulga mine near Sydney attend classes on issues such as menopause and foreplay because, a manager told the Sydney Morning Herald, a miner not having […]

SINGAPORE, Oct 26, 2007 (AFP) – Oil surged past 91 dollars in Asian trade Friday on rising tensions in the Middle East following Turkey’s military threat against Kurdish rebels in Iraq and new US sanctions on Iran, dealers said. At 2:00 pm (0600 GMT) New York’s main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in […]

NEW DELHI, Oct 26, 2007 (AFP) – An Indian court has criticised politicians who surround themselves with scores of gun-toting bodyguards, advising them to stay home if they fear frequenting public places, a report said Friday.“I do not know why it has become a matter of prestige for them to move with 10-15 uniformed security […]

GENEVA, Oct 26, 2007 (AFP) – Nearly a third of all non-human primates could be wiped out, threatened by illegal wildlife trade, climate change and destruction of their habitat, a new report warned on Friday.The gorillas face loss of habitat from deforestation, as trees are chopped down from fuel, as well as from poaching. Twenty-nine […]

NAIROBI, Oct 25, 2007 (AFP) – Following are key points from the fourth Global Environment Outlook (GEO-4) report, issued on Thursday by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) — Of major vertebrate groups on the planet, 30 percent of amphibians, 23 percent of mammals and 12 percent of birds are threatened — Humanity’s current “footprint”, […]

SINGAPORE, Oct 24, 2007 (AFP) – World oil prices fell for the third straight day in Asia on Wednesday, pulling back further from record highs reached last week.Dealers said worries about slowing economic growth have pushed aside fears about tensions between Turkey and Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, which helped push prices sky-high last week. […]

NEW YORK, Oct 23, 2007 (AFP) – Business travel costs around the world are expected to see a big surge in 2008 with air fares pushed up by rising fuel prices and hotels rates squeezed by growing demands, a survey showed Tuesday.The American Express Global Business Travel Forecast said hotel rates are especially pressured in […]

CHIBA, Japan, Oct 24, 2007 (AFP) – Nissan took the wraps off its all-new GT-R supercar Wednesday, betting that there’s still a market for muscle machines despite soaring petrol prices.The high-performance sports car — the successor to Nissan’s iconic Skyline GT-R — will eventually go on sale worldwide, beginning with Japan in December. Prices start […]

OTTAWA, Oct 22, 2007 (AFP) – Attempts to reduce US dependence on imported oil by adding more ethanol to its gas tanks are only driving up food prices while delivering moot energy benefits, a Canadian bank warned on Monday.Corn prices have already jumped by 60 percent over the past two years as American ethanol producers […]

BANGALORE, India, Oct 23, 2007 (AFP) – Dale Carnegie Training, which has taught business skills to more than eight million professionals worldwide, said Monday it will open its first school in India to make graduates “employable.” The New York-based company tied up with Walchand PeopleFirst to open the “finishing school” in Bangalore to smooth out […]

MANILA, Oct 23, 2007 (AFP) – Free trade, changing diets, and rapid urbanisation is leading to a decline in rice production, one of the world’s leading experts on the crop said.“As prosperous rice-growing countries move toward free trade in agricultural production, they may increasingly find it difficult to sustain producers’ interest in rice farming,” said […]

MUMBAI, Oct 23, 2007 (AFP) – Indian shares surged 4.99 percent Tuesday as investors cheered a move that eased concerns about a proposed regulatory change previously seen as soon limiting purchases by overseas buyers, dealers said. The Mumbai stock exchange Sensex index rose 878.85 points or 4.99 percent to 18,492.84 after the regulator allowed foreign […]