Category: Other

BEIJING, Oct 30, 2007 (AFP) – Birth defects in heavily polluted China have increased by nearly 40 percent since 2001, with a deformed baby born every 30 seconds, state media reported on Tuesday.The rate of defects appeared to increase near the country’s countless coal mines, which produce the bulk of China’s energy but are also […]

LONDON, Oct 29, 2007 (AFP) – The dollar plummeted to a record low against the euro Monday, as the European single currency rose to 1.4438 dollars on speculation US interest rates will be lowered again this week, analysts said. The euro was later trading here at 1.4426 dollars against 1.4391 in New York late on […]

PALWAL, India, Oct 27, 2007 (AFP) – A serpentine column of India’s poorest of the poor is moving across cities, determined to reclaim their land taken over in the name of the country’s heady economic boom. About 25,000 landless farmers, many of them using plastic bags for shoes, are on the final leg of a […]

NEW DELHI, Oct 27, 2007 (AFP) – Teenager Josman T.Jose fastens her seat belt, listens to the pilot’s instructions, is served lunch by an air hostess and two hours later jumps out the emergency door of an Airbus.It is the first time the schoolgirl has seen an aircraft from inside and her excitement is palpable, […]

SINGAPORE, Oct 26, 2007 (AFP) – Oil surged past 91 dollars in Asian trade Friday on rising tensions in the Middle East following Turkey’s military threat against Kurdish rebels in Iraq and new US sanctions on Iran, dealers said. At 2:00 pm (0600 GMT) New York’s main futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in […]

NEW DELHI, Oct 26, 2007 (AFP) – An Indian court has criticised politicians who surround themselves with scores of gun-toting bodyguards, advising them to stay home if they fear frequenting public places, a report said Friday.“I do not know why it has become a matter of prestige for them to move with 10-15 uniformed security […]

GENEVA, Oct 26, 2007 (AFP) – Nearly a third of all non-human primates could be wiped out, threatened by illegal wildlife trade, climate change and destruction of their habitat, a new report warned on Friday.The gorillas face loss of habitat from deforestation, as trees are chopped down from fuel, as well as from poaching. Twenty-nine […]

SYDNEY, Oct 26, 2007 (AFP) – Grumpy Australian coal miners are getting lessons on “exploring their wives” to revive their sex lives and boost production at work.Men working at the Bulga mine near Sydney attend classes on issues such as menopause and foreplay because, a manager told the Sydney Morning Herald, a miner not having […]

NAIROBI, Oct 25, 2007 (AFP) – Following are key points from the fourth Global Environment Outlook (GEO-4) report, issued on Thursday by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) — Of major vertebrate groups on the planet, 30 percent of amphibians, 23 percent of mammals and 12 percent of birds are threatened — Humanity’s current “footprint”, […]

SINGAPORE, Oct 24, 2007 (AFP) – World oil prices fell for the third straight day in Asia on Wednesday, pulling back further from record highs reached last week.Dealers said worries about slowing economic growth have pushed aside fears about tensions between Turkey and Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, which helped push prices sky-high last week. […]

NEW YORK, Oct 23, 2007 (AFP) – Business travel costs around the world are expected to see a big surge in 2008 with air fares pushed up by rising fuel prices and hotels rates squeezed by growing demands, a survey showed Tuesday.The American Express Global Business Travel Forecast said hotel rates are especially pressured in […]