Category: World

VATICAN CITY, Dec 25, 2007 (AFP) – Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday used his Christmas homily to speak out against selfishness and the degradation of the environment as he celebrated midnight mass at Saint Peter’s Basilica.The tradition of the creche in St Peter’s Square was established by Benedict’s predecessor John Paul II in 1982. “Man […]

LONDON, Dec 24, 2007 (AFP) – European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet pledged, in an interview published Monday, to focus on eurozone inflation, and not let interest-rate cuts in the United States and Britain distract the bank from tightening monetary policy.Speaking to the Financial Times from Frankfurt, in an interview conducted on December 13, Trichet […]

BEIJING, Dec 23, 2007 (AFP) – China has proposed lifting millions of its citizens out of the income tax net to ease the burden on low-wage earners amid rising inflation, state press said Sunday.The country is expected to raise the monthly tax threshold from 1,600 yuan (218 dollars) to 2,000 yuan and the legislature was […]

WASHINGTON, Dec 24, 2007 (AFP) – The US Senate is holding special one man sessions throughout Christmas and the New Year to prevent President George W.Bush from making appointments without the approval of the Democratic majority. With the bang of a gavel, Democratic Senator Jim Webb declared the first session open on Sunday morning before […]

NEW YORK, Dec 24, 2007 (AFP) – US stock markets were higher Monday morning as investors tied up their year-end positions and as Merrill Lynch announced it had won sizeable cash infusions of up to 6.2 billion dollars. Merrill, which has seen its finances stricken by multibillion dollar mortgage market losses, said Temasek Holdings Pte. […]

SINGAPORE, Dec 22, 2007 (AFP) – Singapore is set to spend two billion dollars (1.41 billion US) to increase its port’s annual capacity by about 40 percent, a newspaper reported Saturday. The project is scheduled for completion by 2013 and is expected to allow Singapore’s port to handle higher volumes from increased global trade, the […]

TEHRAN, Dec 22, 2007 (AFP) – Iran on Saturday started to allow motorists an extra 20 litres (5.2 gallons) of petrol a month under a rationing scheme aimed at cutting back on frenzied consumption, state television said. Many consumers in Tehran are obtaining additional petrol on the black market, paying three to five times the […]

LOS ANGELES, Dec 21, 2007 (AFP) – An asteroid hurtling towards Mars has a one in 75 chance of chance of scoring a direct hit on the red planet next month, NASA experts said in a statement Friday.“Normally, we’re rooting against the asteroid (if it is threatening Earth),” Chesley said. “This time we’re rooting for […]

NEW DELHI, Dec 20, 2007 (AFP) – India’s Tata Group has demanded an apology from US-listed luxury hotel chain Orient-Express for rejecting its offer for a strategic tie-up on the grounds that its brand value might be diluted.Assocham, an Indian chambers of commerce body, slammed Orient-Express’s rebuff as one of “arrogance toward one of India’s […]

GALLE, Sri Lanka, Dec 20, 2007 (AFP) – Skipper Mahela Jayawardene hit an unbeaten 213 as Sri Lanka declared their first innings at 499-8 before lunch on the third day of the final cricket Test against England here on Thursday.Sri Lanka, who lead the three-match series 1-0, have eight sessions to force a 2-0 scoreline […]

WASHINGTON, Dec 20, 2007 (AFP) – The US government declined to name China a currency “manipulator” but said in a report Wednesday that the Chinese yuan remains severely undervalued against the dollar.The Treasury, in a semiannual report to Congress, maintained its position that China should quicken its pace of economic reforms that would help lift […]

BANGALORE, India, Dec 20, 2007 (AFP) – India’s biggest discount carrier, Deccan, will merge with liquor baron Vijay Mallya’s upmarket Kingfisher Airlines to create the nation’s biggest domestic airline, officials said.The firm formed by the merger next year will keep the name Kingfisher, the flagship beer brand of Mallya’s UB Group, officials from the two […]