Category: World

OSLO, Oct 28, 2006 (AFP) – Giraffes mounting, aroused whales mating and dragonflies copulating — perfectly normal, tender scenes — although perhaps not for all, as in this case these animals are of the same sex.Breaking what is taboo for some, the Oslo Natural History Museum is currently showing an exhibition on homosexuality in the […]

LONDON, Oct 27, 2006 (AFP) – The City of London marked on Friday 20 years since the so-called “Big Bang” which broke down staid old practices with a wave of deregulation, credited now with giving London the edge as a global financial centre in Europe. The “Bang” has been a central factor propelling the ‘Square […]

NEW YORK, Oct 26, 2006 (AFP) – India and the United States have agreed to meet in a bid to iron out differences over achieving a global trade accord, Indian Commerce Minister Kamal Nath said Thursday. The agreement was reached at a high level New York meeting between American and Indian government and private sector […]

HONG KONG, Oct 24, 2006 (AFP) – Pay-TV piracy in Asia is estimated to cost the industry 1.13 billion US dollars in 2006, up 6.6 percent from 2005, a survey said Friday. The annual report by the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA), that studied TV markets across 11 Asian countries, said the […]

HARARE, Oct 23, 2006 (AFP) – Zimbabwe’s cash-strapped national carrier, Air Zimbabwe, announced fare increases on Monday of up to 500 percent on both international and domestic routes.A spokesman said the airline had no option but to implement the masssive price hikes as a result of surging overhead costs and the high inflation rate. “The […]

HONG KONG, Oct 23, 2006 (AFP) – With a whir and a flash of lights, a robot whizzes to the restaurant table and takes a customer’s order, while a second races to another table to deliver plates of steaming food.This isn’t a scene from a science fiction book. Rather, it’s the daily routine at a […]

SINGAPORE, Oct 16, 2006 (AFP) – Asia is now the driving force behind demand for mobile music services which will make up for lost revenue by telecom firms in their voice-only services, a US recording label Warner Music said Monday.South Korea and Japan dominate the mobile music market and Asia Pacific holds the largest market […]

NEW DELHI, Oct 15, 2006 (AFP) – It was the slogan that propelled India’s then premier Indira Gandhi to her first re-election victory in 1971 by a landslide. Thirty-five years on, the Congress Party government has brought back “Garibi Hatao” — “Eradicate Poverty”. The government, elected in 2004 on an anti-poverty programme, is hoping the […]

HARARE, Oct 15, 2006 (AFP) – Zimbabwe, shunned by the West, is trawling ever wider for alternative business partners, but analysts say much-trumpeted deals with its new friends are unlikely to yield meaningful benefits to the country.The state-run Zimbabwe Central Bank summoned reporters to a press conference last week to attend the signing of a […]

CANNES, France, Oct 15, 2006 (AFP) – True love is making a comeback on the television screen, winning the hearts of audiences around the globe.It’s also making big bucks for some of the world’s leading programme makers, contradicting playwright William Shakespeare’s famous observation that “the course of true love never did run smooth”. The staple […]

LOS ANGELES, Oct 14, 2006 (AFP) – For centuries regarded as a sparkling symbol of decadence sipped by kings and queens, Champagne has today become the tipple of choice for hip-hop royalty.But while rap stars have kept the bubbly flowing from magnums, Methuselahs and jereboams in fashionable nightclubs from New York to Los Angeles, not […]

DHAKA, Oct 14, 2006 (AFP) – A tiny Grameen bank loan to buy a cow was a lifeline for 32-year-old Margina who now runs a successful rice business but was once so poor she could not afford to eat.Like millions of others, Margina saw her life transformed through a 3,000 taka (42 dollar) loan from […]