Category: World

NEW DELHI, Feb 26, 2008 (AFP) – Giant state-run Indian Railways, once on track for bankruptcy, posted a record 6.3-billion-dollar surplus on Tuesday, announced new lines and cut fares in a populist budget with elections looming. “The world today acknowledges I’ve done a tremendous job,” said the wisecracking Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, presenting his […]

BEIJING, Feb 25, 2008 (AFP) – The European Union wants a global code of conduct for sovereign wealth funds to ensure transparency and good governance, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson said Monday. Mandelson’s remarks, made during a visit to Beijing, come as the clout of funds such as the cash-flush China Investment Corp.are rapidly on […]

HOLLYWOOD, Feb 24, 2008 (AFP) – Violent thriller “No Country for Old Men” won the best picture Oscar at the 80th Academy Awards here Sunday as European stars scored a clean sweep in the acting honors in an historic Hollywood night.The Golden Globes were canceled after stars vowed to boycott the event in support of […]

SEOUL, Feb 24, 2008 (AFP) – Nearly six million North Koreans are in chronic need of foreign food aid this year with children, nursing and expectant mothers and the poor most at risk, the World Food Programme said Sunday. A Seoul official and media reports said this month however that South Korean rice aid intended […]

LONDON, Feb 24, 2008 (AFP) – The first flight by a commercial airline to be partly powered by biofuels and billed as heralding a eco-friendlier and cheaper era of airline travel took place on Sunday, Virgin Atlantic said.Airlines meanwhile also see biofuels as cheaper alternatives to kerosene, whose price is soaring as oil futures strike […]

BEIJING, Feb 25, 2008 (AFP) – Inflation remains the primary risk to China’s economy, and the government will stick to a tight monetary policy, state media reported Monday, citing a central bank vice governor.China hiked interest rates six times last year in an effort to tame inflation and cool the economy, which nevertheless grew at […]

SHANGHAI, Feb 24, 2008 (AFP) – As China’s factory floors feel the pressure from spiralling costs, there is growing nervousness in the rest of the world that the Asian giant’s next big export could be inflation.From air-conditioned US shopping malls to bustling African street markets and remote Asian villages, shoppers have become accustomed over recent […]

EDINBURGH, Feb 24, 2008 (AFP) – Alex Salmond, the head of Scotland’s government, has spent his political life fighting for independence from London but says he bears no ill-will towards the “auld enemy”, the English. Nine months after his election as first minister, Salmond sits in his elegant official residence in Edinburgh insisting that independence […]

HONG KONG, 2008 (AFP) – Higher food prices drove Hong Kong’s underlying inflation rate up to 4.3 percent year-on-year in January, official figures showed Friday. “Apart from the global food inflation, elevated energy prices, appreciation of the (Chinese yuan currency) and the weakening of the Hong Kong dollar would continue to pose upside risks to […]

LONDON, Feb 22, 2008 (AFP) – The price of oil soared to an historic high above 101 dollars this week, while gold and platinum also scored record peaks as speculators dived into already buoyant commodities markets. The Eastern Index slid to 9.74 Australian dollars a kilo, from 9.92 Australian dollars a week earlier. Prices of […]

SINGAPORE, Feb 23, 2008 (AFP) – The Singapore Airshow saw more than 13.4 billion US dollars in sales of aircraft and related equipment this week, thanks to a booming aviation market, organisers have said. Another 2.6 billion dollars was generated from contracts for facilities and other services, they said in a statement issued late Friday, […]

WASHINGTON, Feb 21, 2008 (AFP) – Abengoa Solar plans to build the world’s largest solar plant in Arizona in cooperation with an energy utility in the southwestern state, the companies said Thursday.Abengoa Solar, a subsidiary of Spain’s Abengoa technology company, signed a contract with Arizona Public Service Co. (APS) to build, own and operate what […]