United States

Aides urge McCain, Obama to visit Asia first

Washington - Aides urge McCain, Obama to visit Asia first The next US president could soon be headed on a tour of Asia, if advisors to major-party candidates Barack Obama and John McCain have their way.

At a debate between foreign policy aides to the candidates, sponsored by the National Bureau of Asian Research, advisors to both the Democrat and Republican nominees said they would encourage their candidates to travel to Asia on their first international trip after the November 4 elections.

Ahmadinejad in New York amid protests, US election controversy

New York - Iranian President Mahmoud AhmadinejadIranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived Monday at the United Nations in New York in the face of protests, amid the US presidential election fray.

Jewish-American groups held a rally Monday morning outside UN headquarters in New York and planned another major demonstration on Tuesday, when Ahmadinejad is to give his formal address to the General Assembly.

The rally was catapulted into the US political limelight last week after it emerged that Sarah Palin, vice presidential running mate of Republican presidential nominee John McCain, was scheduled to speak.

Microsoft announces massive stock buy-back

MicrosoftSan Francisco - Software giant Microsoft on Monday announced that it planned to buy back up to 40 billion dollars in stock by 2013.

The company also raised its dividend by 18 per cent to 13 cents a share, sending its stock up some 5 per cent in early trading on Wall Street.

"These announcements illustrate our confidence in the long-term growth of the company and our commitment to returning capital to our shareholders," said Chris Liddell, Microsoft's chief financial officer.

Air India gets loan worth $550 from US Exim Bank

Air India gets loan worth $550 from US Exim BankCountry’s national carrier Air India has signed a financing arrangement worth $550 million with the US Exim Bank, to finance the purchase of three Boeing 777 and five Boeing 737-800 aircrafts.

Under the deal, the bank would give guarantee for the amount, which would be provided by Standard Chartered Bank to the national carrier to buy aircrafts.

Africa won't reach poverty goals, UN's Ban warns

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moonNew York - Not a single country in Africa is on track to meet the United Nations' poverty goals by 2015, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday while issuing a plea for more foreign aid.

Ban, opening a one-day conference on African development at UN headquarters, said about 72 billion dollars per year was needed for Africa to reach the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs), a series of poverty-reduction targets first set up eight years ago.

US markets open slightly down; Mitsubishi eyes Morgan Stanley

US markets open slightly down; Mitsubishi eyes Morgan Stanley Washington - US stock markets Monday opened slightly down after a week of turmoil as investors await the outcome of the US government's proposed
700-billion-dollar government bailout of bad mortgage debt that would be an unprecedented intervention in capital markets.

At the opening bell, the Dow Jones index of blue chips was down more than 50 points, or about half a percent, at 11,337. The broad- based S&P 500 was also down more than half a percent, or 5 points, to 1,249.

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