Category: World

NEW DELHI, Sept 10, 2006 (AFP) – US cola giant PepsiCo has put the head of its India operations in front of TV cameras as it opens a new front in its drive to counter charges of high pesticide levels in its colas.A just released ad shows PepsiCo India chairman Rajeev Bakshi walking a young […]

SINGAPORE, Sept 8, 2006 (AFP) – Singapore, which has been criticized for its cold efficiency and indifferent service, is putting on a happy face as it prepares to host its biggest international conference. “There’s always a misconception that here is not always a vibrant place,” said Goh. “In fact the city has a lot of […]

SINGAPORE, Sept 8, 2006 (AFP) – Singapore will mount its biggest ever internal security operation and clamp down on all street protests when it hosts a global financial gathering next week.Some 10,000 security personnel are being mobilised to ensure order during the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank meetings, the largest international conference to […]

MOSCOW, Sept 6, 2006 (AFP) – Russia’s Economic Development Minister German Gref lashed out Wednesday against state-owned companies which in his view had a “significantly negative” impact on Russia’s industrial development.“A significantly negative role is played by the state-owned companies, which try to boost their presence on the market by trying to swallow the most […]

MANILA, Sept 6, 2006 (AFP) – China and India are expected to push developing Asia’s economic growth to a better than expected 7.7 percent this year despite high oil prices, the Asian Development Bank said in a report here Wednesday. The bank said average inflation in the region should rise to 3.8 percent this year […]

WASHINGTON, Sept 6, 2006 (AFP) – Internet giant Google Inc., was expected to announce Wednesday that it will offer a free archive service enabling Internet users to search for printed articles back to the 1700s, US newspapers reported. Called Google News Archive Search, the service will direct users to both paid and free content on […]

BANGKOK, Sept 5, 2006 (AFP) – Political turmoil and flagging exports have resulted in Thailand trailing its Asian rivals in economic growth, Fitch Ratings reported Monday. The international financial agency revised down the kingdom’s growth forecast from 5.0 percent to 4.3 percent for 2006, saying that political uncertainties had caused Thailand to “lose a year” […]

BEIJING, Sept 5 (AFP) – China’s forex reserves rose further to hit 954.5 billion dollars at end-July but they must not be allowed to grow much more because of the upward pressure they put on the yuan, Vice President Zeng Qinghong said in an article Tuesday.The latest figure translates into 30.3 percent growth from 732.7 […]

ROME, Sept 5 (AFP) – Italy must take immediate steps to improve its public finances in order to preserve its economic recovery, an Italian member of the European Central Bank’s executive board insisted on Tuesday. “To put off or dilute corrective measures means that we will continue to talk of taxes and operations on public […]

MUMBAI, Sept 4, 2006 (AFP) – Bollywood is bucking a global trend of outsourcing technical film work to India by using experts from abroad to provide special effects for increasingly demanding audiences, the industry said Monday. Studios with large company backing and aggressive directors are behind the trend that has led to most of the […]

CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh, Sept 2, 2006 (AFP) – Bangladesh’s trade shipments ground to a virtual halt Saturday as shipping firms refused to use the nation’s main port in a protest over container fees. “Most of the private shipping companies have today (Saturday) suspended transporting cargoes to and from Chittagong port,” Chittagong Port Authority chairman Shahadat Hossain […]

NEW DELHI, Sept 2, 2006 (AFP) – India should make the rupee more freely convertible over the next five years to realise the country’s “maximum” economic potential, a central bank committee has urged. Such a move to loosen curbs on trading the rupee against other currencies would rank as one of India’s biggest economic reforms. […]