Category: World

MUMBAI, Feb 28, 2007 (AFP) – Indian share prices fell 3.17 percent on Wednesday in line with a wave of selling that has swept global markets on fears of a US economic slowdown, dealers said. “The markets expectedly opened weak due to global weakness in a knee-jerk reaction,” said Atul Mehra, managing director of capital […]

GUWAHATI, India, Feb 25, 2007 (AFP) – Spurred by a Guinness World Records nod to the local “ghost chili,” a woman from India’s northeast hopes to set a new record by eating a massive quantity of the world’s hottest pepper.Anandita Dutta Tamuly, a 26-year-old mother, is headed from Assam to London at the invitation of […]

CHENNAI, India, Feb 26, 2007 (AFP) – Japanese automaker Nissan on Monday tied up with French partner Renault’s Indian venture to build a 902 million dollar plant, joining a race with rivals Toyota and Honda for a slice of the South Asian nation’s expanding car market.For decades after independence India’s roads were dominated by two […]

LOS ANGELES, Feb 22, 2007 (AFP) – The US tax man has helped put a stop to the 100,000-dollar goodie bags, but celebrities will still be showered with an eye-popping array of lavish gifts at this year’s Oscars.“This is just a thanks for making great movies.These are the people who help put a smile on […]

HARARE, Feb 21, 2007 (AFP) – Zimbabwe’s state-run media lavished praise on veteran President Robert Mugabe on the 83rd birthday of Africa’s oldest-serving leader Wednesday, while stores in the capital Harare ran out of bread.“President an unparalled visionary,” read the headline of The Herald newspaper, which dedicated 16 pages to pictures and congratulatory messages to […]

BHOPAL, India, Feb 19, 2007 (AFP) – Police were investigating Monday a hospital’s involvement in illegal female foeticide after 437 baby bones were dug up close by the complex, a state government said Monday.Police began unearthing the bones on Saturday from Christian Medical Hospital, in central Madhya Pradesh state, after a tip-off that medical staff […]

LAHORE, Pakistan, Feb 19, 2007 (AFP) – Desperate relatives defied police and forced their way into the carriages that arrived here Monday evening with survivors of the train blast in India.“They are known for attacks on trains in India,” he said. Joy and pain as train blast survivors arrive in Pakistan =(PICTURE)= ATTENTION – RECASTS […]

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb 17, 2007 (AFP) – An international team of marine experts on Saturday called for an immediate ban on fuel subsidies to deep-sea fishing “bandits” blamed for plundering stocks and ravaging undersea ecosystems.The grouping of leading fisheries economists, biologists and ecologists said governments around the world were indirectly funding the destruction of fragile […]

HARARE, Feb 12, 2007 (AFP) – Zimbabwe’s annual inflation rate, the world’s highest, soared again by more than 300 points to 1,593 percent in January, according to official figures released Monday. The often forcible seizure of white-owned farms which were then doled out to landless blacks often without any skills, tools or experience has been […]

NEW DELHI, Feb 13, 2007 (AFP) – India’s central bank tightened monetary policy on Tuesday for a second time in two weeks to fight surging inflation, announcing a 50-basis-point hike in the cash-reserve ratio requirement for commercial banks. The central bank has been using a variety of tools to fight inflation since it began a […]

NEW DELHI, Feb 11, 2007 (AFP) – Inflation is rearing its head in booming India, sparking warnings that soaring food prices spell misery for the poor and that the country’s economy may be overheating.The wholesale price index, India’s most closely watched cost-of-living indicator, on Friday showed inflation at 6.58 percent, the highest reading since December […]

SEOUL, Feb 11, 2007 (AFP) – At least nine foreign migrants including eight Chinese were killed and 18 others hurt in a blaze early Sunday at a detention centre in the South Korean port of Yeosu, local officials said. “The Prime Minister instructed Justice Minister Kim Sung-Ho to examine all detention facilities for illegal immigrants […]