Category: World

SAN FRANCISCO, July 9, 2008 (AFP) – Computer industry heavyweights are hustling to fix a flaw in the foundation of the Internet that would let hackers control traffic on the World Wide Web. Major software and hardware makers worked in secret for months to create a software “patch” released on Tuesday to repair the problem, […]

PARIS, July 8, 2008 (AFP) – One of the world’s most respected climate scientists on Tuesday slammed the G8 summit’s goal of halving global warming emissions by 2050 as “worse than worthless.” Leaders of the world’s richest nations, meeting in Japan, “are taking actions that guarantee that we deliver to our children climate catastrophes that […]

DARJEELING, July 8, 2008 (AFP) – Leaders of the ethnic Nepali-speaking minority in India’s mountainous and tea-rich northeast have started month-long prayers to press for their own federal state.Ethnic Gorkhas — who number more than a million in the eastern state of West Bengal — have been demanding a separate state within India for decades, […]

EOUL, July 8, 2008 (AFP) – The South Korean won hit a two-week high Tuesday after foreign exchange authorities sold up to two billion dollars to prop it up, traders said.The currency was quoted at 1,031.60 per dollar as of 0500 GMT, compared to Monday’s close of 1,042.90. Earlier Tuesday it rallied as high as […]

LONDON, July 8, 2008 (AFP) – Britain’s economy, buckling under the credit crunch and a slowing property market, faces a “serious risk” of recession as firms face soaring costs and falling orders, according to a survey published Tuesday.The British Chambers of Commerce, which represents the country’s business interests around the world, made the claim in […]

TOKYO, July 8, 2008 (AFP) – Japan’s Matsushita Electric Works Ltd.said Tuesday it had developed a fluorescent lamp that does not use mercury or a gas-discharging process. The enviromentally friendly device, which uses processed silicon, could be 50 percent brighter than a conventional fluorescent lamp while consuming the same amount of electricity, the company said […]

TOKYO, July 7, 2008 (AFP) – Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp.plans to add solar panels to its popular Prius hybrid early next year to power the vehicle’s air conditioning, a newspaper report said Monday. As part of a complete design makeover, the Prius will be fitted with rooftop solar panels on its high-end models, the Nikkei […]

TOYAKO, July 6, 2008 (AFP) – President George W.Bush on Sunday reaffirmed the United States’ “strong dollar” policy, saying the US economy’s fundamental strength would ultimately support the flagging currency.“The US believes in a strong dollar policy and believes that the strength of our economy will be reflected in the dollar,” he said ahead of […]

TEHRAN, July 5, 2008 (AFP) – Iran’s inflation rate, which has provoked intense criticism of the government, topped 26 percent in June, according to a central bank statement published in the press on Saturday.“During the Iranian month of Kordad (to June 20) inflation reached 26. 4 percent compared with the same month a year ago,” […]

TOKYO, July 6, 2008 (AFP) – Next time you take to the skies you may find there are fewer pages in your in-flight magazine, your fork is slimmer and your plate feels different.Blame it on soaring oil prices. The seat you are sitting on may be lighter. Perhaps there’s less water on board for the […]

WINDHOEK, July 5, 2008 (AFP) – Eight southern African coastal states have agreed to set up a regional task force to deal with illegal fishing in their waters and save dwindling fish stocks, fisheries ministers said.A three-day ministerial conference held in Namibia decided to implement the plan which would ban trans-shipment of catches at sea […]

GENEVA, July 5, 2008 (AFP) – A plan by the European Union to impose a carbon dioxide emissions quota for all airlines flying into and out of the bloc could spark trade wars, aviation industry officials warned.The so-called emissions trading scheme, which is to be voted on by the EU lawmakers next week, aims at […]