Category: World

LONDON, April 25, 2008 (AFP) – British competition authorities alleged on Friday that two cigarette companies and eleven retailers had engaged in “unlawful practices” relating to retail tobacco prices. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) began probing tobacco pricing in March 2003 but had not revealed the investigation until Friday. “The OFT has issued a […]

WASHINGTON, April 25, 2008 (AFP) – The United States and Britain issued new travel alerts warning of an increased terrorist threat in China Friday, as Interpol said Beijing must prepare for a possible Al-Qaeda attack at the Olympics.The US State Department warned Americans travelling to the Asian country of a “heightened risk that extremist groups […]

PARIS, April 25, 2008 (AFP) – UN food agency chief Jacques Diouf on Friday warned of civil war in some countries because of global food shortages and called for a revamp of the international food system.The head of the Food and Agriculture Organization said on France 24 television that international leaders had failed to act […]

NEW DELHI, April 25, 2008 (AFP) – India’s top mobile phone company Bharti Airtel on Friday reported fourth-quarter net profit leapt 37 percent on surging cellular phone use and it forecast a second growth wave from rural areas. Net profit for the three months to March 31 soared to 18.5 billion rupees (462 million dollars) […]

GENEVA, April 25, 2008 (AFP) – Banks should reform their pay structure in the wake of the subprime crisis to avoid encouraging traders to take reckless risks, a top Swiss central banker said on Friday.Jean-Pierre Roth, chairman of the Swiss National Bank’s governing board, said a rethink of corporate governance and strengthening of rules was […]

WASHINGTON, April 24, 2008 (AFP) – Sales of new US homes plunged to their lowest level in over 16 years in March despite hefty price declines in response to a glut of unsold homes, Commerce Department data showed Thursday. The grim monthly report follows a key industry survey this week showing sales of existing homes, […]

LONDON, April 25, 2008 (AFP) – European air travellers to Britain will be screened with automatic facial recognition technology from this summer in a bid to tighten security and ease congestion, the government said Friday. Citizens of Britain and all European Economic Area countries will pass through unmanned clearance gates which will scan passengers’ faces […]

NEW DELHI, April 25, 2008 (AFP) – India’s inflation jumped again to a more than three-year high, according to data on Friday, days ahead of a key meeting of central bankers who are expected to tighten monetary policy further.Annual inflation accelerated nearly two-tenths of a percentage point to 7.33 percent for the week ended April […]

ZURICH, April 24, 2008 (AFP) – Switzerland’s second biggest bank Credit Suisse on Thursday reported a net loss of 2.148 billion Swiss francs (1.330 billion euros, 2.11 billion dollars) for the first quarter of the year, hit by the ongoing subprime crisis in the United States. Writedowns in leveraged finance and structured products reached 5.3 […]

MIAMI, April 23, 2008 (AFP) – Top retailer Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club unit said Wednesday it is limiting the amount of rice individual shoppers could buy at one time, as rice prices hit new records around the world. Sam’s Club said it had temporarily placed limits of four 20-pound (nine-kilogram) bags a person for jasmine, basmati, […]

SINGAPORE, April 23, 2008 (AFP) – International concern mounted as world oil prices edged closer to 120 dollars a barrel Wednesday and the world’s top producer called for calm. Analysts said a weakening US dollar, supply worries in Nigeria and the OPEC cartel’s reluctance to increase output have all contributed to the price surge. New […]

SYDNEY, April 23, 2008 (AFP) – Australia’s annual inflation rate soared to a six-year high of 4.2 percent, quarterly figures released Wednesday showed, outstripping expectations and increasing the chances of an interest rate rise. The Australian Bureau of Statistics said the consumer price index rose 1.3 percent in the three months to March, taking the […]