International

• Friday, January 5th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Royal Navy agrees to fisheries deal for shipbuilders

  

  Britain's Royal Navy fishery patrol ships received a new lease on life when the Ministry of Defence settled a GBP 52 million (USD 101 million) deal with Portsmouth shipbuilders. The new contract with VT Group effectively guarantees that the HMS Tyne, HMS Severn and HMS Mersey will remain at sea until the end of 2013.

• Friday, January 5th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  EU top delegation to meet Bush and Democrat leadership

  The European Union called on the United States to show leadership in reviving the stalled Doha trade talks ahead of meetings in Washington next Monday of top EU officials with President George W. Bush and the new Democrat congressional leaders.

• Thursday, January 4th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  “Democrats are back” and keeping to their pledges

  

  After twelve years of undisputed Republican majority in the United States Congress, opposition Democrats on Thursday took control of both houses with Representative Nancy Pelosi becoming the first female speaker ever in the House.

• Wednesday, January 3rd 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  First day tricky experience for Ban Ki-Moon

  

  Ban Ki-Moon ran into trouble on his first day of work as UN secretary-general on Tuesday over Saddam Hussein's execution when he twice failed to state the United Nations' opposition to the death penalty and stressed instead that capital punishment should be a decision of every country.

• Wednesday, January 3rd 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  China promises a “stable currency policy” for 2007

  

  China's central bank under international pressure to make the yuan more flexible will in 2007 pursue a “stable currency policy” to promote economic growth.

• Tuesday, January 2nd 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  New UN Chief Ban Ki-Moon Starts Tenure

  

  Starting his first day of work, new Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon vowed Tuesday to end mistrust of the United Nations and called for action to tackle “daunting” problems from crises in the Middle East and Darfur to reducing extreme poverty by half by 2015.

• Tuesday, January 2nd 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  El Niño and global warming could make 2007 the “hottest year”

  

  A British climate expert said 2007 could be the hottest year ever recorded because of a combination of global warming and El Nino.

• Monday, January 1st 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Romania and Bulgaria join the EU

  

  Huge celebrations have been held in Romania and Bulgaria to mark their accession to the European Union, 17 years after the fall of Communism.

• Sunday, December 31st 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Aussies usher '07 with Sydney fireworks

  

  Wind-swept revelers gathered around London's Big Ben to watch the fireworks, and thousands of Japanese climbed Mount Fuji and other peaks to watch the first sunrise of the New Year. But the Thai capital sent celebrants home after a series of evening bombs

• Saturday, December 30th 2006 - 20:00 UTC

  Saddam Hussein Is Executed

  

  Two years after U.S. forces in Iraq pulled him from the hole in which he was hiding near Tikrit, Saddam Hussein has been executed.