Stories for January 2007

Thursday, January 18th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
Argentine Coast Guard rescues grounded cruise liner

A cruise vessel with 1.612 passengers, mostly from Brazil, finally managed Thursday early afternoon to pull off from a River Plate sand bank where she was grounded for over twenty hours.
Thursday, January 18th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
Bank of Japan leaves basic rate unchanged at 0.25%

The Bank of Japan left Thursday its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.25%, following two days of deliberations and apparently appeasing government officials who say consumer spending and inflation are still too weak.
Thursday, January 18th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
Air Plus Comet replaces Air Madrid in Latin America

Spanish airline Air Comet Plus will operate in seven Latin American countries previously covered by the now closed down Air Madrid airline. The operation was allowed after Spanish Public Works Minister Magdalena Alvarez and Air Comet president Gerardo Díaz signed an agreement.
Thursday, January 18th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
US consumer prices up 0.5% in December; 2.5% in 2006

The United States consumer price index increased 0.5% last December, the sharpest rise in eight months, ending 2006 at 2.5% which however is an improvement over the 3.4% of 2005, reported Thursday the US Labor Department.
Wednesday, January 17th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
Chilean fruit industry warns about “cheap” dollar and costs

Chile's fruit producers had a tough year in 2006, suffering from unfriendly exchange rates despite the association of Chile's Fruit Producers (Fedefruta) appealing for the government to push for a higher-valued U.S. dollar.
Wednesday, January 17th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
Canterbury appoints Stephen Venner Bishop for the Falklands

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, has appointed Bishop Stephen Venner of Dover as his Episcopal Commissary for the Falkland Islands.
Wednesday, January 17th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
Argentine agriculture sales to Mercosur grow 23% in 2006

Argentina in the first eleven months of last year exported to its partners in the Mercosur trade bloc 7.9 million tonnes of products of animal and vegetal origin for 1.9 billion dollars, an increase of 23% in volume and of 26% in revenue regarding the 6.4 million tonnes and 1.5 billion dollars of the same period of 2005, the Senasa phytosanitary watchdog reported Tuesday in Buenos Aires.
Wednesday, January 17th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
HMS Endurance hosting Princess Anne Antarctic visit

The Royal Navy's ice patrol ship HMS Endurance is hosting HRH The Princess Royal in Antarctica the first time in fifty years that a British Royal has visited the British Antarctic Territory.
Wednesday, January 17th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
Remittances, biggest source of income for many countries

Migrant workers sending money home has become the biggest source of foreign income in some poor European countries, the World Bank has said.
Wednesday, January 17th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
China confirms international reserves above a trillion dollars

China's foreign currency reserves stood at more than one trillion US dollars by the end of 2006, according to official figures from the country's Central Bank.