Category: World

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]