International

• Tuesday, June 1st 2010 - 04:46 UTC

  Tories implement civil service “salary transparency”; 171 above PM Cameron

  

  Some 171 civil servants are paid more than Prime Minister David Cameron's £142,500-a-year salary, according to Cabinet Office figures. The salaries of those earning over £150,000 were revealed for the first time in a bid to aid transparency.

• Tuesday, June 1st 2010 - 04:40 UTC

  European confidence in economic outlook down and inflation up

  

  European confidence in the economic outlook unexpectedly worsened in May and inflation accelerated as the Euro region’s debt crisis shook markets.

• Tuesday, June 1st 2010 - 02:40 UTC

  China warns of a double-dip recession because of European sovereign debt

  

  China warned that Europe's struggle to contain soaring debt posed a risk to global economic growth, raising the spectre of a double-dip recession.

• Tuesday, June 1st 2010 - 01:43 UTC

  German president resigns on comments about military actions overseas

  

  German President Horst Koehler unexpectedly resigned due to a storm over comments he made about military action abroad in a move that could cause conservative Chancellor Angela Merkel a headache.

• Monday, May 31st 2010 - 04:20 UTC

  European weakened governments must address this week tough decisions

  

  Budget Minister Francois Baroin indicated on Sunday that France should not take for granted its AAA rating, which allows Paris to borrow relatively cheaply on international markets and finance its big budget deficit.

• Monday, May 31st 2010 - 04:04 UTC

  Experts warn Europe’s ‘austerity zeal’ could dampen anaemic recovery

  

  Experts are warning that European governments rush to cut budget deficits with draconian austerity measures could mean a blow for Europe's tentative economic recovery.

• Saturday, May 29th 2010 - 05:32 UTC

  Economics Nobel Prize Stiglitz favours regulation of risk rating agencies

  

  Economics Nobel Prize Joseph Stiglitz said it was time to end with the “authority” that countries have deposited in risk assessment agencies and which “have not done things correctly” and have been an essential factor in giving “the global crisis a nice boost”.

• Saturday, May 29th 2010 - 03:03 UTC

  Spain’s debt downgraded; Madrid lowers growth estimates 2010/2012

  

  Risk rating agency Fitch downgraded Spain’s sovereign debt on Friday one notch from AAA to AA+ with an outlook of stable, saying that the country’s economic recovery is likely to be difficult and prolonged.

• Saturday, May 29th 2010 - 01:35 UTC

  IMF raises global economic growth forecast to 4.25% in 2010

  

  The IMF sees global economic growth of 4.25% this year and next, “faster than previously expected,” the head of the multilateral lender said on Friday.

• Saturday, May 29th 2010 - 01:32 UTC

  Australia begins legal action in The Hague against Japan over whaling

  

  Australia has said it will begin legal action against Japan over whaling in the Antarctic. Canberra will argue that the annual whaling hunt in the Southern Ocean is in violation of an international ban on commercial whaling.