Category: Other

FORT WORTH, Texas, March 7, 2008 (AFP) – Former Olympic champion Marion Jones, sentenced in January to six months prison for lying about using steroids, Friday reported to a Texas jail, US Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Traci Billingsley said. All Jones’ results since September 1, 2000, have been stricken from the records and Jones has […]

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2008 (AFP) – As more signs point to a US economy that is sinking fast, the Federal Reserve is struggling to find ways to reignite growth even as confidence wanes among consumers, businesses and banks, analysts say.“Perhaps the ultimate resolution to the problem might have to come from some governmental action not […]

NEW DELHI, March 8, 2008 (AFP) – British brutality during colonial rule in India cannot be forgotten but the nation is too polite to ask for an apology, India’s vice president Hamid Ansari said, according to a report on Saturday.“The amount of brutality by the British cannot be forgotten,” Ansari was quoted as saying by […]

NEW YORK, March 6, 2008 (AFP) – The dollar extended its losses against the euro on Thursday, tumbling to another record low after the European Central Bank left its rates unchanged and said fighting inflation was a priority. The euro set a new all-time high of 1.5393 dollars before settling at 1.5381 dollars at 2200 […]

TOKYO, March 7, 2008 (AFP) – Japan’s foreign exchange reserves have topped the one-trillion-dollar mark for the first time, led by the soaring value of gold and the euro, the government said Friday.At the end of February Japan had a total of 979.17 billion dollars in foreign currency, with the rest in gold or International […]

PARIS, March 7, 2008 (AFP) – A senior US Federal Reserve official issued a warning here Friday against expectations the central bank might soon approve another cut in US interest rates aimed at shoring up stock market sentiment. “The Fed is taking a very pro-active stance regarding what we view as economic developments,” Richard Fisher, […]

March 6, 2008 (AFP) – Oil edged close to 105 dollars a barrel in Asian trade early Thursday as investors fretted over an unexpected drop in US energy stockpiles, dealers said. It also said it was concerned that the current price “does not reflect market fundamentals (of real supply and demand).” OPEC’s decision to maintain […]

NEW YORK, March 5, 2008 (AFP) – The number of billionaires in Asia jumped more than 30 percent last year, with tycoons from India and China leading the charge, according to Forbes magazine’s annual billionaires list. Taiwan had seven, Indonesia and Singapore both counted five, while Thailand had three and the Philippines two. In total, […]

NEW YORK, March 5, 2008 (AFP) – US financier Warren Buffett has overtaken Bill Gates as the world’s richest man, according to Forbes annual billionaire’s list, which this year saw Russia, China and India making increasing inroads. Buffett, the 77-year-old chief of the Berkshire Hathaway holding company, saw his wealth jump from 52 billion dollars […]

BEIJING, March 5, 2008 (AFP) – China has set an inflation target of around 4.8 percent for 2008, according to the text of a speech Premier Wen Jiabao is to deliver to the national legislature later Wednesday. Wen will deliver the speech when parliament opens around 9:00 am (0100 GMT). The speech was given to […]

SAN FRANCISCO, March 4, 2008 (AFP) – A comScore study released Tuesday shows US mobile Internet use is rising exponentially as people increasingly opt to be online while on the move.The comScore study indicates more than half the US mobile broadband use is done from work computers and that more than 75 percent of the […]