Category: World

BEIJING, August 19, 2008 (AFP) – Greek runner Fani Halkia has been formally expelled from the Olympics after testing positive for a banned substance, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said Tuesday. The 29-year-old, who won gold in the women’s 400m hurdles at the Athens Olympics, failed the test while in Japan this month preparing for […]

LONDON, August 19, 2008 (AFP) – The world’s biggest miner BHP Billiton announced record annual net profits of 15.39 billion US dollars (10.46 billion euros), driven by soaring commodity prices and strong Asian demand. The Anglo-Australian resources giant, which was particularly boosted by higher earnings from petroleum and iron ore, beat last year’s net profit […]

JOHANNESBURG, August 17, 2008 (AFP) – Southern African countries launched a regional trade zone at a summit on Sunday that aims to eliminate import tariffs, with plans for a common currency by 2018. Eleven of the 14 countries that are part of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) will participate in the free trade area, […]

ISLAMABAD, August 18, 2008 (AFP) – Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf announced in a televised address to the nation Monday that he had decided to resign after nine years in power to avoid the threat of impeachment.The former army chief, who seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999, was under huge pressure from the governing […]

SYDNEY, August 17, 2008 (AFP) – Thousands of Pacific Islanders will be allowed to live and work in Australia under a new guest worker plan announced Sunday by the government.Federal Agriculture Minister Tony Burke said the scheme would allow up to 2,500 people from Kiribati, Tonga, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea to work here for […]

BERLIN, August 16, 2008 (AFP) – German engineering giant Siemens ignored its own anti-corruption procedures in a slush fund scandal that has brought down a number of former group executives, Spiegel magazine said.“Netzwerk-compliance,” a network comprising more than 400 businesses created to secure good company governance, identified “considerable structural shortcomings” in Siemens’ anti-corruption rules, according […]

MANILA, August 16, 2008 (AFP) – The Philippine outsourcing industry will need an extra 420,000 workers within the next two years as it bids to become one of the world’s leading outsourcing centres, business leaders said Friday. The industry is targetting annual revenues of 12-13 billion dollars by 2010, Business Processing Association of the Philippines […]

SAN FRANCISCO, August 16, 2008 (AFP) – In a step toward the type of future pictured in the hit film “Iron Man,” a firm in the Netherlands is letting people fabricate items designed in three-dimensions on the Internet.Shapeways chief executive Peter Weijmarshausen depicts the “rapid manufacture” service launched online this week as a natural extension […]

BEIJING, August 15, 2008 (AFP) – Foreign exchange deposits into Chinese banks in July dropped to 5.6 billion dollars, down by nearly half from June, state media reported, indicating the flow of “hot money” into China is slowing. The level of new foreign exchange deposits was lower than last month’s 8.3 billion dollars in direct […]

August 15, 2008 (AFP) – Fighting between Sri Lankan troops and Tamil Tiger rebels in the north is endangering the lives of tens of thousands of displaced people, rights group Amnesty International said Friday. Government bombardments and artillery shelling since May have forced thousands to flee their homes, primarily in Kilinochchi and Mullaittivu districts, the […]

WASHINGTON, August 15, 2008 (AFP) – The US government paid out 85 billion dollars in four years to contractors providing services to various government agencies in support of the Iraq war and reconstruction, a survey showed.The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report said the administration of US President George W.Bush awarded 85-billion-dollars in contracts between 2003 […]

LONDON, August 15, 2008 (AFP) – Gold prices tumbled underneath 800 dollars per ounce on Friday, hitting a ten-month low point as the precious metal was hampered by the strong US currency and weak oil prices, analysts said. On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold slid to 772.98 dollars per ounce. That was […]