Stories for October 28th 2009
British MPs nervous about plans to “clean up” Parliament expenses excesses
The man brought in by British Primer Minister Gordon Brown to clean up Parliament does not live in the real world, an MP has said. Sir Christopher Kelly, chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, does not know the hours MPs work or what kind of job they do, said Conservative MP Roger Gale.
EC approves UK’s Northern Rock split into a “good” bank and a “bad” bank
The European Commission has approved the Government's plans for splitting United Kingdom’s Northern Rock in two: a “good” bank and a “bad” bank. The “good” bank will continue Northern Rock's economic activities, while the “bad” bank will become in effect an asset management company running down the remaining toxic assets.
Spanish mayor promises closer people to people relations with Gibraltar
Alejandro Sanchez the newly elected mayor of La Linea, the Spanish city next to Gibraltar, has declared he wants to intensify cross border relations and foster increased contacts between groups, associations and professional bodies on both sides of the frontier.
EU adopts new tools to fight illegal fishing
The European Commission (EC) adopted a regulation establishing the implementing rules to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. This norm had been approved in 2008 by the European Union (EU) ministers.
“Efficiency”, the watchword for Chile’s Berlusconi, according to FT
Chilean Conservative presidential candidate, billionaire Sebastián Piñera is described as Chile’s Berlusconi in an article from the Financial Times (FT), which also underlines his lead in public opinion polls and the growing problems faced by the ruling coalition after 19 years in office.
Overwhelming UN vote calling an end to US embargo on Cuba
The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly to call for an end to the US embargo on Cuba. The vote was cast at the 192-member General Assembly with 187 in favour, three against and two abstentions. This is the 18th year that the General Assembly voted to urge an end to the U.S. embargo.
Massive support for French farmers; Sarkozy blasts commodities speculation
French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced a 650-million Euro exceptional aid plan for France's subsidized but still struggling farmers, along with one billion Euros in cheap loans. He also called on the European Commission to limit market speculation on agricultural commodities prices.
Chilean vineyards moving south in anticipation of climate change
Some of Chile’s most renowned vineyards may have to relocate in the face of global warming, suggests a recent study conducted by the British consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
France’s Crédit Agricole selling its banking assets in Uruguay
French bank Credit Agricole officially announced this week it had begun consultations to sell its banking interests in Uruguay where it operates under the name of Credit Uruguay.
Science explains why red wine with red meat, white wine with fish
A team of Japanese scientists found the scientific reason for one of the rules of thumb about the pairing between wine and food: “Red wine with red meat, white wine with fish”.
