Category: World

LONDON, Nov 13, 2007 (AFP) – The Commonwealth on Monday gave Pakistan a 10-day deadline to restore its constitution and lift other emergency measures or face suspension from the 53-nation grouping.The ultimatum came after emergency talks among the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) in London to decide how to respond to President Pervez Musharraf’s declaration […]

BEIJING, Nov 13, 2007 (AFP) – China’s consumer price index, the main gauge of inflation, rose 6.5 percent in October year-on-year, the government said Tuesday, as Premier Wen Jiabao promised to stabilise prices.The figure was up from 6.2 percent in September, and the same as the 6.5 percent in August, then the highest level in […]

DHAKA, Nov 13, 2007 (AFP) – Bangladesh on Tuesday launched an investigation after the country’s Internet link was sabotaged, disrupting communications nationwide for most of the day.Officials said cables were also severed twice last week causing massive disruption to businesses in the impoverished country. “We are investigating the cable cutting incident which took place today […]

LONDON, Nov 12, 2007 (AFP) – Foreign ministers will Monday debate a possible suspension of Pakistan from the Commonwealth at an extraordinary meeting in London after President Pervez Musharraf imposed a state of emergency last week. Although Musharraf met a key demand of his critics by announcing Sunday that elections would be held by January […]

LONDON, Nov 12, 2007 (AFP) – The European Union appears to be “sleepwalking into a vast financial commitment” with its troubled Galileo satellite network, and a rigorous cost-benefit analysis must be produced on the system, a British parliamentary committee said Monday.In a report into the network, the House of Commons Transport Committee said it had […]

TOKYO, Nov 12, 2007 (AFP) – Asian stocks were rocked by another large sell-off Monday with Tokyo hitting a 15-month low, battered by a weak dollar and growing fears over the fallout from the US subprime loan crisis, dealers said. They said the Chinese central bank’s latest move to try to cool the economy had […]

DUBAI, Nov 12, 2007 (AFP) – Saudi Arabian billionaire Prince Walid Bin Talal on Monday ordered an Airbus A380, making him the first private buyer of the next generation super jumbo aircraft.Prince Walid, one of the world’s richest men, inked the deal for the “flying palace” at a ceremony with executives from the European aircraft […]

PARIS, Nov 12, 2007 (AFP) – The Council of Europe issued a damning report Monday accusing governments of eroding basic rights in the name of the United States-led “war on terror”.“Increasingly, in the name of the war on terror, the executive is in the process of severely limiting the sphere of competence of judiciary power,” […]

SANTIAGO, Nov 10, 2007 (AFP) – Spain’s King Juan Carlos I told Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to “just shut up,” bringing an Ibero-American summit to end in spectacular fashion on Saturday.Spain’s monarch stormed out just before the scheduled end of the forum, visibly furious at Chavez’s description of his former prime minister as a “fascist” […]

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 10, 2007 (AFP) – Low-cost computers meant to usher poor children worldwide into the digital age are being mass produced in China as US nonprofit One Laptop Per Child strives to deliver on its promise. The first of the XO laptops being built at a Quanta Computer facility in Changshu are destined […]

LONDON, Nov 11, 2007 (AFP) – Foreign ministers will debate whether Pakistan should be suspended from the Commonwealth over President Pervez Musharraf’s declaration of emergency rule at an extraordinary meeting Monday.Nations including Britain and Canada have called for tough action ahead of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group gathering and Secretary-General Don McKinnon described the state […]

NEW YORK, Nov 9, 2007 (AFP) – The gloom on Wall Street has intensified with investor confidence shaken by the banking industry’s troubles and the economic outlook becoming darker. In a punishing week for the market, the main indexes fell sharply as record-high crude oil prices and a sagging dollar further undermined sentiment. The Dow […]