Category: World

HYDERABAD, India, Aug 26, 2007 (AFP) – Indian security forces launched a manhunt Sunday for those behind twin bombings in the southern city of Hyderabad that killed 42 people, with officials pinning the blame on Islamic militants.More than 50 others were injured in the blasts late Saturday, which ripped through a packed street restaurant in […]

BEIJING, Aug 25, 2007 (AFP) – China will invest more than 1.33 billion yuan (176 million dollars) to clean up the environment after decades of frantic economic growth, state media said Saturday. The money will be earmarked mainly for monitoring and reducing pollutant emissions, and for a new system of emission trading, the China Daily […]

NEW DELHI, Aug 24, 2007 (AFP) – The head of India’s Tata conglomerate confirmed Friday that his group was interested in bidding for luxury British car brands Jaguar and Land Rover, in an interview with an Indian news channel.Last month, Indian news reports said that two Indian automakers — Tata Motors and the Mahindra group […]

BUENOS AIRES, Aug 24, 2007 (AFP) – Anglo-Dutch oil company Royal Dutch/Shell, whose top executives are under threat of arrest, accused the Argentine government of “discrimination” in a page-wide advert published Friday in leading newspapers.“The discrimination Shell is being subjected to is inadmissible,” said company president Juan Aranguren in the statement, adding that the firm […]

CARACAS, Aug 24, 2007 (AFP) – Lawmakers Friday launched a national campaign for constitutional reform to consolidate President Hugo Chavez’s power and socialist agenda that a weak and splintered opposition seems powerless to stop.With Chavez loyalists taking up all 167 seats of the single-chamber legislature, the constitutional reform is assured passage before it is put […]

NEW YORK, Aug 24, 2007 (AFP) – Wall Street found its footing over the past week after the market’s drubbing earlier this month, as investors pondered whether the storm over housing and a related credit squeeze was over. Despite a strong rebound in the week to Friday, analysts said they expect nervous trading ahead with […]

HYDERABAD, India, Aug 26, 2007 (AFP) – Two near-simultaneous blasts tore through the Indian city of Hyderabad late Saturday, killing at least 28 people in what a state official said was a suspected terror attack.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the blasts in Hyderabad and voiced his deep concern, the Press Trust of India reported. One […]

NEW YORK, Aug 23, 2007 (AFP) – The dollar traded mainly lower Thursday as the euro gained ground on heightened expectations of an interest rate hike next month by the European Central Bank.But the greenback firmed against the yen, which came under selling pressure after the Bank of Japan held its key benchmark lending rate […]

BEIJING, Aug 24, 2007 (AFP) – China has banned a blood-spattered genre of reality TV shows where patients undergo sex-change operations and cosmetic surgery live in front of mass audiences.It is estimated that one million Chinese undergo plastic surgery every year, according to state media reports.The “exhibitionist” programmes serve the sole purpose of boosting viewer […]

TOKYO, Aug 24, 2007 (AFP) – Bread and potatoes are sources of human energy, and now a carbohydrate diet is also powering up a Walkman. Sony was also hit last year by the recall of millions of laptop batteries over fears they could catch fire.Japanese technological giant Sony Corp., hoping to be eco friendly, said […]

SINGAPORE, Aug 24, 2007 (AFP) – Asian economies should weather any fallout from the current turmoil in global financial and stock markets sparked by a crisis in the US subprime credit sector, Standard and Poor’s said Friday.Quick action by central banks worldwide, including those in Asia, to inject liquidity into the financial system has eased […]

SAO PAULO, Aug 22, 2007 (AFP) – Financial markets turbulence probably will curb global economic growth slightly this year, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, Rodrigo Rato, said Wednesday.“It would not be surprising if (the turmoil) had a certain impact on growth, more intense in certain countries than in others,” Rato said at […]