International

• 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.

• Thursday, April 22nd 2010 - 01:11 UTC

  One meter giant deep-sea crab caught off the Isles of Scilly

  

  A giant deep-sea crab has been caught in a fisherman's nets off the Isles of Scilly. The one meter box crab, which has been named Spud, has a missing claw and is being cared for at Newquay's Blue Reef Aquarium. The species can grow up to 2m and is normally found at depths of 2.3km.

• Wednesday, April 21st 2010 - 17:24 UTC

  Falklands’ sovereignty: a bilateral issue between Argentina and UK, says Spain

  

  Spain will not be supporting Argentina’s Falkland Islands sovereignty claim during the coming European Union and Latinamerican summit to be held next May 18 in Madrid, according to Falklands Legislative Assembly Member Roger Edwards recently back from Brussels.

• Wednesday, April 21st 2010 - 17:08 UTC

  UK unemployed reach 2.5 million in February, highest since 1994

  

  The number of people unemployed in the UK rose by 43,000 to 2.5 million during the three months to February, official figures have shown. The jobless total is now at its highest since 1994.

• Wednesday, April 21st 2010 - 16:48 UTC

  Ash-cloud cost airlines 1.7 billion; IATA calls for government compensation

  

  The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated that the Icelandic volcano crisis cost airlines more than 1.7 billion US dollars in lost revenue through Tuesday—six days after the initial eruption. For a three-day period (17-19 April), when disruptions were greatest, lost revenues reached 400 million USD per day.

• Wednesday, April 21st 2010 - 02:55 UTC

  Goldman Sachs earnings double; UK launches formal probe into fraud allegations

  

  Goldman Sachs Group Inc said first-quarter earnings nearly doubled, while in London Britain's financial regulator launched a formal probe related to civil fraud allegations against the Wall Street bank.

• Tuesday, April 20th 2010 - 16:21 UTC

  Bolivia organizes grassroots alternative to UN climate change

  

  Delegates are gathering in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba for a grassroots alternative to last year's UN climate change summit in Copenhagen. The meeting will also celebrate the rights of Mother Earth on 22 April.