Stories for 2009
It’s a very merry Christmas for British Airways travellers
One million air travellers have breathed a sigh of relief after a British judge ruled that a planned 12-day Christmas strike by British Airways cabin crew could not go ahead. The airline won its legal challenge after claiming that Unite had balloted hundreds of members who had subsequently left the company.
European Parliament approves 2010 budget: almost half for agriculture
The European Parliament has approved a 122.9bn Euro EU budget for 2010 - nearly half of which is to go to agriculture and natural resources. It is a 6% increase on the 2009 budget, which was worth 116bn Euros.
Falklands’ Darwin issue ranked ninth most popular stamps of the year
The Falkland Islands Charles Darwin stamp issue has achieved ninth position out of thousands of releases during 2009 according to the latest edition of the international publication Stamp and Coin Mart which for the first time lists the 50 most popular stamps of the year, voted by readers and stamp experts.
Falklands’ “Four Seasons” that Charles Darwin never fully enjoyed
An unique feature of the Falkland Islands are the quickly changing weather patterns bringing a beauty to the Islands’ landscapes which are often rare in many other parts of the world. The Falkland Islands Philatelic Bureau, based on photos from Ian Strange and Georgina Strange will be releasing in January a four stamp issue portraying such a stunning phenomena.
Air Italy takes over air bridge UK/Falklands for the next few weeks
British military personnel were assured Thursday that they would not be stranded in the Falkland Islands despite the collapse of the only airline that flies direct to the Islands from the UK.
UK/Argentina: Tension over Falklands “likely to increase over the coming years”
Argentina has had to reduce military expenditure because of the recession but tension with the UK over the Falkland Islands is likely to increase over the coming years, according to a report from Companiesandmarkets.com (*) released this week.
Falklands/UK air bridge goes bust and all flights are cancelled
Scotland's biggest airline, Edinburgh-based Flyglobespan and also responsible for the UK Ministry of Defence air link with the Falkland Islands was placed Wednesday in administration with all scheduled flights cancelled.
Fed confirms most special liquidity facilities to expire by February 2010
The Federal Reserve has decided to keep US interest rates on hold at between 0% and 0.25%, --as had been widely expected--, and anticipated that most of the special liquidity facilities will expire on February 1, 2010.
How Copenhagen will affect international security
The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen has been billed as 'the most important gathering in human history'. Without binding commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stabilise expectations, climate change will have a huge impact on future security considerations.
By Duncan Depledge for RUSI.org (*)
Honduras considers political amnesty for all those involved in June coup
The Honduras congress and president-elect Porfirio Lobo agreed to consider extending a political amnesty to all those involved in the June 28th coup against ousted President Manuel Zelaya.


