Category: World

KUALA LUMPUR, May 22, 2008 (AFP) – Telekom Malaysia said Thursday its net profits in the first quarter fell 12.8 percent from a year ago to 519.7 million ringgit (162.4 million dollars) on higher operating and financing costs. Malaysia’s largest telecommunications firm said sales for the three months to March rose 10.6 percent to 4.6 […]

SINGAPORE, May 22, 2008 (AFP) – Oil smashed past 135 dollars a barrel for the first time Thursday, continuing its astonishing rise following unexpected drops in US crude and gasoline stocks in a tight market, dealers said.In Asian morning trade, New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for July delivery, rose to a […]

SYDNEY, May 21, 2008 (AFP) – Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd urged company executives to rein in their salaries Wednesday, amid a furore over an 80 million dollar (76.8 million US) payout to the head of an investment bank. Speaking after it was revealed that outgoing Macquarie bank chief executive Allan Moss would receive a […]

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2008 (AFP) – Amid a surge in food prices blamed in part on US expansion of corn-based ethanol production, lawmakers, experts and industry officials are urging the government to rethink a new law mandating alternative fuels. The United States is the world’s top producer of corn-based ethanol, which the administration of President […]

KUALA LUMPUR, May 21, 2008 (AFP) – Malaysian former premier Mahathir Mohamad’s son quit the ruling party Wednesday after his father called for mass resignations to force the ouster of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.. Businessman Mokhzani Mahathir warned the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) was heading for “annihilation” unless Abdullah stepped down to take […]

CANNES, May 21, 2008 (AFP) – With India’s entertainment billionaires seemingly blessed with limitless pockets, Bollywood is flexing its movie muscle, taking on Hollywood in unexpected corners of the globe and buying up theatres worldwide.“Bollywood now has the muscle and (Indian) corporates have big money,” prominent Indian filmmaker Jagmohan Mundra told AFP. Mundra said Bollywood […]

GENEVA, May 21, 2008 (AFP) – Child obesity is ballooning into a big problem in China as ‘little emperors’ are increasingly getting an appetite for the Western couch-potato way of life, according to a study presented in Geneva.Almost one in five children under seven is overweight and more than seven percent are obese, according to […]

SAN FRANCISCO, May 19, 2008 (AFP) – Google on Monday launched Google Health, a long-anticipated medical records service letting US users store and manage their health care information online.The offering raises privacy concerns and draws yet another battle line between Internet search king Google and global software giant Microsoft, which began offering a similar HealthVault […]

LONDON, May 20, 2008 (AFP) – British clothes to food retailer Marks and Spencer posted annual profits of more than one billion pounds (1.2 billion euros, 1.9 billion dollars) Tuesday, the company said. Pre-tax profits of 1.1 billion pounds for the financial year to March 29 were 4.3 percent ahead of the previous 12-month period […]

BRUSSELS, May 19, 2008 (AFP) – The flow of European cash into Indian firms surged more than fourfold last year, far surpassing EU investments into Chinese companies, estimates from the bloc’s Eurostat data agency showed on Monday.Foreign direct investment from the 27-nation European Union into India jumped to 10.9 billion euros (17.0 billion dollars) last […]

TOKYO, May 19, 2008 (AFP) – An advisory panel called on Japan’s government Monday to help remove barriers to foreign investment amid calls overseas for the world’s second-largest economy to open up more.The panel of academics, business chiefs and other experts proposed Japan treat foreign and domestic investors equally and lower its corporate tax of […]

WASHINGTON, May 18, 2008 (AFP) – Microsoft said Sunday it was considering some kind of new deal with Yahoo that would not involve a new takeover bid, two weeks after withdrawing its offer to acquire the struggling Internet pioneer.“In light of developments since the withdrawal of the Microsoft proposal to acquire Yahoo Inc., Microsoft announced […]