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Space shuttle Endeavour returns to Earth after 17-day mission |
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Written by Ajay Gupta
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Friday, 31 July 2009 15:18 |
 Washington - The space shuttle Endeavour landed at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Friday carrying a seven-member crew of US, Canadian and Japanese astronauts.
The landing at 1448 GMT marked the end of the 17-day mission that saw the completion of the Japanese laboratory on the International Space Station.
The Endeavour brought an external platform to the station that was installed on the Japanese Kibo laboratory during the first of the mission's five spacewalks. The porch will expose experiments to the extremities of space. (dpa) |
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Obama: US-China relations will "shape" 21st century |
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Written by Heman Kothari
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Monday, 27 July 2009 15:17 |
 Washington - Relations between the United States and China will be critical to the success of a host of global issues, US President Barack Obama said Monday at the start of a two-day gathering of top officials from the two countries.
"The relationship between the United States and China will shape the 21st century," Obama said in Washington, urging progress on confronting the global economic crisis, climate change, nuclear proliferation and terrorism.
China's State Councillor Dai Bingguo said the interests of the US and China "have never been interwoven so closely" and both countries would have to work together to help the global economy recover from a deep recession.
Obama said that bridging divides between the two powers - the world's first and third-largest economies - was now often a "prerequisite" for finding global agreements.
The US delegation is led by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. They will meet with Bingguo and China's Vice Premier Wang Qishan.
The talks are expected to be dominated by the issue of the global economic crisis.
Obama urged China to begin boosting domestic demand and begin shifting from a dependence on exports, in order to help put the global economy on a more "solid foundation." The US has been concerned that China is saving too much as the global economic downturn has prompted a decrease in consumer consumption.
China is likely to press the US on its skyrocketing budget deficit, driven in part because of Obama's massive spending to jump- start the economy. Washington's deficit is expected to reach 1.8 trillion dollars this year. (dpa) |
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World's banks accept more regulation, but push for broader approach |
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Written by Ajay Gupta
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Thursday, 23 July 2009 18:42 |
 Washington - The world's major banks said Thursday they recognize that more government regulation is unavoidable after careless risks brought their sector to the brink of collapse in October.
But financial firms also pushed for broader international standards and resisted the idea of subjecting the largest banks to tighter regulation than others, in a report by the Institute of International Finance, the world's top financial lobby.
The United States and European Union are in the process of adopting major overhauls of their financial regulatory systems.
"We recognize that far reaching regulatory and industry reforms are necessary to guard against systemic vulnerabilities," said Josef Ackermann, chairman of the IIF and chief executive of Deutsche Bank. "A return to 'business as usual' is not an option for us." (dpa) |
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Six people wounded by shots at Texas rapper event |
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Written by Deepak Joshi
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Thursday, 23 July 2009 18:37 |
 Washington - Six people were recovering Thursday from bullet wounds after a shooting at a university event that was intended to celebrate a Houston area rapper, the Houston Chronicle reported.
The six people were shot Wednesday night at the Texas Southern University campus in Houston, school and police officials told the newspaper.
The free family event was intended to celebrate the rap work of Frazier Thompson III, better known as Trae, who has worked with local at-risk youth. In addition to live performances, the event featured train rides, pony rides, face painting and moonwalks.
University spokeswoman Eva Pickens told the Chronicle that university officials had been told that the shootings were gang- related.
An eyewitness said she saw a car drive by the crowd gathered at the event in the parking lot of the TSU stadium and open fire. The rapper and his backup had already left the scene when the shooting occurred. (dpa) |
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Second-quarter earnings at UPS drop 49 per cent |
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Written by Harpreet Verma
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Thursday, 23 July 2009 18:35 |
 New York - United Parcel Service Inc on Thursday reported that its second-quarter earnings plunged by 49 per cent compared to a year earlier amid the ongoing recession.
The Atlanta, Georgia-based company said its second-quarter net income fell to 445 million dollars.
The world's largest package delivery company said its volumes dropped for a sixth consecutive quarter as businesses cut demand.
"The economic environment continues to be difficult. Declines in both our domestic and international businesses appear to be stabilizing but volumes will remain significantly below last year's levels," said Kurt Kuehn, UPS' chief financial officer.
"The business environment in the third quarter should be similar to the second quarter," Kuehn said.
UPS CEO Scott Davis said, "The global economic environment pressured our performance, but UPS remains financially very strong ... we are a company that can weather this recession, positioning ourselves well to benefit when economic recovery occurs."(dpa) |
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Page 2 of 9 |
London, July 5 : A man who lost his eyesight in an accident at work can now see again, thanks to doctors who transpla...
Washington - Six people were recovering Thursday from bullet wounds after a shooting at a university event that was i...
Washington - The space shuttle Endeavour landed at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on Friday carrying a seven-mem...
United States