Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou arrived in Nicaragua Friday for a two-day official visit aimed at boosting ties with one of the poorest nations in Central America. "We want to express our desire here to pursue bilateral cooperation" Ma said at a welcoming ceremony where he was greeted by Vice President Jaime Morales and Foreign Minister Samuel Santos. Ma later told President Daniel Ortega that the global economic crisis "will neither change nor affect cooperation programs between the two countries... We are determined to continue to promote ongoing projects." A free ...

Malaysia's exports slumped 29.7 percent in May from a year earlier, hitting their lowest level since 2001 with demand evaporating, according to official data released Friday. The trade ministry said in a statement that exports plunged to 42.95 billion ringgit (12.19 billion dollars) year-on-year while imports fell 27.8 percent. Total trade from January to May was worth 360.78 billion ringgit, a decrease of 25.3 percent from a year earlier, but Malaysia did manage to record a trade surplus of 10.02 billion ringgit ...

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin may discuss reserve currencies with U.S. President Barack Obama at a breakfast in Moscow next week, Putin's spokesman said on Thursday. Obama and Putin, who developed a good personal rapport with Obama's predecessor George W. Bush despite Russia-U.S. relations hitting their post-Cold War lows, will have one-and-a-half hour long meeting during Obama's first visit to Russia. "It would be logical to suggest that an exchange of opinions regarding the global economic crisis will take place, in this ...

British researchers have announced the discovery of a rare original copy of America's Declaration of Independence — just in time for the Fourth of July. Katrina McClintock, a spokeswoman at the National Archives, said Thursday that a researcher accidentally discovered the "Dunlap print," named after a printer, several months ago. The find was announced only after it could be properly catalogued. Edward Hampshire, the National Archives' specialist in colonial materials, said the find was "incredibly ...