British Members of Parliament from all parties are calling for an end to all UK military aid to Colombia, citing murders and human rights abuses by the country's security forces. The MPs have launched a TUC-backed group called Friends of Colombia.
The World Bank believes the end of the global crisis will come following the recovery of the emerging economies, particularly China. The statement follows the presentation of the latest report, Global Financial Development 2009; a path for global recovery” by economists Mansoor Dailami and Hans Timmer.
The recession-blighted United Kingdom economy shrank at its fastest rate for more than 50 years in the first three months of 2009, official figures have shown. And revisions to figures revealed the current recession began earlier than first thought, with a 0.1% decline seen between April and June last year compared with previous estimates of zero growth.
The great success of Gibraltar’s cruise industry with record 248 calls scheduled for this year with an estimated 380.000 passengers was underlined by Minister for Development Joe Holliday in his intervention before the local Parliament during the Budget Debate for 2009.
Baroness Thatcher has returned home from hospital more than two weeks after breaking her arm in a fall. The former Prime Minister, dressed in a pink cardigan, pink top and cream-coloured skirt, with her left arm apparently in a sling, waved at reporters and smiled on the doorstep of her central London home.
Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family cost the British taxpayer 69p per person last year - an increase of 3p, Buckingham Palace accounts have revealed. The total cost of keeping the monarchy increased by £1.5 million to £41.5 million during the 2008-09 financial year.
The Whaling Commission (IWC) has suggested whale conservation could benefit from ending the commercial hunting ban. Dr William Hogarth's remarks came at the end of this year's IWC meeting in Madeira, Portugal, which saw pro- and anti-whaling nations agree to further compromise talks. A Greenpeace spokesman said the moratorium had to stay intact.
Russian ambassador in Bolivia Leonid Golubev said Moscow would help Bolivia modernize its arms and military equipment, following on the credit agreement reached last February between presidents Diimitri Medvedev and Evo Morales.
Britain could experience a heat-wave next week, the Met Office and the Department of Health said on Friday. Temperatures could reach 32C (89.6F) in London on Monday and Tuesday, with other parts of the country also enjoying prolonged sunshine.
China's central bank has reiterated its call for a new reserve currency to replace the US dollar. The report from the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said a super-sovereign currency should take its place.