International

• Saturday, April 24th 2010 - 07:28 UTC

  Volcanic Ash Cloud Costs European Tourism 2.3 Billion USD Losses

  

  Air traffic disruptions caused by the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland inflicted losses on the European tourism sector worth 2.3 billion dollars (1.7 billion Euros), the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) estimated Friday.

• Saturday, April 24th 2010 - 07:13 UTC

  Global Warming Contributing to Rapid Ocean Acidification

  

  Carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming are turning the oceans more acidic at the fastest pace in hundreds of thousands of years, the U.S. National Research Council warns.

• Saturday, April 24th 2010 - 01:32 UTC

  Could the Greek Crisis Spell the End of the Euro as a Currency?

  

  If Greece was to default it would effectively spell the end of the Euro as a currency, according to Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS) strategist and chief European economist Jacques Cailloux.

• Saturday, April 24th 2010 - 01:03 UTC

  Tory Leader Cameron Gains Ground in Latest Debate according to Polls

  

  British Conservative leader David Cameron gained ground on the Liberal Democrats' Nick Clegg in the leaders’ debate, as polls gave conflicting verdicts on which of the two won.

• Saturday, April 24th 2010 - 00:53 UTC

  First Tremors of Euro Seism: Greece Asks for Financial Rescue Package

  

  Greece has formally asked for the activation of an EU-IMF financial rescue package to help pull the debt-ridden economy out of its crisis. It had hoped that just the promise of EU support, agreed last month, would have been enough to reassure markets and help its recovery.

• Friday, April 23rd 2010 - 06:40 UTC

  Whaling Commission unveils compromise proposal which includes Japan

  

  The International Whaling Commission unveiled Thursday a draft proposal to bring all whaling operations under its full control and to strengthen and focus the work of the IWC on conservation issues including a compromise proposal which will cut Japan's annual Antarctic quota by three-quarters in five years.

• Friday, April 23rd 2010 - 06:21 UTC

  Gulf of Mexico Rig Explodes and Sinks; 11 Workers Missing; Fears of Oil Leak

  

  An oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that caught fire after an explosion on Tuesday night has now sunk, the US Coast Guard has said. A search is continuing for 11 missing workers after the blast at the Deepwater Horizon rig. The other workers on the rig, off Louisiana, were evacuated to the US.

• Friday, April 23rd 2010 - 02:45 UTC

  UK record borrowing in 2009/10 to cover biggest budget deficit since WW2

  

  UK Primer Minister Gordon Brown’s government borrowed a record £163.4 billion in the 2009/2010 financial year, according to figures published Thursday. While it is the biggest budget deficit since the Second World War, the figure is lower than Chancellor Alistair Darling’s prediction in the budget of £166.5 billion for the year.

• Friday, April 23rd 2010 - 02:41 UTC

  Ash-cloud travel restrictions cost Spain’s tourism industry 259 million Euros

  

  Spanish tourism lost 252 million Euros over six days because of travel restrictions caused by the volcanic ash cloud which grounded air traffic in Europe, industry body Exceltur said on Wednesday.

• Thursday, April 22nd 2010 - 02:43 UTC

  General Motors repay 8.1 billion to US and Canadian governments

  

  General Motors repaid Wednesday 8.1 billion US dollars in government loans, five years ahead of schedule and nine months after the troubled auto giant declared bankruptcy, signalling that the auto maker may be on the path to profitability.