Category: World

LONDON, Oct 9, 2006 (AFP) – Indian shipbreaking workers on Monday called on industry chiefs meeting in London Monday for tighter regulations to cut the number of serious injuries and deaths in the sector, particularly in Asia.“We need the help of the world, we need the help of the people to help the workers,” Vidyadhar […]

STOCKHOLM, Oct 9, 2006 (AFP) – US economist Edmund S.Phelps won the 2006 Nobel Economics Prize on Monday for work on trade-offs in macroeconomic policy, the Nobel jury said, noting that his work had improved understanding of how policy affected welfare for present and future generations. List of Nobel Economics Prize laureates 2006: Edmund S. […]

PARIS, Oct 9, 2006 (AFP) – Scientists took a dour wait-and-see attitude after North Korea claimed to have successfully conducted a nuclear test on Monday.Only careful analysis of data returned by seismic or atmospheric sensors will say whether the blast was a success or a damp squib, they said. Nor could they rule out the […]

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts, Oct 6, 2006 (AFP) – Scientists who answered questions such as why woodpeckers don’t get headaches, whether dung beetles like their diet and if rectal massage can cure hiccups have at last been recognised for their work.The IgNobel Prizes, a tongue-in-cheek alternative to their more formal Scandinavian counterparts, were presented by genuine Nobel […]

WASHINGTON, Oct 6, 2006 (AFP) – The days of donating at church by dropping money into a basket may become a thing of the past if Marty Baker has his way.Baker, a pastor in the southern state of Georgia, has come up with a divine idea to raise money for the Lord — automated teller […]

VICTORIA FALLS, Zambia, Oct 5, 2006 (AFP) – For years it was regarded as a backwater and the poor relation to its southern neighbour, but the spiralling crisis in Zimbabwe has led to a massive upsurge in Zambia’s tourism industry.A total of 650,000 foreign visitors travelled to Zambia last year, a rise of nearly half […]

PARIS, Oct 4, 2006 (AFP) – A 603-carat stone found in Lesotho is the 15th biggest diamond ever found, the Gem Diamond Mining company and the government of the southern African state said on Wednesday.Some facts about famous diamonds: Carats measure the weight of a gemstone; the unit is defined as a fifth of a […]

LONDON, Oct 4, 2006 (AFP) – The world-famous black London taxi cab will soon be seen on the streets of China after its maker announced a multi-million-pound deal Wednesday to build 20,000 vehicles per year in Shanghai.Specialist carmaker Manganese Bronze said it had agreed a 53-million-pound (78.6-million-euro, 99.7-million-dollar) joint-venture deal with Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely […]

TEHRAN, Oct 3, 2006 (AFP) – Iran’s conservative-controlled parliament is to debate a bill that would make digital fingerprinting compulsory for all US citizens seeking to enter the country, lawmakers said on Tuesday. According to the bill, which is expected to be voted on in the next days, “all US citizens should be controlled and […]

NEW DELHI, Oct 3, 2006 (AFP) – Two of India’s top rival media houses Tuesday signed an agreement to launch a new daily newspaper in the Indian capital amid a boom spurred by the economy’s rapid growth.The Times of India Group and Hindustan Times Media Limited said the new English newspaper to be sold in […]

MANILA, Oct 2, 2006 (AFP) – Major obstacles block Asia’s prospects of becoming a common market, but a region-wide free-trade area is a realistic goal, an Asian Development Bank official said Monday.The Philippines-based lender said 183 free trade agreements have either been signed or are being proposed or negotiated across Asia, where the share of […]

LONDON, Oct 2, 2006 (AFP) – Weapons merchants are profiting from the lack of an international judicial framework to supply arms to individuals with few human rights scruples and to states under embargo, a new report said Monday.The globalization of the weapons industry has shed light on the shortcomings of existing legislation to control it, […]