Stories for December 28th 2008

Sunday, December 28th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Royal crackdown on honors for bankers and City figures

Queen Elizabeth II has endorsed a crackdown on honors for bankers and leading City figures because of their role in causing the economic crisis, according to the Sunday edition of the Daily Mail.
Sunday, December 28th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Security Council calls for immediate end to Gaza violence

The United Nations Security Council on Sunday called on Israel and the Palestinians to immediately end all violence as Israeli air-strikes in response to rocket attacks by militants in Gaza reportedly killed 270 people and wounded more than 600 in the Strip.
Sunday, December 28th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Forty days repairs for “Ushuaia” in Punta Arenas dry dock

The Panamanian flagged cruise vessel Ciudad de Ushuaia that in early December ran aground close to the Antarctic Peninsula should be ready to resume her activities in 30/40 days time according to sources from Asmar Magallanes, the yard in Punta Arenas, extreme south of Chile where she is undergoing repairs.
Sunday, December 28th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Brazil unveils plan to expand ethanol sales in Asian market

Brazil's giant oil and gas corporation Petrobras has plans to open next year its first service stations in Japan to promote the distribution of ethanol, of which Brazil is the world's second leading producer, according to a report from O Estado de Sao Paulo. Petrobras already operates an oil refinery in Japan.
Sunday, December 28th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Red, Orange UV alert in Punta Arenas and Tierra del Fuego

Punta Arenas in the extreme south of Chile has released a Ultra Violet radiation alert recommending people to avoid photo-exposure, particularly between 10:00 in the morning to 16:00 hours in the afternoon, given the high (orange and red) levels registered in Punta Arenas and two locations in Tierra del Fuego.
Sunday, December 28th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
British bishops call Labour policies “morally corrupt”

The British Government was embroiled in another row with the Church of England after bishops condemned its policies as “morally corrupt”. Five senior Church figures delivered a scathing assessment of Labour's record in power, warning that the country was suffering from family breakdown, an addiction to debt and a growing gap between rich and poor.
Sunday, December 28th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
Spain's “Law of Grandchildren” spurs long queues in Cuba

Starting Monday, hundreds of thousands of descendants of Spaniards who went into political exile around the world during the years of Francisco Franco's dictatorship will be able to petition for Spanish citizenship under the provisions of a law intended as reparation for past injustices.The period of time established in the bill extends from July 18, 1936 to December 31, 1955.
Sunday, December 28th 2008 - 20:00 UTC
HMS Endurance KO; she will be towed back to Britain

The Royal Navy ice patrol HMS Endurance, --and familiar sight in the Falkland Islands--, currently under repairs in Punta Arenas, extreme south of Chile after having suffered severe damages in the engine room, should be ready to be towed back to England sometime next week, according to the local press.