International

• Thursday, February 24th 2011 - 16:51 UTC

  Gadaffi on state TV by phone call blames Bin Laden for the protests

  

  Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi has told state TV that Osama Bin Laden and his followers are to blame for the protests wracking his country.

• Thursday, February 24th 2011 - 16:44 UTC

  British court agrees to extradite Wikileaks founder Assange to Sweden

  

  A British court has agreed to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to Sweden where he is accused of sex crimes, dismissing claims such a move would breach his human rights.

• Thursday, February 24th 2011 - 16:40 UTC

  Quake’s knock to NZ economy estimated in 9 to 12 billion US dollars

  

  The Prime Minister of New Zealand, John Key, says emergency teams in Christchurch are now focusing on recovering bodies, rather than finding survivors of the earthquake.
  He has confirmed that 98 people are known to have been killed in the recent earthquake, and more than 200 others are still missing.

• Thursday, February 24th 2011 - 07:20 UTC

  After 22 years Repsol-YPF delists from the NY Stock Exchange

  

  Spanish-Argentine energy company Repsol-YPF officially informed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of its decision to de-list from the New York Stock Exchange, where its shares had been traded for almost 22 years.

• Thursday, February 24th 2011 - 07:16 UTC

  Nasdaq reacts to spate of deals in the stock markets industry

  

  Nasdaq OMX Group Inc could launch a rival bid for NYSE Euronext to avoid being left on the sidelines, a source said, as traditional exchanges race to merge to see off upstart electronic rivals.

• Thursday, February 24th 2011 - 07:03 UTC

  BHP Billiton expands shale gas business and buys fields in Arkansas

  

  Giant Anglo-Australian miner BHP Billiton has agreed to buy shale gas assets from US firm Chesapeake Energy for 4.75 billion US dollars. The purchase of Chesapeake's stake in a field in Fayetteville, Arkansas represents a move into the rapidly expanding shale gas business for BHP.

• Thursday, February 24th 2011 - 06:28 UTC

  Marijuana ingredient helps chemotherapy patients recover taste and appetite

  

  New studies explain that patients who have experienced chemotherapy and have difficulties eating may not notice those difficulties much longer. The active ingredient in marijuana, THC or tetrahydrocannabinol, has been shown to drastically increase appetite levels and help individuals enjoy the idea of eating once again.

• Thursday, February 24th 2011 - 03:37 UTC

  Using a mobile phone stirs brain metabolism, says US medical report

  

  Using a mobile phone for 50 minutes stirs brain metabolism, although the health consequences are unknown and need to be studied further, U.S. researchers said.

• Thursday, February 24th 2011 - 03:35 UTC

  Moody cuts Japan’s credit rating to “negative” citing concern over debt levels

  

  Moody's Investor Services has cut its outlook on Japan's credit rating to “negative” from “stable” citing concerns about debt levels. Moody's currently rates Japan's government debt at an Aa2 level.

• Thursday, February 24th 2011 - 00:12 UTC

  Libya: Peru cuts links; Cuba, Venezuela support Gadaffi, blame “imperialist states”

  

  Peru announced it has suspended diplomatic relations with Libya over the use of force against civilians there. It is the first country to take such a step since the anti-government protests erupted in Libya last week.