International

• 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.

• Saturday, November 14th 2009 - 13:27 UTC

  Shimon Peres ends visit to Brazil, Sunday flies to Argentina

  

  Israeli President Shimon Peres visited the headquarters of Brazilian oil company Petrobras in Rio de Janeiro Friday, on the last day of a historic official visit to Brazil.

• Saturday, November 14th 2009 - 13:25 UTC

  IMF calls on Asian countries to appreciate their currencies

  

  International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Khan urged Asian nations to let their currencies appreciate as part of the region’s contribution to a more balanced global recovery.

• Saturday, November 14th 2009 - 13:19 UTC

  NASA announces discovery of “significant amount” of water in the moon

  

  It's official: There's water on the moon—and a “significant amount” of it, too, members of NASA's recent moon-crash mission, LCROSS, announced Friday. In October, NASA crashed a two-ton rocket and the SUV-size LCROSS (Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite) into the permanently shadowed crater Cabeus on the moon's South Pole.

• Saturday, November 14th 2009 - 05:53 UTC

  Canadian cat sparks rumours of Mrs. Thatcher’s death

  

  A misconstrued text message announcing the passing of a beloved pet has sparked a flurry of diplomatic activity in Canada. Transport Minister John Baird sent a message reading: “Thatcher has died”.

• Saturday, November 14th 2009 - 05:49 UTC

  Labour by-election victory gives PM Brown breathing space

  

  British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has survived his latest by-election test as Labour comfortably cruised to victory in the Glasgow North East by-election. The party's Willie Bain won the seat made vacant by the resignation of former Commons Speaker Michael Martin with a majority of 8,111 over the SNP.

• Saturday, November 14th 2009 - 05:47 UTC

  Euro zone “technically” emerges from recession in third quarter

  

  The 16-strong group of nations in the Euro-zone has “technically” emerged from recession, official figures show. European countries using the single currency grew their collective economy 0.4% in the third quarter.

• Friday, November 13th 2009 - 15:22 UTC

  British Airways/Iberia merger will create Europe’s third largest airline

  

  British Airways and Spanish airline Iberia say they have reached a preliminary agreement for a merger expected to be completed in late 2010. The merger, which must be approved by the European Commission, would create Europe's third biggest airline.
  Under its terms, Iberia would take a 45% stake and BA, which last week reported a six-month pre-tax loss of £292m, a 55% stake in the company.