Australia
Thousands seek refuge from inferno on beach
Thousands of evacuees from two coastal villages took refuge on nearby beaches Thursday after a fast-moving firestorm isolated their communities and burned as many as 20 houses in a third village.
About 7,000 people, many of them summer vacationers, ran for their lives Wednesday night when the inferno raced into Sussex Inlet, about 120 miles south of Sydney, police said.
The blaze swept north Thursday afternoon, cutting off roads and trapping 2,000 people, said local Rural Fire Service spokeswoman June Webster.
The blaze was one of more than 100 "black Christmas fires" that have brought havoc to Australia's most populous state for 11 days. At least half of the wildfires have been deliberately lit. Police have arrested 21 arson suspects.
Argentina
New Cabinet sworn in
President Eduardo Duhalde swore in his Cabinet on Thursday, and his economy minister promised new measures to rescue Argentina's finances, amid reports the peso could be devalued as much as 40 percent.
Economy Minister Jorge Remes Lenicov said he would announce the measures today.
Duhalde, 60 and a veteran of the Peronist Party's left-leaning, populist wing, took office Wednesday as Argentina's fifth president in two weeks. He hinted he would veer away from the free-market economic policies he blames for his country's ruin.
Argentina has suspended payments on the share of its massive $132 billion public debt held by foreign investors.
Brazil
Prison riot toll: 27 dead
A prison riot involving gangs armed with knives, iron bars and guns in Brazil's Amazon region left 27 inmates dead, including several who were hanged and one who was stabbed 63 times, authorities said Thursday.
Earlier reports had put the death toll at 46 in Wednesday's violence at the Urso Branco Penitentiary near the Rondonia state capital of Porto Velho, 1,670 miles northwest of Rio de Janeiro.
But on Thursday the Porto Velho coroner's office released the final list with the names of 27 men who had died in fighting. Officials said all the inmates were killed by other prisoners.
The rioting began early Wednesday, a day after guards foiled an escape attempt and put members of rival prison gangs in the same holding area.
Germany
Interest rate unchanged in wake of euro launch
European Union officials insisted Thursday that the euro's debut had no general effect on prices despite complaints businesses are exploiting consumers' unfamiliarity with the new currency.
The European Central Bank did its part Thursday to keep the changeover smooth, leaving its key interest rate unchanged for the dozen countries using the new currency.
While Europeans have greeted the new euro notes and coins this week with general enthusiasm, they also have complained bitterly about basic items that have suddenly become more expensive by 10 percent or so.
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