20 Dec 2011 - 2:12pm
SYDNEY: Australia's central bank on Tuesday said there was a non-trivial possibility of a severe contraction in the eurozone economy, leaving the door open for further interest rate cuts in 2012.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) said downside risks to the global economy from Europe's sovereign debt woes had increased of late though the...
20 Dec 2011 - 12:04pm
WASHINGTON, December 20, 2011 (AFP) - Kim Jong-Il's death has radically revamped calculations for the United States, which long waited patiently for change in nuclear-armed North Korea but is now nervous about potential dangers to come.
After years of on-off efforts to end North Korea's nuclear program, the United States recently made a...
20 Dec 2011 - 4:44am
CAIRO: Syria agreed Monday to allow Arab observers to monitor a deal to end a nine-month protest crackdown, in a move dismissed by the opposition as a ploy and followed by even more reports of bloodshed.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said between 60 and 70 army deserters were gunned down as they fled their military posts in...
19 Dec 2011 - 7:14pm
BRUSSELS: New ECB chief Mario Draghi warned that the bank cannot carry the full weight of solving the eurozone debt crisis and urged euro finance ministers to do more to restore confidence later Monday.
In an interview ahead of a 1500 GMT tele-conference, aimed at spelling out commitments to a 200-billion-euro (RM832 billion) IMF bailout...
19 Dec 2011 - 5:51pm
SEOUL: The young man tipped to be North Korea's next leader and propel the Kim dynasty into a third generation is even more of an enigma than his mercurial father Kim Jong-Il, who has died at the age of 69.
North Korean state media on Monday urged people to pledge allegiance to Kim's youngest son and heir apparent Kim Jong-Un, aged in his...
19 Dec 2011 - 5:00pm
TEHRAN: Western sanctions have taken such a toll on Iran over the past 18 months that now -- as the screw is about to be tightened yet further -- Tehran's studied insouciance is slipping, with officials admitting the economic damage being felt.
"War-time conditions" demanded dramatic policy reactions, the head of Tehran's chamber of trade...
19 Dec 2011 - 3:50pm
MANILA: A freak storm, poor warning systems, flimsy buildings and human folly are all being blamed as Philippine officials struggle to explain one of the deadliest flash floods to have hit the country.
Entire villages were washed away when tropical storm Washi whipped Mindanao island overnight Friday to Saturday, killing more than 650...
16 Dec 2011 - 7:06pm
PARIS: France fuelled a burgeoning cross-Channel row on Friday, describing Britain's economy as very worrying as the press in London reacted with fury to French calls for British debt to be downgraded. The row comes after Britain clashed with France at last week's EU crisis summit and refused to join the members of the eurozone single...
16 Dec 2011 - 5:05pm
BANGKOK: Opium cultivation in Southeast-Asia has doubled since 2006 with significant increases in Myanmar and Laos this year, according to a UN report issued Thursday.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime said the lack of security, political stability and sustainable development was the key reason for a 16 per cent increase in the amount of...
16 Dec 2011 - 4:19pm
BEIRUT: The Arab uprisings mark a historic milestone in a region long ruled by dictators and have reshaped the political map, heralding the rise of a Sunni Islamist bloc against a waning Shiite axis led by Iran, analysts say. From Tunisia to Egypt, Syria and Yemen, a new order is emerging in the Arab world with the traditional balance of...
