Tallinn - NATO secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer restated the military alliance's desire to see Ukraine join its ranks at a high-level conference being held in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, on Thursday.
In his opening speech, de Hoop Scheffer said the talks were taking place at a special moment in NATO-Ukraine relations.
Hanoi- A Chinese Navy warship will visit Vietnam next week, only the second such visit since Vietnam and China normalized relation in 1991, Vietnam's government spokesman confirmed Thursday.
The Chinese Navy training vessel Zheng He, which carries more than 400 military personnel, will dock at the port of Danang from November 18-22.
The "friendly visit" of the Chinese warship to Vietnam, government
London - British Telecom (BT) said Thursday that it would cut a total of 10,000 jobs in the current financial year, as part of an ongoing efficiency programme.
The news came after a string of similar job-cutting announcements by major British in the last fortnight, including Virgin Media, which shed 2,200 jobs, construction firm Taylor Wimpey and pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline.
Figures released Wednesday showed that Britain's unemployment total reached an 11-year high of 1.82 million in the three months to September, a figure that is expected to rise to 2 million by Christmas.
New Delhi - Maritime surveillance is required in the Bay of Bengal where sea lanes are being used by terrorists to smuggle arms and drugs, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said at a regional summit in New Delhi Thursday.
Addressing a joint press briefing with the leaders of the BIMSTEC regional grouping nations, Rajapaksa said the issue was discussed at by the leaders of the member nations - Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
Hanoi - Vietnamese National Assembly deputies Thursday criticized the government's poor handling of rice exports in early 2008, continuing three days of sharp queries over the issue.
Vietnam's government, worried about food security, capped rice exports in March just as prices were soaring on the world market, leading to large losses in export revenue and financial difficulties for millions of farmers. The issue arose repeatedly at the National Assembly over the last three days, with deputies questioning the ministers of agriculture and trade and, Thursday, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
Tokyo - Asian stock markets were in a downward spiral Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street and falling on persistent worries over a US recession.
The Tokyo stock market extended its losing streak with the Nikkei 225 Stock Average falling 456.87 points, or 5.25 per cent, to close at 8,238.64, a two-week low.
The broader Topix index of all first-section issues was also down 4.31 per cent at 837.53.
Tallinn - NATO secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer restated the military alliance's desire to see Ukraine join its ranks at a high-level conference being held in the Estonian capital, Tallinn, on Thursday.
Hanoi- A Chinese Navy warship will visit Vietnam next week, only the second such visit since Vietnam and China normalized relation in 1991, Vietnam's government spokesman confirmed Thursday.
London - British Telecom (BT) said Thursday that it would cut a total of 10,000 jobs in the current financial year, as part of an ongoing efficiency programme.
New Delhi - Maritime surveillance is required in the Bay of Bengal where sea lanes are being used by terrorists to smuggle arms and drugs, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa said at a regional summit in New Delhi Thursday.
Hanoi - Vietnamese National Assembly deputies Thursday criticized the government's poor handling of rice exports in early 2008, continuing three days of sharp queries over the issue. 
Tokyo - Asian stock markets were in a downward spiral Thursday, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street and falling on persistent worries over a US recession.
