London/Frankfurt - Europe's two leading central banks are expected to announce Thursday big rate cut, as monetary authorities around the world step up efforts to head off a looming recession.

Analysts are predicting that the Bank of England (BoE) and the European Central Bank (ECB) will each announce hefty reductions in borrowing costs which are likely to be followed up with more cuts in the coming months.

Miami - A tropical depression forming near the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua and Honduras could develop into a tropical storm within the next day,

According to the Miami-based US National Hurricane Center, the storm started moving north and was expected to cross Cuba Thursday or Friday, having reached tropical storm strength. The island has been hit by two strong hurricanes already this hurricane season, suffering heavy damage.

Tokyo - A 9-year-old boy drove a car about 3 kilometres without supervision in central Japan, practicing the skills he learned from a video game, because he wanted to visit his grandmother, media reports said Thursday.

Police in Gifu prefecture took him into custody at a parking lot Monday after they received a call about a car moving without a driver.

The elementary-school-aged driver was not visible through the car window because he is about 135 centimetres tall, the Kyodo News Agency said.

Hamburg - While Britain's Lewis Hamilton won the Formula One world title in the most dramatic fashion a prize for spot-on television coverage of the drama in Brazil could also go to the UK.

True to the Anglo-German set-up of the McLaren-Mercedes team, the ITV crew, along with Germany's RTL network, were among the race leaders when it came to explaining the unfolding drama in Sunday's thrilling - but for many, confusing - final laps.

Hamburg - From morning sickness to ultrasound examinations, the symptoms and medical treatment that pregnant women experience are well known.

But what about pets? What should owners do when their dogs and cats get pregnant? Firstly, they should recognize that, as in humans, pregnancy is not an illness, said Thomas Steidl, a veterinarian from Tuebingen, Germany. But at the same time, owners should not take

their pet's condition too lightly.

Buenos Aires - Half-an-hour's train ride from Buenos Aires lies the suburb of Jose Leon Suarez, with its dirt streets and homes made of wooden planks and scraps of metal.

The path passes by a river containing more rubbish than water. Here and there, the garbage piles up and the stench of burning plastic pollutes the air.

This path leads to the Vicente Catalano Centre for mothers and families.

Gottfried Stein, a correspondent for Germany's ARD radio based in South America, and his wife, Renate, opened the facility in 2007. They obtained funds from the Stuttgart-based International Network of Centres for Mothers and Families, in whose executive committee Renate sits.