Category: World

SINGAPORE, Nov 7, 2007 (AFP) – Oil powered to a new all-time trading high in Asian trade Wednesday amid expectations of a decline in US energy reserves ahead of the peak northern hemisphere winter, dealers said. At 9:15 am (0115 GMT), New York’s main contract light sweet crude for December delivery was up 52 cents […]

SYDNEY, Nov 7, 2007 (AFP) – Australia’s central bank raised interest rates 0.25 points to an 11-year high of 6.75 percent Wednesday in a move expected to hurt Prime Minister John Howard’s re-election hopes. “Having weighed both the international and domestic information available, the board judged that a further increase in the cash rate was […]

LONDON, Nov 7, 2007 (AFP) – The dollar on Wednesday tumbled to a fresh historic low against the euro, as a Chinese official suggested China may diversify its reserves away from the US unit, analysts said. The greenback was also pressured by the prospect of yet another cut to US interest rates, dealers said. The […]

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 5, 2007 (AFP) – A Google-led international alliance announced Monday it is releasing open-source software that will free developers to bring the full power of desktop computing to mobile devices.The Open Handset Alliance bills “Android” as the first comprehensive mobile operating platform that software developers are free to adapt in any ways […]

MANILA, Nov 6, 2007 (AFP) – A strong peso offset rising oil prices and kept the Philippines inflation rate steady at 2.7 percent in October, the government said Tuesday.Last month’s inflation rate was within market expectations and the central bank’s forecast range of 2.5-3.0 percent. “Price pressures from major food, non-food and fuel items were […]

November 06, 2007 (LBO) — The Mauritius Commercial Bank has become the fifth foreign bank to secure a banking license to operate in the Maldives, the Maldivian Monetary Authority said Tuesday.The bank has been given six months to begin commercial operations in the Atoll nation and open a branch in the capital of Male to […]

WASHINGTON, Nov 4, 2007 (AFP) – The world’s biggest bank Citigroup named ex-US Treasury chief Robert Rubin as its new chairman Sunday, replacing Charles Prince who retired as it posted massive losses from the subprime mortgage crisis. “It is my judgment that given the size of the recent losses in our mortgage-backed securities business, the […]

WASHINGTON, Nov 3, 2007 (AFP) – Six years after the September 11 attacks and despite the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, the United States insists its war on terrorism justifies extreme forms of interrogation, including “waterboarding,” and rejects any talk of torture.During a Senate confirmation hearing earlier this month, attorney general nominee Michael Mukasey refused to […]

HARARE, Nov 4, 2007 (AFP) – Zimbabwe’s central bank chief said Sunday he has shelved plans to introduce a new currency in a bid to rein in galloping inflation and wants to direct efforts towards increasing supply of goods and services.Last month, Gono pledged that empty shop shelves would soon be replenished as he denounced […]

NEW YORK, Nov 2, 2007 (AFP) – Citigroup Chief Executive Charles Prince is planning to resign at a board meeting Sunday, amid growing turmoil surrounding the US banking giant, the Wall Street Journal reported late Friday.The report, citing people familiar with the matter, said Prince, 57, after four troubled years of tenure had decided to […]

ISLAMABAD, Nov 3, 2007 (AFP) – Pakistan’s private television channels suddenly went off the air Saturday amid reports President Pervez Musharraf was likely to impose a state of emergency.A senior official at Dawn television, which broadcasts in English, said transmition had been shut down.“Our channel has been taken off the air and it seems it […]

DHAKA, Nov 1, 2007 (AFP) – Bangladesh’s government on Thursday gave up its executive control over the judiciary, ending a practice that dates back to British rule over the Indian subcontinent. The move to free up the courts from politics is a key element of sweeping reforms being put in place by the country’s emergency […]