Category: World

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 […]

BERLIN, July 5, 2008 (AFP) – International Energy Agency chief Nobuo Tanaka has predicted that world oil markets will remain tight until 2013, according to an interview with the German economic daily Handelsblatt.The market will initially relax from now until 2009/2010 due to a foreseeable increase in supply brought about by new production sites, said […]

LONDON, July 4, 2008 (AFP) – Biofuels have caused world food prices to increase by 75 percent, according to the findings of an unpublished World Bank report published in The Guardian newspaper on Friday.The daily said the report was finished in April but was not published to avoid embarrassing the US government, which has claimed […]

TOKYO, July 4, 2008 (AFP) – Asia’s emerging economies are “highly vulnerable” to skyrocketing oil prices, making inflation the number one concern for policymakers, the head of the Asian Development Bank said Friday.But emerging Asia looks set to avoid a sharp slowdown given strong economic growth in China and should easily avoid a repeat of […]

MADRID, July 3, 2008 (AFP) – Tensions have flared between the oil powers and consumer nations at the World Petroleum Congress this week, with no sign of common ground on how to bring down record crude prices. After failing to find agreement at a hastily arranged summit in Saudi Arabia on June 22, this week’s […]

MARSAXLOKK, July 3, 2008 (AFP) – Mediterranean tuna ranches are feeling the pinch after the European Union moved to prevent the depletion of fish stocks.“This year, we will probably process only 500 tonnes,” said Saviour Caruana, a co-owner of Fish and Fish, a bluefin tuna ranch with a capacity of 1,200 tonnes. “I had given […]

NAIROBI, July 02, 2008 (AFP) – A green “gold rush” is underway, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said as it announced a 60 percent rise in new investment entering the sustainable energy sector in 2007.More than 148 billion dollars (93 billion euros) of new funds were ploughed into the quest for cleaner energy last year. […]

DHAKA, July 2, 2008 (AFP) – Impoverished Bangladesh hiked bus fares 20 percent Wednesday following a controversial rise in state-set fuel prices, an official said, as Asia continued to reel from soaring crude oil costs.The government said the new fares were introduced after some operators had unilaterally raised fares up to 50 percent following Bangladesh’s […]

BERLIN, July 2, 2008 (AFP) – A German firm said Wednesday it has bowed to pressure and will stop supplying blank banknotes to Zimbabwe where the regime of Robert Mugabe fills them with ever increasing numbers of zeros. “By stopping with immediate effect we are taking into account the position of the (German) government and […]