Stories for August 27th 2006

Sunday, August 27th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

Tropical Storm Ernesto gains strength.

Ernesto's top winds reach 75 mph, making it the 2006 season's first hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center,while Debby has been downgraded to a tropical storm depression in the mid-Atlantic.

Sunday, August 27th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

Maya civilization collapsed upon learning kings weren't gods

The decline of the Maya civilization began some 1,100 year ago when millions of Indians working on the contruction of tall pyramidal temples and palaces learned that their kings weren't gods, Spanish anthropologist Andres Ciudad told EFE.

Sunday, August 27th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

Crime & violence on the rise

Crime in Argentina ? which once boasted one of the highest security standards in Latin America ? rose 53 percent over the decade up to 2005 and by 121 percent from 1985. And one of the main features of that increase is a higher degree of violence, an expert said yesterday.

Sunday, August 27th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

Blair to face the music

Prime Minister Tony Blair got back to work yesterday after a Caribbean vacation to face a potentially rocky autumn and a desk piled high with problems.

Sunday, August 27th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

Venezuela's U.N. bid thriving

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said his country is gaining broad support in its bid for a U.N. Security Council seat, even as the United States tries to persuade governments to vote against Venezuela.

Sunday, August 27th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

New focus for overseas visits by Falkland Islands Councillors

Falkland Islands Government spokesperson and Member of its Executive Council, Mike Summers, told local media last Friday that an internal review had taken place of the process by which he and his colleagues were chosen to represent the Falkland Islands Government at important overseas meetings.

Sunday, August 27th 2006 - 21:00 UTC

Mexicans await election verdict

Mexico's top election tribunal announced that it will release on Monday its ruling on the 375 challenges to the July 2 national election in which the two top vote-getters were conservative Felipe Calderon and leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.