Category: World

DHAKA, July 17, 2007 (AFP) – Bangladesh’s army-backed emergency government on Tuesday ordered two former prime ministers to submit details of their financial affairs as part of its corruption crackdown, an official said.Khaleda Zia and Sheikh Hasina Wajed, who was arrested and detained over extortion allegations Monday, have each been asked to provide the information […]

DHAKA, July 16, 2007 (AFP) – Former Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina Wajed who led the country from 1996 to 2001 and faces charges of corruption and murder was arrested Monday, an aide said.“She has been arrested and taken away and is now being taken to the court,” Hasan Mahmud, personal secretary to Sheikh Hasina, […]

TOULOUSE, France, July 16, 2007 (AFP) – France and Germany agree on the need to keep the European Central Bank free of political meddling, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Monday. “We are both in agreement on the fact that the European Central Bank is independent.It is very important,” Merkel told a joint news conference with […]

DHAKA, July 15, 2007 (AFP) – The small Buddhist community in Bangladesh plans to donate a few strands of a lock of hair said to have come from the Buddha to Sri Lanka as a goodwill gesture, officials said Sunday. Three cabinet ministers from majority-Buddhist Sri Lanka along with religious leaders are scheduled to arrive […]

HARARE, July 13, 2007 (AFP) – Authorities in Zimbabwe announced the arrest of hundreds more retailers and executives as part of an ongoing price crackdown Friday as it emerged the head of the central bank had warned against the blitz. Mugabe has warned that his government will seize and nationalise companies that refuse to toe […]

NEW YORK, July 13, 2007 (AFP) – News magnate Rupert Murdoch will expand his media empire with a business news channel to challenge industry leader CNBC, as he presses on with a bid to add The Wall Street Journal to his portfolio. The global media mogul has set October 15 as the launch date of […]

BEIJING, July 12, 2007 (AFP) – A decades-long search by the world’s tallest man for a bride finally came to an end on Thursday when the Chinese herdsman married a woman who barely stands up to his elbow.Bao Xishun, who stands 2.36 metres (seven feet nine inches), wed sales clerk Xia Shujun in a traditional […]

NEW YORK, July 11, 2007 (AFP) – The euro surged to a record high against the dollar Wednesday on growing concerns about risky loans in the US property market and a European Central Bank hint of an interest rate hike.In late New York trade, the dollar stood at 1.2062 Swiss francs, up from 1.2019 Tuesday. […]

TOKYO, July 12, 2007 (AFP) – McDonald’s said Thursday it will launch a chain of coffeeshops in Japan, hoping to tap into the country’s growing love of coffee but at lower prices than rivals.The Japanese unit of the global burger empire said it will open 15 “McCafes” in the Tokyo region next month and hoped […]

SANTIAGO, July 10, 2007 (AFP) – Copper prices soared Tuesday as labor strikes pressured some of the largest copper mines in Chile, which supplies one-third of the world’s supply of the metal.“There is a direct impact on the mine’s production.Because of the violence by a group of subcontractors, it was decided to suspend ore extraction, […]

LONDON, July 9, 2007 (AFP) – The British finance ministry wants to shut down the government arms sales department, the Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO), The Guardian reported on Monday.Citing unnamed political sources, the daily said that former Treasury minister Stephen Timms had ordered a review of DESO because of criticisms that it helped subsidise […]