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.
New York - US retail giant Wal-Mart reported Thursday that its surplus in the third quarter gained nearly 10 per cent, but that the company is now more cautious about its full-year prospects amid the economic downturn.
The Bentonville, Arkansas-based company said its surplus came to 3.14 billion dollars in the quarter, on sales of 98.64 billion dollars, up 7 per cent from the same period of
2007.
The world's largest retailer said that while it is "optimistic" about the upcoming Christmas shopping season, it was scaling back its projections for the full business year ending next January 31.
Shanghai - ATP executive candidate Brad Drewitt on Thursday defended the decision to increase the 2009 player workload in exchange for more prize money after Andy Roddick charged that an over-heated schedule is leading to injuries on court.
Roddick withdrew with some frustration on Wednesday after rolling his ankle in training and handing a spot in the eight-man Masters Cup wrap-up event to alternate Radek Stepanek.
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.
New York - US retail giant Wal-Mart reported Thursday that its surplus in the third quarter gained nearly 10 per cent, but that the company is now more cautious about its full-year prospects amid the economic downturn. 
Shanghai - ATP executive candidate Brad Drewitt on Thursday defended the decision to increase the 2009 player workload in exchange for more prize money after Andy Roddick charged that an over-heated schedule is leading to injuries on court.
