Business

On Friday, the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association agreed to send forward-center Pau Gasol and their 2010 second-round draft pick to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for center Kwame Brown, rookie point guard Javaris Crittenton, and two first-round draft picks in 2008 and 2010. Also sent to Memphis were Pau's brother Marc Gasol, and Aaron McKie, who was signed by the Lakers the same day. Lakers General Manger Mitch Kupchak said, "Pau is a proven player of All-Star caliber in this league who can score and rebound and he'

Thousands of farmers marched through the streets of Mexico City to express their opposition to the agricultural section of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Witnesses have reported that long rows of tractors moving at slow speed were observed in several of the access roads to Mexico City. Authorities have reported that over 120,000 people took part in the protest. The march was headed by the National Peasant Confederation (NPC), an organization which claims to represent five million workers in Mexico. Since last Wednesday, t

In a deal announced Tuesday, the Minnesota Twins have traded pitcher Johan Santana to the New York Mets. The trade is yet to be finalized, pending a physical examination and agreement on a contract extension, but an agreement is expected to be made before 5:00 EST Friday. In exchange for the three-time all-star and two-time Cy Young award winner, the Twins would receive outfielder Carlos Gómez, and three right-handed pitchers, Philip Humber, Deolis Guerra, and Kevin Mulvey. Santana is reportedly looking for a 6 to 7 year deal worth around US$

During the fourth day of the 2008 Taipei Game Show, held at the Taipei World Trade Center, visitors voted for their favourite participating companies and games at the "Popular Game Voting" competition. According to the organizer Taipei Computer Association (TCA), this is the first-ever vote. It has two main categories, quality of the game itself and quality of the presentation at the convention. In the game section there were four categories: leisure game, PC console game, online RPG, and upcoming games. Balancing the vote, booth setup and sta

President George W. Bush has delivered his eighth and final State of the Union Address to Congress and the American people. In the speech he urged the American public to support his Iraq policies and called on other politicians to take action to boost the U.S. economy. Since 2008 is a presidential election year and he has already served the Constitutional maximum of two four year terms, he may not run again. Since State of the Union addresses are traditionally only given yearly in January, he will likely not give another one. Rather than focu

On Monday, four men entered a branch of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria in Altagracia de Orituco, Venezuela, a small city south-east of the capital Caracas. Allegedly, the bank heist did not go as planned, and the men became trapped in the bank with police outside. In the resulting standoff, approximately 30 employees and customers were taken hostage. Today, after the standoff has lasted more than 24 hours, with a helicopter hovering above, the bank is surrounded by hundreds of heavily armed police, television crews, and the victims relatives.

The four gunmen who were holding as many as 60 hostages in a bank in Altagracia de Orituco, Venezuela, cut a deal with police that allowed them to drive off with five hostages after freeing the remaining. The Governor of Guárico Eduardo Manuitt, in explaining the deal to media, said that the robbers would not be followed. However, after the ambulance had been allowed to drive to the outskirts of Caracas, police surrounded the vehicle and arrested all four of them. The five hostages are said to have been freed, though there are no reports of i

The government of the United Kingdom has given corporations like fast food chain McDonald's the right to award high school qualifications to employees who complete a company training program. Two other businesses, railway firm Network Rail and regional airline Flybe, were also approved. The decision was made by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, which oversees the national curriculum. McDonald's said it will offer a "basic shift manager" course, which will train staff in marketing, customer service, and other areas of restaurant ma

Barack Obama has won the South Carolina Democratic primary, with 55 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton came in second with 27 percent of the vote, while John Edwards was third with 18 percent. "Tonight, the cynics who believed that what began in the snows of Iowa was just an illusion were told a different story by the good people of South Carolina," Obama told his supporters. "In nine short days, nearly half the nation will have the chance to join us in saying that we are tired of business-as-usual in Washington, we are hungry for change,

U.S. President George W. Bush and Congressional leaders from both political parties have reached agreement on US$150 billion in tax relief in an effort to help stimulate the United States economy. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns has the story. The agreement includes provision to give up to US$600 in tax rebates to millions of wage earners and an additional US$300 refund for each child. It allows businesses to immediately write off 50 percent of capital equipment purchases. President Bush says it is an effective, robust and tempora

B2B Trade Area of Taipei Game Show, criticized by trade buyers last year, but accompanied with 2008 Taiwan Digital Content Forum, moved to the second floor at Taipei World Trade Center for world-wide participants with a better exchange atmosphere this year. Not only local OBMs (Softstar Entertainment, Soft-World International Corp., International Games System Corp., ..., etc.) but also companies from New Zealand, Canada, Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea showcased different specialists with multiple styles. Especially on South Korea, participa

The 2008 Taipei Game Show, organized by the Taipei Computer Association (TCA), started at Taipei World Trade Center today and ends next Monday (January 28). World-class gaming experts, governmental officials, and companies from the digital content industry gathered there for trade opportunities and to experience exchanging in the gaming industry. Before the opening of the 2008 Taiwan Digital Contents Forum, Minister of Economic Affairs of the Republic of China Steve Ruey-long Chen, looked on a bright side of the gaming industry and said to exe