International

• Friday, September 16th 2011 - 06:42 UTC

  Norwegian coastal cruise catches fire: 2 dead and dozens injured

  

  Two people have died in a fire that broke out in the engine room of a Norwegian fjord cruise ship, forcing hundreds to evacuate and injuring up to a dozen. The ferry had 262 people on board, of which roughly 200 were passengers.

• Friday, September 16th 2011 - 06:36 UTC

  Questions about Miss Universe registry papers and complaints from Miss France

  

  It has been a news-headlines plagued Miss Universe pageant, both before and after, that finally crowned beauty queen Leila Lopes, Angola’s first in Sao Paulo.

• Friday, September 16th 2011 - 06:26 UTC

  “Rich, handsome and a great player”, but you urgently need a PR person

  

  Opposing fans give Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo a hostile reception because he is “rich, handsome and a great player,” the Portuguese said after Wednesday's 1-0 Champions League win at Dinamo Zagreb.

• Thursday, September 15th 2011 - 19:02 UTC

  IMF calls for joint political leadership to break vicious circle of weak growth

  

  The head of the International Monetary Fund today urged advanced countries to take bold, coordinated action to break a vicious cycle of weak growth and high debt that threatens the global economy and has been worsened by dysfunctional politics.

• Thursday, September 15th 2011 - 18:52 UTC

  Lagarde to Mantega: BRIC offer should not be limited to EU safe bonds

  

  The International Monetary Fund hopes investments in European bonds by the fast-growing BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) economies are not limited to less risky government bonds such as German or British bonds, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said in an Italian daily on Wednesday.

• Thursday, September 15th 2011 - 18:39 UTC

  Major Central banks come to the rescue of Euro commercial banks

  

  Major central banks around the world will cooperate to offer three-month US dollar loans to commercial banks in order to prevent money markets from freezing up because of Europe's sovereign debt crisis.

• Thursday, September 15th 2011 - 07:13 UTC

  “Time for muddling through is over” Zoellick tells the US, EU and Japan

  

  The head of the World Bank said Wednesday the world had entered a new economic danger zone and that Europe, Japan and the United States all need to make hard decisions to avoid dragging down the global economy.

• Thursday, September 15th 2011 - 07:11 UTC

  Italy approves austerity plan; IMF says now “measures must be implemented”

  

  The Italian parliament gave final approval on Wednesday to a much-altered austerity plan aimed at stemming a debt crisis engulfing the euro zone's third largest economy.

• Thursday, September 15th 2011 - 07:08 UTC

  Desperate efforts to avoid Greek default; Moody’s cuts ratings of leading French banks

  

  Moody's cut the credit ratings of two French banks Wednesday because of their exposure to Greece's debt, highlighting growing risks to Europe's financial sector from the deepening euro zone sovereign debt crisis.

• Wednesday, September 14th 2011 - 21:57 UTC

  Preparations for Falklands’ war victory to be celebrated thirty years on

  

  Plans are being drawn up for celebrations to mark next year's 30th anniversary of the Falklands conflict, reports Wednesday the Evening Standard. The UK Ministry of Defence, Foreign Office and Falkland Islands government are working on how best to commemorate the 1982 conflict with Argentina.