International

• Friday, December 25th 2009 - 16:13 UTC

  Newsweek predicts death of Fidel Castro and coup in Venezuela

  

  Next year will see the death of the veteran Cuban leader Fidel Castro and the fall of Venezuelan President following a coup, according to the predictions from the latest edition of US magazine Newsweek.

• Friday, December 25th 2009 - 15:54 UTC

  Australia again threatens Japan with legal action for whaling

  

  The Australian government insists it will take international legal action against Japan if it doesn't stop whaling. And it will send surveillance boats to the Southern Ocean to monitor the Japan's annual whaling hunt if it needs to mount a legal case

• Friday, December 25th 2009 - 15:43 UTC

  Le Monde names Brazil’s Lula da Silva as “Man of the Year”

  

  French daily Le Monde named Brazilian President Lula da Silva “Man of the Year” for “personifying a giant”. It is the first time in its history the French publication has made this designation.

• Thursday, December 24th 2009 - 09:26 UTC

  Minutes show Bank of England unanimous vote on December decisions

  

  All nine members of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted to hold interest rates at its December meeting. Minutes from the meeting also showed that the MPC was unanimous in voting to maintain the £200bn quantitative easing (QE), or asset buying, programme.

• Thursday, December 24th 2009 - 09:03 UTC

  EU, US and OAS condemn killing of Colombian governor attributed to FARC

  

  The European Union, United States and the Organization of American States condemned the killing of Colombian governor Luis Francisco Cuellar, which has been attributed to the Marxist-inspired, drugs-funded Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, the oldest guerrilla grouping operating in the country.

• Wednesday, December 23rd 2009 - 09:51 UTC

  UK economy shrinks 0.2% in third quarter; longest ever recession

  

  The United Kingdom has now lost 6% of its entire economic output in its longest ever recession, official figures have confirmed. The current slump is on a par with the 1980s recession which blighted former premier Margaret Thatcher's early years in power.

• Wednesday, December 23rd 2009 - 09:45 UTC

  RAF signs contract for seventh C 17 strategic transport aircraft

  

  The Royal Air Force has signed a contract for the seventh C17 aircraft the UK Ministry of Defence announced Tuesday. The new strategic transport aircraft will add to a fleet that has seen heavy usage during recent operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

• Wednesday, December 23rd 2009 - 08:15 UTC

  Third credit rating agency downgrades Greek sovereign bonds

  

  A third credit ratings agency has downgraded Greek government bonds over concerns about the country's ability to reduce its high levels of debt. Moody's is the third of the three major international agencies to downgrade Greece, following similar moves by Fitch and Standard & Poor's.

• Wednesday, December 23rd 2009 - 08:09 UTC

  China's GDP per capita expected to climb to 4.000 USD by end of 2010

  

  China's GDP per capita is expected to climb to 4,000 US dollars by the end of next year, according to the 2010 social blue book issued Monday, reports Global Times.

• Wednesday, December 23rd 2009 - 08:07 UTC

  China and Taiwan agree to closer economic ties

  

  China and Taiwan have signed the latest in a series of economic deals, amid some disquiet on the island at their ever-closer relationship. Chen Yunlin, China's top Taiwan envoy, agreed the deals with his Taiwanese counterpart on the second day of his four-day visit to the island.