International

• Friday, August 1st 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Cruise liner hit by Pacific storm leaves 40 passengers injured

  

  An estimated 40 passengers were injured when a P&O Cruises ship encountered a storm about 400 miles from New Zealand, officials reported in Auckland.
  
  Passengers were treated for broken bones and minor flesh wounds after the Pacific Sun encountered seven meter swells and strong winds Wednesday night, The Daily Telegraph reported.

• Thursday, July 31st 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Memorial service at wreck of River Plate Battle HMS Exeter

  

  HMS Kent, one of the Royal Navy's most modern warships, looked back at history as she remembered one of her illustrious World War II predecessors last Sunday. The Portsmouth based frigate, currently undertaking tasking in the Far East, laid wreaths over the recently found wreck of cruiser HMS Exeter during a ceremony attended by the British Ambassador to Indonesia, veterans and descendants of the sinking and the diver who discovered the wreck.

• Wednesday, July 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Controversial first shipment of US beef arrives in South Korea

  

  The first shipment of United States beef under a controversial import deal arrived in South Korea on Tuesday, officials said, amid lingering public concerns over mad cow disease.

• Wednesday, July 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Huge plaques break off from Canadian ice shelf in Arctic

  

  A chunk of ice spreading across 18 square kilometers has broken off a Canadian ice shelf in the Arctic, scientists say. The sheet broke away last week from the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf off the north coast of Ellesmere Island in Canada's far north.

• Wednesday, July 30th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Ban calls collapse of Doha round trade as “disappointing”

  United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced on Wednesday disappointment at the collapse of the Doha round of trade liberalization negotiations, expressing concern over the effect of the breakdown of the talks on developing nations.

• Tuesday, July 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  IMF warns credit crunch is extending to the whole world

  The global credit crunch shows no signs of abating, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In its latest global financial stability report the IMF says that falling house prices and slowing economic growth are hitting credit.

• Tuesday, July 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Chilean mining companies, Latam's most profitable

  Chilean mining companies top the list of Latin America's 500 most profitable companies, according to the magazine América Economía.

• Tuesday, July 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  UN outgoing chief of missions says “force does matter”

  

  The days of United Nations missions fielding only unarmed observers are long past, according to the outgoing head of the world body's peacekeeping operations, who said on Tuesday that peacekeepers need to be able to wield force to get respect and make a difference.

• Tuesday, July 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  OPEC president predicts oil below 100 USD a barrel

  

  The price of crude sunk to below 121 US dollars a barrel, touching on its lowest point since May, in the wake of a strengthening dollar and the comments of OPEC president Chakib Khelil, who called current prices “abnormal” and predicted that the barrel price could sink below 100 dollars in the long term.

• Tuesday, July 29th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Air industry future is here: merger of British and Iberia

  

  British Airways is on the verge of joining forces with Spanish carrier Iberia after revealing both companies' boards' unanimously support an all-share merger. In a statement British Airways said it was in talks with Iberia with a view to an all-share merger of the two companies.