Stories for December 14th 2007
“Norwegian Dream” passengers threaten to demand company
“Norwegian Dream” renamed “Norwegian Hell” by stranded cruise passengers in the port of Montevideo said they would be demanding Norwegian Cruise Lines because of the “bad service and treatment” they received during and after a minor collision suffered by the vessel when she was leaving for the South Atlantic.
A divided Bolivia seems prepared to clash on Saturday
Bolivia put its armed forces on alert Thursday ahead of a threatened move towards autonomy by half the country's provinces, Defence Minister Walker San Miguel said, according to the daily La Prensa.
Cristina Kirchner faces first full attack on her presidency
Facing the first allegation within days after becoming the President of Argentina, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner strongly denied U.S. charges that Venezuela tried to illegally influence her election campaign.
“Illegal Venezuelan agents” attempting to intimidate a witness
The 800,000 dollars cash suitcase scandal extending from Miami to Caracas and Buenos Aires could send three Venezuelans and a Uruguayan, if convicted, to a US federal prison for up to ten years and a 250.000 US dollars fine.
Main world central banks join to address credit crunch
The United States Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and central banks from the UK, Canada and Switzerland are to jointly help banks deal with the credit crunch. Each has announced that they will provide billions in loans to banks in order to lower interest rates and ease the availability of credit.
With the Lisbon Treaty EU prepares for active global role
European Union leaders have signed a treaty in Portugal's capital that is expected to greatly alter the way the 27-nation body operates. The treaty creates an EU president and a more powerful foreign policy chief.
Lula da Silva faces major political, fiscal defeat in Senate
The Brazilian government has suffered a major defeat over a key financial transactions tax which accounts for 20 billion US dollars in annual revenue. The bill fell four votes short of at least 49 needed in the Senate to renew the tax, known as the CPMF.
International Court rules on Caribbean insular dispute
The International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, ruled Thursday that three Caribbean Sea islands disputed by Nicaragua and Colombia belong to the latter country because a 1928 treaty between the two nations settled the issue.
Past decade warmest on record: 0.41 Celsius above average
The past decade has been the warmest on record, with this year's global mean surface temperature 0.41 degrees Celsius, or 0.74 degrees Fahrenheit, above the 1961-1990 annual average, the United Nations World Meteorological Organization Who announced this week.
UN backed pact to protect sharks and control finning
Dozens of governments agreed in principle to a new United Nations global agreement to protect sharks, which have long been neglected by conservationists and overexploited by the modern fishing industry.
