Stories for December 2006

Sunday, December 31st 2006 - 20:00 UTC
Castro admits “slow recovery from surgery” in message

Cuban President Fidel Castro said in his New Year message on Saturday that he is recovering slowly from surgery and has been collaborating with doctors as “a disciplined patient”.
Sunday, December 31st 2006 - 20:00 UTC
Aussies usher '07 with Sydney fireworks

Wind-swept revelers gathered around London's Big Ben to watch the fireworks, and thousands of Japanese climbed Mount Fuji and other peaks to watch the first sunrise of the New Year. But the Thai capital sent celebrants home after a series of evening bombs
Saturday, December 30th 2006 - 20:00 UTC
Saddam Hussein Is Executed

Two years after U.S. forces in Iraq pulled him from the hole in which he was hiding near Tikrit, Saddam Hussein has been executed.
Saturday, December 30th 2006 - 20:00 UTC
British research robot to trawl depths of Antarctica

The mysteries of the Antarctic deep will be probed in mid January by a new robot vessel capable of plunging 6.5 kilometer down, reports the BBC. Isis, the UK's first deep-diving remotely operated vehicle (ROV), will be combing the sea-bed in the region in its inaugural science mission.
Saturday, December 30th 2006 - 20:00 UTC
Court ruling fairly reasonable, law experts say

While the government praised it as reinstating certainty, some savers saw it as the end of a nightmare and banks continue mum and mulling its possible implications, law experts said that the Supreme Court ruling that ordered banks on Wednesday to reimburse savers in pesos dollar deposits frozen during Argentina's 2001 economic debacle, was fairly reasonable.
Friday, December 29th 2006 - 20:00 UTC
Church influence and marriage, fading institutions in Chile

The importance of religion in people's lives has diminished and this has been most significant for Chile in the last sixteen years, according to the conclusions of a report from the Chilean chapter of Mori public opinion surveys.
Friday, December 29th 2006 - 20:00 UTC
1976 Falklands invasion warning

British officials predicted in 1976 that Argentina would invade the Falkland Islands, according to official documents
Friday, December 29th 2006 - 20:00 UTC
Latinamerica 2007: stability and the end of an era

Latin America enters 2007 with renewed political leadership and generally booming economic prospects but highly dependent on the current global bullish market for commodities.
Friday, December 29th 2006 - 20:00 UTC
South Africa's Standard Bank Argentine deal an attention call for competitors

The planned purchase by Standard Bank ÃÂ¢€“ South Africa's largest private bank by assets ÃÂ¢€” of most of US' Bank of America Corp.'s BankBoston Argentina assets, marks the first large investment by a foreign player in the sector since Argentina's 2001-2002 economic meltdown, and an attention call for competitors, banking sources told MercoPress.
Friday, December 29th 2006 - 20:00 UTC
Saddam execution '6am Baghdad time'

A top Iraqi official says Saddam Hussein will be executed before 6am on Saturday, Baghdad time, 3am GMT.