Category: World

TOKYO, Sept 1, 2006 (AFP) – The IMF executive board has agreed to far-reaching reform of the institution to give more influence to dynamic developing economies including China, managing director Rodrigo Rato said.Under the plan, China, South Korea, Turkey and Mexico will all see immediate increases in their fund quotas to reflect the shifting balance […]

NEW DELHI, Sept 1, 2006 (AFP) – Millions of Indian television viewers will pay a maximum five rupees (11 cents) a month for each pay channel under a new system to take effect by the end of the year, the telecommunications regulator said. The introduction of the conditional access system or CAS will mark a […]

PARIS, Sept 1, 2006 (AFP) – Only a week after Pluto was stripped of its status as a full-fledged planet of the Solar System, rebel astronomers have launched a campaign to have it restored in pomp and glory.A petition already signed by more than 300 professional researchers is attacking the International Astronomical Union (IAU) decision […]

DEARBORN, Michigan, Aug 31, 2006 (AFP) – Troubled US auto giant Ford Motor Co. said Thursday it was looking to sell its British sports marque Aston Martin. Chief executive Bill Ford said that as part of its strategic review, the US company had decided that Aston Martin “may be an attractive opportunity to raise capital […]

LONDON, Aug 30, 2006 (AFP) – They are an integral part of British tea-time, but councillors in one city are having to forgo biscuits with their daily cuppa to deal with the growing problem of aggressive seagulls.Bristol City Council in the west of England has calculated it could save 25,000 pounds (37,000 euros, 47,500 dollars) […]

BUSAN, South Korea, Aug 29, 2006 (AFP) – Asian workers are missing out on the region’s stellar growth, facing longer hours and lower pay than elsewhere and this imbalance has to be addressed, the UN Labor agency said Tuesday.International Labor Organization (ILO) Director General Juan Somavia told a regional meeting here that the gains of […]

KUMAMOTO, Japan, Aug 27, 2006 (AFP) – A Japanese bank is doing its bit to raise interest over global warming, in more ways than one. The Kumamoto Family Bank on the southern island of Kyushu has taken eco-consciousness to a new level by basing its interest rate on the average temperature, giving customers a reason […]

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 25, 2006 (AFP) – Malaysia’s deputy premier has called for a “toilet revolution” in the country, saying dirty facilities frighten away tourists and reflect poorly on the country.Opening the nation’s first ever “toilet expo” on Thursday, deputy prime minister Najib Razak said the cleanliness and beauty of a country’s toilets were a […]

NEW DELHI, Aug 25, 2006 (AFP) – The Wall Street Journal said Friday some of its pages will appear in a business newspaper soon to be launched in India by the country’s second-largest print media company, HT Media.HT Media Ltd earlier this year announced plans to launch a national business newspaper aimed at “global Indian […]

NEW DELHI, Aug 24, 2006 (AFP) – Barbara Rao, an American software designer of Indian descent, relies on reason in her job, but, like tens of thousands of other Hindus, is now seeking answers of a different nature.“Hey man, this is faith,” said the Santa Fe resident, as she offered milk to a statue of […]

PRAGUE, Aug 24, 2006 (AFP) – Suspense was deeper than a black hole Thursday as the world’s top astronomers prepared to announce whether lonely, little Pluto — ninth rock from the Sun — would be ejected from the planetary A-list. “We have to accept that the universe changed because the knowledge we have of it […]

WASHINGTON, Aug 23, 2006 (AFP) – They are the world’s best-selling cigarettes, a fashion prop for celebrities, an icon of marketing and the preferred smoke of millions.But if a federal judge has her way, Marlboro Lights will soon be no more in the United States. Already banned in the European Union and Brazil, so-called descriptor […]