Category: World

HANOI, July 27, 2007 (AFP) – A Taiwanese man and five Vietnamese have been jailed for between five and 12 years for trafficking more than 120 Vietnamese women to Malaysia, a court official said Friday in the communist country.Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung last month urged local authorities to raise awareness and make every […]

WELLINGTON, July 26, 2007 (AFP) – New Zealand’s central bank raised interest rates Thursday for the fourth successive time this year due to sustained inflationary pressures.“But easing is going to be a considerable time away unless the economy softens very rapidly.” Reserve Bank of New Zealand Governor Alan Bollard raised the official cash rate (OCR) […]

LONDON, July 26, 2007 (AFP) – The three-month period from May to July has already become the wettest in history here, even before the end of the month, Britain’s Met Office said Thursday.Figures released by the weather forecasting agency showed that 387.6 millimetres (15.3 inches) of rain has fallen across England and Wales, the most […]

HONG KONG, July 26, 2007 (AFP) – International ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service said Thursday it has upgraded its currency ratings for China, Hong Kong and the gambling haven of Macau.It has raised China’s long-term foreign currency bond rating to “A1” from “A2” on the back of the exceptional strength of its external payments position, […]

JAKARTA, July 26, 2007 (AFP) – Indonesian authorities issued a tsunami warning Thursday for the province of North Maluku after a 6.6-magnitude quake hit the area, a meteorology official said.The earthquake was centered 57 kilometres (35 miles) under the seabed some 234 kilometres northwest of the town of Ternate, the capital of North Maluku, said […]

SYDNEY, July 25, 2007 (AFP) – A New Zealander was jailed for 24 years Wednesday after being convicted of the first murder in 150 years on the tiny South Pacific territory of Norfolk Island.He will be eligible for parole after a minimum of 18 years. Glenn McNeill, 29, murdered Australian Janelle Patton and dumped her […]

OXFORD, England, July 25, 2007 (AFP) – It is not only humans who have been hit by Britain’s worst floods in 60 years — cats, dogs and donkeys are also suffering, prompting a rescue mission on an unprecedented scale. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has sent a third of […]

SOFIA, July 24, 2007 (AFP) – Six foreign medics sentenced to death then life imprisonment in Libya in a controversial AIDS case were free in the Bulgarian capital Tuesday after the EU struck a multi-million-dollar financial and trade deal with Tripoli.The five Bulgarian nurses and one Palestinian doctor who also has Bulgarian citizenship were released […]

HARARE, July 25, 2007 (AFP) – Zimbabwe’s central bank on Wednesday increased the price of gold by 757 percent in a bid to curb rampant smuggling of the precious metal and cover soaring production costs, an official said. Zimbabwe’s gold production is this year expected to drop to about 8,700 kilogrammes from 11,354 kilogrammes last […]

TOKYO, July 24, 2007 (AFP) – Japan’s defence ministry hopes to make a prototype of a next-generation stealth plane, the first new fighter jet designed by the officially pacifist country in 30 years, a report said Tuesday.The design would not include installing weapons and it is unclear if Japan would actually produce the prototype due […]

MUNDHA KHERA, India, July 24, 2007 (AFP) – It’s a hot, humid Sunday morning in northern India, but the oppressive heat does not deter a group of about 15 farmers from trudging door-to-door, offering advice and sometimes warnings. “Do not sell your precious land. Even if you are offered millions of dollars, do not sell. […]