International

• Thursday, April 2nd 2009 - 09:02 UTC

  FAO report says over-fishing putting sea cucumbers at risk

  

  Sea cucumber stocks are under intense fishing pressure throughout the world according to a new FAO report. Most high value commercial species have been depleted in the African and Indian ocean regions.

• Thursday, April 2nd 2009 - 07:14 UTC

  London police promises to track down and prosecute violent protestors

  

  Anti G-20 summit protestors rioted in downtown London but Scotland Yard has said that all violent protesters who attacked police and stormed a bank will be tracked down and prosecuted.

• Thursday, April 2nd 2009 - 06:06 UTC

  US and Gibraltar sign agreement to exchange data on tax matters

  

  United States Department of the Treasury and the Government of Gibraltar announced in London in the framework of the G20 summit that the two countries have signed an agreement to allow for exchange of information on tax matters between the United States and Gibraltar, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.

• Thursday, April 2nd 2009 - 05:10 UTC

  Obama warns peers against giving in to “fear” and blame game

  

  US President Barack Obama warned G20 leaders against giving in to “fear” and getting into a blame game, on the eve of the crunch summit to rescue the global economy. At a joint press conference with Gordon Brown, the president admitted that the US had some “accounting to do” over its responsibility for the crisis. But he also insisted that financial regulatory systems had been “mismatched” all around the world.

• Thursday, April 2nd 2009 - 04:59 UTC

  G20 summit hammering out consensus for Thursday’s formal meeting

  

  France and Germany called for tougher regulation for the world's financial system during the first day of the G20 summit in London. French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has threatened to walk out of the meeting, said that new financial regulation was a “non-negotiable goal”.

• Wednesday, April 1st 2009 - 11:03 UTC

  UK debt and deficit in excess of EU guidelines and climbing

  

  The United Kingdom government debt rose to £750.3 billion in 2008, more than half of gross domestic product (GDP), according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

• Wednesday, April 1st 2009 - 11:02 UTC

  Developing world GDP forecasted to expand 2.1% this year

  

  GDP growth in the developing world will slow to a projected 2.1% in 2009 from 5.8% in 2008, according to World Bank estimates released Wednesday. The Bank has more than halved its November 2008 projection of 4.4% growth in developing countries in 2009, reflecting the rapid deterioration of global financial and economic conditions.

• Wednesday, April 1st 2009 - 10:29 UTC

  Obama in London to convince G-20 he can lead the world out of recession

  

  United States President Barack Obama is in the United Kingdom for his first major foreign trip since taking office in January. In London he is to attend the G20 summit of the world’s 20 major economies representing 85% of global GDP, which is hosted by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The two will have breakfast talks in Downing Street on Wednesday followed by meetings with other world leaders.

• Wednesday, April 1st 2009 - 10:20 UTC

  South American and Arab leaders agree on trade and investments

  

  South American leaders underscored the importance of economic and political ties with the Arab world in a summit meeting with their Arab counterparts in Qatar. Tuesday's meeting, the second Arab-South American summit, in Doha, followed the conclusion of the Arab League conference in the city.

• Wednesday, April 1st 2009 - 09:41 UTC

  Imagine Falklands and Gibraltar naval facilities under EU control and flag

  

  Britain's naval bases around the world should be put under the control of the European Union, according to a report commissioned by the Brussels Parliament and which was leaked to the British press this week.