International

• Monday, May 11th 2009 - 10:31 UTC

  British banks CEOs dampen expectations of a swift recovery

  

  Bad debts at part-nationalised UK Royal Bank of Scotland could soar to almost £12 billion this year, the bank has said. RBS, which is 70.3% owned by the British taxpayer, posted loans losses of £2.9 billion for the first quarter of 2009, but directors said full-year bad debts could be “at least” four times as high.

• Monday, May 11th 2009 - 08:59 UTC

  Flu scare: Canadian officials cull 500 animals in pig farm

  

  Canadian officials in the province of Alberta culled 500 hogs from the pig farm where the new swine flu virus, A/H1N1, was detected, but it was not because the animals were sick, the province’s chief veterinarian said Saturday.

• Monday, May 11th 2009 - 07:55 UTC

  Independent audit body to audit British Parliament expenses

  

  Plans for an independent auditing body to validate Britain Members of Parliament expenses claims are expected to be approved on Monday, following weeks of damaging stories. Senior Labour MP Sir Stuart Bell said MPs would be asked to approve the body, made up entirely of independent people.

• Monday, May 11th 2009 - 07:48 UTC

  British MP’s expenses scandal: call for an early election

  

  A former speaker from the British House of Commons said that Parliament should be dissolved if the expenses scandal continues to rumble on. Tory Lord Naseby said the status of Parliament had been brought “right down into the pits” and Gordon Brown could be forced to call a general election as a result.

• Monday, May 11th 2009 - 07:32 UTC

  UN Environment Program agreement to ban nine persistent organic pollutants

  

  Under of the auspices of the United Nations Environment Program meeting in Geneva 150 governments have agreed to ban the production of nine of the world's most hazardous chemicals.

• Monday, May 11th 2009 - 07:31 UTC

  Cruise “Crown Princess” forces BA flight to abort landing in Gibraltar

  

  A British Airways plane had to abort its landing this weekend after a large cruise ship strayed into its flight path as it sailed from Gibraltar, reports the local press.

• Saturday, May 9th 2009 - 01:34 UTC

  FAO proposals to tackle abandoned fishing gear lost at sea

  

  The UN Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO and the UN Environment Program, UNEP have made a number or recommendations for tackling the problem of abandoned fishing gear lost at sea and which are severely hurting the marine environment.

• Friday, May 8th 2009 - 10:20 UTC

  European Parliament supports “politically persecuted Venezuelans”

  

  The European Parliament (EP) approved on Thursday a resolution in solidarity with “all those people suffering political persecution in Venezuela,” currently embodied in former presidential candidate Manuel Rosales, who was granted political asylum in Peru.

• Friday, May 8th 2009 - 10:11 UTC

  FAO, OIE, WHO reiterate statement on A/H1N1 and safety of pork

  

  To avoid any misunderstanding FAO, WHO and OIE reissued Thursday their joint statement referred to the safety of pork originally issued on 30 April.

• Friday, May 8th 2009 - 04:48 UTC

  European central banks lost 40 billion USD with gold sales

  

  The decision by central banks across Europe to sell gold reserves over the last ten years has left them 40 billion US dollars worse-off, the Financial Times reported Thursday.