International

• Thursday, August 6th 2009 - 16:17 UTC

  Soaring bad debts at Lloyds Banking Group but “worst is over”

  

  Lloyds Banking Group which has been partly nationalized by the British government blamed soaring bad debt charges of £13.4 billion on reckless lending at HBOS, but predicted the worst is over.

• Thursday, August 6th 2009 - 16:14 UTC

  China appeases peasants with partly subsidized new pension scheme

  

  The Chinese government is to introduce a new pension scheme for the country's hundreds of millions of rural workers. The minister for social security announced that a trial scheme would be extended across China by October.

• Thursday, August 6th 2009 - 16:09 UTC

  Hazardous waste illegally sent to Brazil returned to UK

  

  Brazil announced it was returning 1.500 tonnes of hazardous waste that arrived from Britain labelled as recyclable plastic. The Brazilian Institute of Environment and Renewable Natural Resources said 89 containers left for Felixstowe, UK from the port of Santos on board MSC Oriane.

• Thursday, August 6th 2009 - 03:40 UTC

  The future of Antarctic science will depend on international cooperation

  

  The National Antarctic Programs have reached a consensus that international cooperation will be the clue for the future development of polar science. This is the main topic of discussion at the XXI Annual Meeting of the Council of Managers of Antarctic Programs (COMNAP), especially with increased costs associated with support, logistics and infrastructure necessary to carry out the scientific research in the White Continent.

• Tuesday, August 4th 2009 - 09:33 UTC

  Two UK main banks report combined half year profits of £ 6 billion

  

  British banks Barclays and HSBC have shrugged off the near-collapse of the financial system to report combined half-year profits of almost £6 billion. The duo - which both avoided taxpayer support at the height of last autumn's crisis - posted profits of nearly £3 billion each, mainly due to strong investment banking results.

• Tuesday, August 4th 2009 - 09:15 UTC

  Protecting UK bank savers from the credit crisis reached £ 21 billion

  

  The cost of protecting United Kingdom savers during the credit crisis has been revealed by the body set up to compensate victims of banking collapses.

• Monday, August 3rd 2009 - 13:28 UTC

  Sir Nicholas re-elected chairman of UK/Falklands All Party Parliamentary Group

  

  Sir Nicholas Winterton DL has been re-elected unanimously and unopposed as Chairman of the United Kingdom-Falkland Islands All-Party Parliamentary Group – for the twelfth consecutive year – at the Group’s Annual General Meeting at the House of Commons on 13th July.

• Monday, August 3rd 2009 - 12:49 UTC

  Unemployment in Germany rose in July and worse to come

  

  Unemployment in Germany rose in July, official figures have shown, and economists have warned that the worst still lies ahead for the job market.

• Monday, August 3rd 2009 - 12:44 UTC

  Spain wants a Gibraltar solution acceptable to all (three) sides

  

  Spanish Foreign Affairs minister Miguel Angel Moratinos has said that an effort must be made to find a solution to the Gibraltar (Spain/UK) dispute that is “acceptable to all”.

• Sunday, August 2nd 2009 - 11:50 UTC

  Nigerian oil debate: losses since 2006 amount to 47 billion USD says Shell

  

  Nigeria has lost about 7 trillion naira (47 billion US dollars) as a result of the shut-in of the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SDPC) output since 2006 in the country the Lagos based Compass newspaper reported this week.