International

• Thursday, June 30th 2011 - 20:10 UTC

  Relief in financial markets: Greece approves austerity and privatization package

  

  The Greek parliament approved on Thursday detailed austerity and privatization bills in a crucial vote to secure emergency funds and avert imminent bankruptcy, but longer-term dangers still lurk.

• Thursday, June 30th 2011 - 20:06 UTC

  Pickets take to the streets of Britain to protest pension reforms

  

  Teachers and civil servants marched through the streets and picketed government buildings across Britain today in protest at planned pension reforms, launching what could be a long period of labour unrest over austerity measures.

• Thursday, June 30th 2011 - 07:09 UTC

  US daily calorie intake up 30% in 30 years: cut on snacks and king size portion

  

  Snacking and super sizing are two of the dieter's worst enemies, research suggests. The average daily calorie intake in the US has increased by almost a third in 30 years, reaching 2,374 kilocalories.

• Thursday, June 30th 2011 - 06:58 UTC

  IMF urges a political agreement on the US federal debt ceiling

  

  Failure by US lawmakers to agree soon on a deal to raise the government's borrowing limit could deliver a “severe shock” to a still fragile recovery and global markets, the International Monetary Fund warned.

• Wednesday, June 29th 2011 - 23:03 UTC

  KLM will begin fuelling some of its flights with used cooking oil

  

  Dutch carrier KLM announced Wednesday it would begin using used cooking oil for some of its flights. The announcement comes less than two years after the airline flew the first bio-kerosene-fuelled passenger flight in Europe.

• Wednesday, June 29th 2011 - 16:42 UTC

  Greek parliament approves austerity measures, preventing first Euro zone default

  

  Greece's parliament approved early Wednesday deeply unpopular austerity measures despite worsening violence, in a vote vital toward securing international funds and preventing the Euro zone's first sovereign default.

• Wednesday, June 29th 2011 - 16:26 UTC

  US latest wars have cost the Treasury 4.4 trillion USD, says academic report

  

  United States President Barack Obama cited cost as a reason to bring troops home from Afghanistan and referred to a one trillion US dollars price tag for US wars. The figure grossly underestimates the total cost of wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan to the US Treasury and ignores more imposing costs yet to come, according to a study released Wednesday.

• Wednesday, June 29th 2011 - 06:35 UTC

  Argentine election fever: minister accuses UK of keeping hostage “2000 Falklands’ Islanders”

  

  In the midst of Argentina’s campaign for the October presidential election, Defence minister Arturo Puricelli accused the UK of using military force to keep “the Falkland Islanders as hostages” and said Argentina won’t fall prey of “militaristic” provocations.

• Tuesday, June 28th 2011 - 23:15 UTC

  Europe keeps IMF post: Lagarde becomes first woman to lead the institution

  

  The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund selected on Tuesday Christine Lagarde to serve as IMF Managing Director and Madame Chairman of the Executive Board for a five-year term starting on July 5, 2011.

• Tuesday, June 28th 2011 - 06:40 UTC

  France’s Lagarde seems poised to become the first woman head of the IMF

  

  France's Christine Lagarde picked up an endorsement from China Monday, raising her chances to become head of the International Monetary Fund. The IMF board is expected to make the decision between Lagarde, France's Finance minister, and Mexican Central bank chief Agustin Carstens as early as Tuesday.