Category: World

NEW DELHI, Nov 7, 2006 (AFP) – India’s foreign minister Tuesday accused regional adversary Pakistan of placing hurdles in the way of a fledgling South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA).Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee warned that a regional free trade agreement reached in January 2004 and implemented earlier this year could collapse if Islamabad failed to […]

HANOI, Nov 6, 2006 (AFP) – Vietnam is set to become the 150th member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Tuesday after 20 years of market reforms that have made the communist ruled country one of Asia’s fastest growing economies.Hanoi hopes admission to the Geneva based club will further boost trade and investment for the […]

TOKYO, Nov 6, 2006 (AFP) – The Tokyo Stock Exchange said Monday it had raised its order handling capacity to 14 million per day from 12 million as part of an upgrade following a series of technical problems.Asia’s largest bourse came under heavy criticism after it closed early for the first time ever in January […]

PRETORIA, Nov 6, 2006 (AFP) – Senior International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials Monday said inflation-ravaged Zimbabwe was a dark spot in sub-Saharan Africa, which is otherwise set for higher economic growth next year.“The situation is very bad in Zimbabwe.Inflation is higher than 1,000 percent,” Abdoulaye Bio-Tchane, the director of IMF’s Africa department, said in Pretoria. […]

HYDERABAD, India, Nov 3, 2006 (AFP) – Indian corporate giant Reliance Industries began a multi-billion dollar superstore rollout Friday with promises to the nation’s small traders that it would not drive them out of business.The 11 slick, air-conditioned stores which opened in this southern city are a novelty in the country of 1.1 billion people, […]

BERLIN, Nov 2, 2006 (AFP) – Euro bills in Germany have begun mysteriously disintegrating, leading police to suspect a prank using sulfuric acid, the top-selling daily Bild reported Thursday.The state crime offices in Berlin and the southwestern state of Rhineland-Palatinate have opened investigations after a number of bills began self-destructing across the country. The first […]

SINGAPORE, Nov 2, 2006 (AFP) – Singapore’s Tiger Airways has applied to India and Sri Lanka to fly to six destinations as part of a bid to ramp up its South Asian network, its chief executive said in remarks published Thursday. The Singapore-based budget carrier hopes to get the nod to fly next year to […]

CAIRO, Nov 1, 2006 (AFP) – Figurines of King Tut, Ramses and Queen Nefertiti in Cairo’s famous Khan Khalili bazaar all bear the hallmarks of pharaonic regalia, from the goat-hair beards to the golden sceptre. But the slanting eyes framed by the ancient Egypian rulers’ trademark kohl lining betrays the statuettes’ Chinese origins. While Egypt […]

VIENNA, Nov 1, 2006 (AFP) – Trade unions from around the world set up a new labour giant, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), here on Wednesday to end decades of internal feuding and strengthen their hand against globalisation. “I declare the creation of the ITUC, encompassing 306 national unions in 154 countries and representing […]

BORDEAUX, France, Nov 1, 2006 (AFP) – Winemakers in France’s prime Bordeaux wine region have shrugged off warnings by experts over a rise in counterfeiting of top wines potentially worth millions of euros (dollars).While most top chateaux in Bordeaux, in France’s southwest, have introduced measures to protect their wines against the fakes, they insist the […]

MUMBAI, Oct 31, 2006 (AFP) – India’s central bank warned Tuesday of overheating in one of the world’s fastest growing economies as it juggled interest rates in a mid-term policy review aimed at keeping prices in check. The Reserve Bank of India raised the cost for banks to borrow by a quarter percentage point to […]

BANGKOK, Oct 29, 2006 (AFP) – London has its black cabs, Venice its gondolas, and Bangkok its tuk-tuks, but Thailand’s iconic three-wheeled taxis are going global as foreigners scramble to pick up a piece of Thai culture.The smoke-belching motorized rickshaws can now be seen plying Britain’s seaside towns, Canada’s golf courses and Tokyo’s neon-lit streets, […]