BERLIN - ANGELA Merkel was sworn in on Wednesday for a second term as German chancellor, a month after her party won national elections.
Mrs Merkel, 55, will serve as chancellor of a center-right government coalition of her Christian Democratic Party, its Bavaria-only sister party the Christian Social Union, and the pro-business Free Democrats.
MILAN - ITALIAN fashion house Versace is cutting about a quarter of its global workforce and expects to post a loss this year as it takes a hit from slumping demand for luxury goods and designer items in the financial crisis.
The celebrity-favourite fashion brand, whose gowns are worn by Hollywood actresses such as Angelina Jolie, is taking measures aimed at returning the group to profitability in 2011, it said in an e-mailed statement on Wednesday.
PESHAWAR (Pakistan) - A CAR bomb tore through a busy market in north-western Pakistan on Wednesday, killing 91 people as US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited the country and pledged American support for its campaign against Islamist militants.
More than 200 people were wounded in the blast in the main north-western city of Peshawar, the deadliest in a surge of attacks this month. The government blamed militants seeking to avenge an army offensive launched this month against Al-Qaeda and Taleban in their stronghold close to the Afghan border.
KUALA LUMPUR - THE mobile phone empire of Malaysian billionaire Ananda Krishnan launched an initial public offering Wednesday to raise at least US$3.4 billion (S$7.8 billion) in the biggest share sale in Southeast Asia.
Maxis Berhad, the top mobile company in Malaysia, is offering for sale 2.25 billion existing shares, representing 30 per cent of its total equity, it said in a prospectus. The indicative price of 5.20 ringgit (US$1.50) a share would raise 11.7 billion ringgit in total.
