Category: World

NEW DELHI, Dec 14, 2007 (AFP) – India’s annual inflation rate jumped unexpectedly nearly three-quarters of a point to 3.75 percent on rising fuel and food prices, official data on Friday showed.Inflation rose to 3.75 percent for the week ended December 1 from 3.01 percent the previous week, according to the wholesale price index, India’s […]

NEW YORK, Dec 12, 2007 (AFP) – Wall Street rode a roller coaster session Wednesday as stocks rallied, then fell before swinging higher after the Federal Reserve and other central banks unveiled a coordinated plan to ease a global credit crunch. In a move analysts described as the most concerted effort since the September 11, […]

TOKYO, Dec 13, 2007 (AFP) – The dollar slipped against other major currencies in Asian trade on Thursday amid uncertainty about how effective a central bank plan to ease a global credit crunch will be, dealers said. The euro rose to 1.4720 dollars in Tokyo morning trade from 1.4702 dollars in New York late Wednesday, […]

Dec 13, 2007 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has expressed displeasure at outspoken remarks by Britain’s envoy on national politics, the Foreign Ministry said Thursday, but it remained silent on charges that politicians were corrupt. “The British High Commissioner, Dominic Chilcott, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to express the deep displeasure of the […]

WASHINGTON, Dec 11, 2007 (AFP) – The Federal Reserve’s third cut in interest rates in as many meetings failed to allay concerns on financial markets that the US economy runs a risk of entering a serious downturn, analysts said. Economists said the Fed headed by chairman Ben Bernanke appeared divided and muddled in their outlook, […]

XIANGHE, China, Dec 12, 2007 (AFP) – Twice-yearly economic talks between China and the United States began here on Wednesday with the Chinese currency and the world powers’ ballooning trade imbalance again under the spotlight. The two days of talks began at a sprawling convention centre an hour’s drive southeast of Beijing, following complaints and […]

LONDON, Dec 11, 2007 (AFP) – The wife of a man who resurfaced after being presumed dead for more than five years was set to appear in court on Tuesday charged with two counts of deception. Anne Darwin, a 55-year-old former doctor’s surgery receptionist, will appear in Hartlepool Magistrates Court, where her husband John, 57, […]

MANILA, Dec 11, 2007 (AFP) – Indonesia will borrow 300 million dollars from the Asian Development Bank to develop the country’s capital markets, the Philippines-based lender said Tuesday. The programme would promote transparency and information disclosure in capital markets, enabling market valuation of fixed-income instruments, an ADB statement said. Jakarta has undertaken financial sector reforms […]

BUENOS AIRES, Dec 9, 2007 (AFP) – Six South American presidents on Sunday launched the Bank of the South, the region’s answer to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund as a source for development funds. Presidents Nestor Kirchner of Argentina, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil, Nicanor Duarte of Paraguay, Rafael Correa […]

SINGAPORE, Dec 10, 2007 (AFP) – The Singapore government’s investment arm announced Monday that it will inject almost 10 billion US dollars into Swiss bank UBS, its largest ever investment in a company.The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) said it would inject 11 billion Swiss francs (9.74 billion US dollars) into UBS, which on […]

NEW DELHI, Dec 8, 2007 (AFP) – Developing nations must be allowed to boost carbon emissions to lift millions out of poverty, says the head of the Nobel prize-winning climate change panel slated to formally get the award on Monday.“If you have the case of India, a half a billion people who do not even […]

NUSA DUA, Indonesia, Dec 9, 2007 (AFP) – Here are the main options for tackling greenhouse-gas emissions, listed by order of feasibility: – ENERGY EFFICIENCY: Improve energy efficiency in transport, buildings, appliances, lighting. ADVANTAGE: Can make big, early gains in braking growth in carbon pollution.DISADVANTAGE: Tougher standards may run into opposition from transport lobby, consumer […]