Category: World

YANGON, May 6, 2008 (AFP) – More than 15,000 people were killed in Myanmar’s devastating cyclone, the government said Tuesday, with thousands more feared dead after the storm left rice fields littered with corpses. Aid workers were racing to deliver food and water to the southern coast which was submerged by floodwaters, leaving scenes of […]

BANGKOK, May 6, 2008 (AFP) – The deadly cyclone that struck Myanmar devastated its main rice-growing region, and could threaten exports meant to ease shortages in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the UN food agency said Tuesday. Flooding, which poured damaging salt water into paddy fields, could create long-term food insecurity for Myanmar and other poor […]

LONDON, May 6, 2008 (AFP) – Oil prices hit a record high 122 dollars here on Tuesday as the market was driven by concerns over violence in key producer Nigeria and a struggling US currency, analysts said. After spiking to a fresh high, New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, […]

DAKAR, May 5, 2008 (AFP) – Senegal’s outspoken President Abdoulaye Wade late Sunday called for the scrapping of the UN food agency, saying its inefficiency had largely led to soaring food prices worldwide.Wade said the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), headed by his compatriot Jacques Diouf, was a “waste of money largely spent on doing […]

PARIS, May 4, 2008 (AFP) – Researchers in China have pinpointed an elusive gene that plays a linchpin role in determining the harvest potential of rice, according to a study released on Sunday by the journal Nature Genetics.The productivity of a rice plant is determined by several traits — the number and size of its […]

PHNOM PENH, May 5, 2008 (AFP) – Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Monday that a proposed OPEC-style rice cartel in Southeast Asia would ensure global food security, rejecting concerns that it would increase hunger and poverty. Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said last week that his country had agreed in principle to form a […]

SHANGHAI, May 5, 2008 (AFP) – A Chinese government watchdog has warned major state-owned enterprises to brace for tough times given the likelihood of a worsening global economic slowdown, state media reported Monday. Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) must pay more attention to their financial position to avoid a potential capital crunch, the Economic Observer reported, […]

SYDNEY, May 5, 2008 (AFP) – From the rice paddies of Asia to the wheat fields of Australia, the soaring price of food is breaking the budgets of the poor and raising the spectres of hunger and unrest, experts warn.A billion people in Asia are seriously affected by the surging costs of daily staples such […]

TOKYO, May 5, 2008 (AFP) – Japan’s ruling party is considering plans to encourage foreign workers to stay in the country long-term, a daily reported Monday after the birth rate fell for the 27th successive year. The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has proposed setting up an “immigration agency” to help foreign workers — including providing […]

MADRID, May 5, 2008 (AFP) – The head of the Asian Development Bank announced on Monday the establishment of a Climate Change Fund to combat the impact of global warming, which he termed a “fundamental threat” to the region.“We will substantially increase our attention to the environmental consequences of growth, including climate change,” Haruhiko Kuroda […]

BRDO PRI KRANJU, Slovenia, May 5, 2008 (AFP) – Europe’s truckers would have to pay for the pollution, traffic jams and noise they cause if the European Commission gets its way.The European Union’s executive arm is putting the finishing touches on proposals that would hit road hauliers with special new toll fees for the environmental […]

SAN FRANCISCO, May 3, 2008 (AFP) – Microsoft on Saturday yanked its proposal to acquire Yahoo, saying the struggling Internet pioneer refused to budge on price despite the software giant upping its offer to nearly 50 billion dollars.Talks aimed at resolving corporate dueling that began with Microsoft’s offer on February 1 to buy Yahoo for […]