Category: World

SINGAPORE, July 19, 2006 (AFP) – Shopping for shopping’s sake has become a “national pastime” for many Asian countries, a global online survey said Wednesday. Seven of the top 10 markets that shop once a week for recreation all hail from the region, the survery by ACNielsen said. The survey of 22,000 Internet users in […]

TOKYO, July 19, 2006 (AFP) – Japan plans to cut its budget for foreign aid, long a top tool of Tokyo’s foreign policy, by three percent in the fiscal year starting in April 2007 due to financial constraints, officials said Wednesday.Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki and Foreign Minister Taro Aso agreed on the plan over the […]

WASHINGTON, July 18, 2006 (AFP) – Washingtonians can now drop their pooches off at a pet hotel that cares for their friendly canines in a five-star environment — pet-themed television shows optional. In the mahogany paneled lobby of the PetSmart PetHotel, which just opened in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, the pets’ human “parents” line […]

BEIRUT, July 18, 2006 (AFP) – Israeli jets pounded Lebanon with a blistering wave of deadly raids under cover of darkness on Tuesday, the seventh day of an assault that has sent tens of thousands of people fleeing for their lives.Helicopters, plus ferries and other passenger ships were being commandeered to pick up foreign nationals […]

KARACHI, July 18, 2006 (AFP) – Emerging markets giant Standard Chartered is completing a deal to buy Pakistan’s Union Bank in what would be the South Asian country’s largest corporate takeover, banking officials said Tuesday. The British-based bank plans to acquire a 49 percent stake in the company from a Saudi investor, they said. “Due […]

NEW YORK, July 18, 2006 (AFP) – The New York Times said Tuesday that in 2008 it will narrow down its pages by 38 milimeters (1.5 inches), close a printing operation in New Jersey and slash its staff by 250 workers to save 42 million dollars a year The measures that will go into effect […]

KUALA LUMPUR, July 18, 2006 (AFP) – Malaysian ministers have asked their drivers to stick to the speed limit after several ministers, including Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, racked up numerous unpaid traffic fines.Deputy Transport Minister Tengku Azlan Sultan Abu Bakar told parliament the cabinet had resolved that ministers and deputy ministers were not exempt […]

NEW DELHI, July 17, 2006 (AFP) – A group of Indian villagers presided over the marriage of two donkeys at an ancient Hindu temple in southern India in a bid to promote world peace, a report said Monday.The wedding took place Sunday evening in the Sri Thirumoola Natha Swamy Temple in Tamil Nadu state, the […]

HARARE, July 16, 2006 (AFP) – Becoming a millionaire in Zimbabwe is easy these days, but wallets and purses have given way to car trunks and suitcases as the crucial accessory for carrying wads of nearly worthless cash.As the southern African country battles hyper-inflation and grinding fuel and foreign exchange shortages amid a seven-year economic […]

HARARE, July 16, 2006 (AFP) – Becoming a millionaire in Zimbabwe is easy these days, but wallets and purses have given way to car trunks and suitcases as the crucial accessory for carrying wads of nearly worthless cash.As the southern African country battles hyper-inflation and grinding fuel and foreign exchange shortages amid a seven-year economic […]

BANGALORE, India, July 14, 2006 (AFP) – On the streets of this booming Indian city, Laura Neuhaus says she is constantly on guard against men who brush against her body. “People run up and grab my butt, my breast and brush against me purposely,” Neuhaus says. “It happens so fast.” “I will be walking with […]

GENEVA, July 14, 2006 (AFP) – The outpouring of international aid in the wake of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami translated into an average of 7,100 dollars per affected person, according to a new report Friday.The study by the Tsunami Evaluation Coalition (TEC), an international group of aid agencies, said that donors’ generosity contrasted starkly […]