Category: World

FRANKFURT, April 1, 2008 (AFP) – Deutsche Bank unveiled huge asset writedowns linked to the international banking crisis on Tuesday, but the amount still managed to pale in comparison to those announced by Swiss bank UBS.Deutsche Bank, the biggest German bank, said it estimated first-quarter writedowns would reach roughly 2.5 billion euros (3.9 billion dollars) […]

PARIS, April 1, 2008 (AFP) – Sex, sex and more sex together with ever-popular game shows remain the big television draws in most countries, according to a new survey.. Sex and science, sex and spirituality and sex for the sake of sex — anything goes, according to International Medias Consultants Associes (IMCA) and Mediametrie, a […]

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, March 31, 2008 (AFP) – Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has assured Malinda Warnapura and Thilan Thusara that they can expect an extended run in the national team. Warnapura starred with scores of 120 and 62 in Sri Lanka’s opening Test win by 121 runs against West Indies last week at […]

LONDON, March 31, 2008 (AFP) – Britain and the US are finalising plans to create a working group that will put together proposals to better monitor and regulate the financial system, the Financial Times reported Monday. Citing unnamed senior British finance ministry officials, the business daily said the plans were agreed Wednesday by British Chancellor […]

TOKYO, March 31, 2008 (AFP) – Lehman Brothers on Monday sued Japan’s Marubeni Corp.for about 350 million dollars over a bogus investment scheme allegedly involving two employees of the trading giant. Lehman Brothers filed a lawsuit with the Tokyo District Court seeking compensation of 35.2 billion yen (352 million dollars) from Marubeni, said a spokeswoman […]

JAKARTA, March 30, 2008 (AFP) – With prices for key commodities at record highs, Indonesia — Southeast Asia’s biggest economy and a key exporter — should, at first glance, be enjoying good times. But with high oil prices leading to a government fuel subsidy blowout and rising food prices hitting the poor, analysts say most […]

NEW YORK, March 28, 2008 (AFP) – World oil prices fell sharply Friday on renewed concern that a slowdown in the US economy would dampen energy demand and on news that damage to an Iraqi pipeline was not as serious as first thought. New York crude values dropped under 106 dollars a barrel, a day […]

MANILA, March 29, 2008 (AFP) – Philippine PC manufacturer Neo and multinational computer processor maker Intel have jointly launched a new 16,999-peso (406-dollar) mini laptop, spokesmen said Saturday.The Neo Explore is a “ruggedized and shock-proof” laptop with a keyboard that will not be damaged by spillages of liquids, said Neo spokeswoman Mariel Que. It weighs […]

LONDON, March 28, 2008 (AFP) – Finance minister Alistair Darling outlined plans on Friday to equip Britain’s financial watchdog with powers to give individuals whistleblower protection in return for evidence in investigations.Darling’s proposals in an interview with The Guardian came just days after British bank Halifax Bank of Scotland was forced to deny market rumours […]

UNITED NATIONS, March 26, 2008 (AFP) – Nearly 500,000 people will die of AIDS each year in Asia by 2020 unless prevention efforts are fully implemented, a UN report said Wednesday. The figure is up from 440,000 that currently die each year, according to the report commissioned by the United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). […]

BEVERLY HILLS, California, March 26, 2008 (AFP) – Plans for a two-seater aircraft designed to shuttle tourists to the brink of outer space were unveiled Wednesday by a firm aiming to secure a slice of the nascent galactic travel market.California-based XCOR Aerospace hopes that its Lynx craft will allow space tourists to get a tantalising […]

SYDNEY, March 27, 2008 (AFP) – The Australian financial system had coped better with the recent global strains than many other countries, the central bank said Thursday in its half yearly financial stability review.The banking system remained highly profitable and well capitalised, with the banks having minimal direct exposure to the subprime problems in the […]