International

• Tuesday, November 17th 2009 - 12:48 UTC

  The Chilean currency at its highest in 16 months: 496 to the US dollar

  

  The Chilean peso rose to its strongest level against the US dollar in 16 months after copper prices and global stocks rallied. The peso climbed 1.1% to 496.6 per dollar during trading and touched 494.15, the strongest since July 2008.

• Tuesday, November 17th 2009 - 12:38 UTC

  Brown proposes Afghanistan campaign “transfer timetable” talks

  

  UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown plans to host talks in the New Year to discuss timing for handing over the campaign in Afghanistan to the Afghan government. PM Brown said he wanted the NATO meeting to “set a timetable” for transfer starting in 2010.

• Tuesday, November 17th 2009 - 09:14 UTC

  Shimon Peres in Argentina proposes “a new relation for a new world”

  

  Israeli President Shimon Peres met on Monday with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. Shimon arrived on Sunday in Argentina, home to Latin America's biggest Jewish community for a two-day visit.

• Tuesday, November 17th 2009 - 09:05 UTC

  Plan to recover two crates of Shackleton’s whisky buried in Antarctica

  

  Explorers are planning to recover a rare batch of whisky lost during explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated voyage to the South Pole a century ago. Two crates of the now extinct “Rare Old” brand of McKinlay and Co whisky have been buried in the Antarctic ice since Shackleton was forced to abandon his polar mission in 1909.

• Tuesday, November 17th 2009 - 09:00 UTC

  Royal Navy’s new hunter nuclear submarine “Astute” takes to the sea

  

  The biggest and most powerful attack submarine ever built for the Royal Navy, “Astute” took to the seas this weekend. “Astute” set sail from Barrow-in-Furness to start her first set of sea trials and is now heading to her homeport of Faslane on the Clyde in Scotland.

• Tuesday, November 17th 2009 - 01:02 UTC

  Repsol cutting EP investment plans to reduce costs

  

  Repsol-YPF, Spain’s biggest oil company cut its five-year exploration and production investment plan to reduce costs as the economic slowdown saps earnings. Repsol will invest an estimated 8.76 billion Euros in E&P from 2008 through 2012, down from an earlier plan to spend 9.3 billion Euros, the Madrid-based company announced Monday.

• Monday, November 16th 2009 - 23:50 UTC

  International Liberal support for Micheletti and Honduras election

  

  Honduras de facto leader Roberto Micheletti has been named vice-president of the Liberal International organization in spite of the fact he is not recognized by a majority of the international community.

• Monday, November 16th 2009 - 19:57 UTC

  New Chairman for South Georgia Association

  

  The South Georgia Association has announced the name of its new chairman.
  He is Professor David J. Drewry, a former director of the Scott Polar Research Institute and of the British Antarctic Survey and Director General of the British Council, who has recently retired as Vice-Chancellor of the University of Hull.

• Monday, November 16th 2009 - 14:31 UTC

  Controversy over Winnie-the-Pooh alleged unpaid royalties

  

  The family of the man who made Winnie-the-Pooh famous in the US is suing Disney over alleged unpaid royalties. The late Stephen Slesinger, who signed a licensing deal with Pooh creator AA Milne in 1931, gave the bear his red shirt and developed Pooh products.

• Monday, November 16th 2009 - 14:27 UTC

  Queen’s Speech will announce radical changes in London City banking

  

  London City regulators are to be given new powers to tear up bankers' contracts if they include excessive pay and bonus deals which might threaten the stability of the financial system.