International

Friday, December 21st 2007 - 20:00 UTC
Elizabeth II breaks the mark set by Queen Victoria

Elizabeth, 81, passed the mark set by her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria. Her son, Prince Charles, closed in on the title of longest-waiting heir to the throne.
Friday, December 21st 2007 - 20:00 UTC
Japan drops humpbacks from this season's whale killing

Japan announced Friday it was dropping plans to start hunting humpback whales for the first time in four decades after protests led by Australia seeking to spare the popular mammals. It is the first time that Japan has backed down over one of its whaling expeditions, which have been a longstanding strain in its relations with its Western allies.
Friday, December 21st 2007 - 20:00 UTC
London Metro Police cleared over killing of Brazilian citizen

No London Metropolitan Police officers will face disciplinary action over the death of Brazilian natural Jean Charles de Menezes. The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) earlier cleared 11 of the 15 officers involved in the case.
Friday, December 21st 2007 - 20:00 UTC
Europe's border-free zone expands to include 9 new states

Forty-eight hours of celebrations are taking place to mark nine new states joining a European border-free zone.
Thursday, December 20th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
Whales believed to have evolved from a deer-like animal

A group of researchers says that the closest known evolutionary cousin of whales, dolphins and porpoises is not the hippopotamus, as conventional wisdom has it, but an extinct deer-like animal roughly the size of a raccoon.
Thursday, December 20th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
Inflation, ECB target; no Euro interest rate cut on sight

The European markets fell for the consecutive third day on Wednesday after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet signaled that faster inflation will prevent policy makers from cutting interest rates to ease the continuing crunch in the credit markets.
Thursday, December 20th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
Ban Ki-moon reflects on first year as UN Secretary General

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today looked back on his busy first year in office, which took him to nearly 40 countries or territories on six continents to push for progress in four main areas – UN reform, climate change, human rights and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and international security
Thursday, December 20th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
Japan leaves rates unchanged on fears of global debt crunch

The Bank of Japan has kept interest rates on hold at 0.5% amid worries over the global credit crisis and dips in domestic business confidence. The expected move came as the central bank revised down its economic growth forecast for Japan for the year to March 2008.
Thursday, December 20th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
China raises interest rates and subsidizes pork farmers

China's People's Bank (central bank) has raised interest rates for the sixth time this year, adding to its efforts to cool the country's surging inflation. The benchmark lending rate will rise to 7.47% from 7.29% with effect from Friday, while the main deposit rate will increase to 4.14% from 3.87%.
Thursday, December 20th 2007 - 20:00 UTC
UK Foreign Office reasserts Gibraltar's territorial waters

The United Kingdom's position on Gibraltar's territorial waters was made clear in unequivocal terms to a group of MPs charged with scrutinizing British foreign affairs, it has emerged, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.