Nissan to produce batteries at 2 European plants
Nissan Motor says it will invest more than 630 million dollars in 2 plants in Europe to produce batteries for electric cars.
The Japanese automaker says it will build a new plant in Sunderland in northern Britain and one in Portugal to make lithium-ion batteries.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited the plant site on Monday and said the project would create 350 new jobs. The plant is to begin production in 2012.
Another Japanese company, Toyota Motor, has also announced a plan to start producing hybrid cars in Britain in mid-2010.
Automakers appear eager to recover their sales in the global market by putting emphasis on mass production of eco-friendly vehicles.
US warns Honduras' interim president
The interim president of Honduras, Roberto Micheletti, is resisting pressure from the United States and other countries to allow ousted President Manuel Zelaya to return to power.
In a speech at the presidential palace on Monday, Micheletti said he has been pressured from all sides but pledged not to step down.
On Sunday Micheletti rejected a proposal by Costa Rican President Oscar Arias to form a coalition government with a reinstated Zelaya, who was overthrown in a military coup on June 28th.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton phoned Micheletti for the first time on Sunday. A US State Department spokesman said she reminded Micheletti of the consequences for Honduras if he rejects the proposal.
Clinton's warning is seen as indicating that the US government will cut up to 180 million dollars in economic aid, unless a solution is found. The US has already halted 16.5 million dollars in military aid and multilateral lenders have put another 200 million dollars on hold.
The European Union added to the pressure on Monday, announcing that it was suspending 93.1 million dollars in aid to Honduras.
IPCC head criticizes G8 on climate change
The chairman of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has criticized the Group of Eight summit in Italy for failing to map out any real action in tackling climate change.
Rajendra Pachauri was speaking to reporters at the UN headquarters in New York on Monday.
He said it was a big step forward for the G8 leaders to have agreed to limit the rise in the average global temperature to 2 degrees Celsius.
But the chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize winning panel was not happy with the summit's long-term goal of cutting greenhouse gases by 80 percent by 2050. He said the G8 nations should have insisted on deep emission cuts by 2020.
Pachauri said the leaders clearly ignored what the IPCC has come up with. The UN body says greenhouse gas emissions must peak no later than 2015.
The chairman also said the global environment cannot be protected without the success of the UN climate talks to be held in Copenhagen in December. The talks will aim at achieving a climate deal to replace the Kyoto Protocol that ends in 2012.
IMF to allocate $250 bil. special drawing rights
The International Monetary Fund will allocate to its member nations Special Drawing Rights worth about 250 billion dollars to help them cope with the global financial crisis.
The IMF unveiled the plan on Monday aimed at supplementing the foreign exchange reserves of its 186 members.
They will be able to withdraw funds to repay their debts or make export settlements when they become strapped for cash.
About 100 billion dollars of the new allocation will go to emerging markets and developing countries.
Some countries, including Eastern European nations, are still facing a crisis in which foreign funds are suddenly withdrawn from their markets.
IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kann said in a statement that the SDR allocation is a key part of the fund's response to the global crisis, and to offer support to its members in these difficult times.
最終更新：2009年07月22日 08:41
