International

• Saturday, October 20th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  G24 demand IMF surveillance of advanced economies

  The International Monetary Fund should step up its surveillance of the United States and other advanced economies in light of the global credit crisis shaking world markets, the Group of 24 developing countries said Friday in Washington.

• Saturday, October 20th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  G7 Finance ministers press China for a stronger Yuan

  Finance ministers from the G7 group of leading industrial countries meeting in Washington have called on China to allow its currency to rise in value more quickly. “Beijing must do more to let the Renminbi appreciate”, said G7 ministers.

• Friday, October 19th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  UK and Spain in diplomatic exchange over Odyssey wrangle

  

  Spain's detention of the treasure-hunting ship Odyssey Explorer on Tuesday has prompted a diplomatic exchange between London and Madrid over the status of waters around Gibraltar.

• Friday, October 19th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Scientists recommend 22.000 tons for North Sea cod quota

  

  Stocks of North Sea cod have slightly increased but quotas should remain in place for 2008, the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) said Friday. The independent scientific body monitors fish stocks in the North Atlantic, North Sea and Baltic Sea issued its latest projections of cod and other fish species on Friday.

• Thursday, October 18th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  The US dollar faces and “extended period of decline”

  

  The US dollar is in the midst of an extended period of decline which is forecasted to continue until the third quarter of next year according to the US Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI quarterly forecast.

• Thursday, October 18th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Ozone hole smaller because of milder weather says UN

  

  Although the ozone layer over the Antarctic this year is relatively small, this is due to mild temperatures in the region's stratosphere this winter and is not a sign of recovery, the United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Thursday.

• Thursday, October 18th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  PetroChina becomes world's second largest company

  

  China's main oil coporation, government owned PetroChina Co. Ltd. shot past giant General Electric Co. to become the world's second-largest company. After its stock rose 13% on hopes of big new oil discoveries, the company's market value reached more than 430 billion US dollars, second only to Exxon Mobil Corp.'s 518 billion.

• Wednesday, October 17th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  OPEC blames oil record prices on market speculation

  

  As oil prices hit new records the cartel of oil exporting countries promised Tuesday to respond to any supply disruption but also expressed concern about the rising prices which it attributes largely to “market speculations”.

• Wednesday, October 17th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Odyssey ship arrested after gunpoint encounter at sea

  

  'Odyssey Explorer', the flag ship of the treasure hunting sea archaeologists Odyssey Marine Exploration (OME), has been arrested along with its captain by the Spanish authorities following a dramatic gunpoint encounter at sea three miles south of Gibraltar.

• Wednesday, October 17th 2007 - 20:00 UTC

  Migrant workers' remittances reached 300 billion in 2006

  Migrant workers sent home more than 300 billion US dollars to their families in developing countries in 2006, according to a study released Wednesday in Washington, D.C. by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).