International

• Thursday, April 30th 2009 - 04:25 UTC

  Mexico’s Swine Flu and the Globalization of Disease

  

  Mexico has long been considered the laboratory of globalization. Now a potentially deadly virus has germinated in that laboratory, finding ideal conditions to move quickly along a path toward global pandemic.

• Wednesday, April 29th 2009 - 11:38 UTC

  Swine flu continues to weight on global shares

  

  Global shares have fallen further in Tuesday trading as the swine flu outbreak continues to weigh on markets. The UK's FTSE 100 finished the day 1.7% lower, while markets in Paris and Frankfurt ended almost 2% down. In the US, Wall Street also saw losses.

• Wednesday, April 29th 2009 - 04:10 UTC

  Swine flu could hit 40% of UK population says British WHO expert

  

  The deadly swine flu virus could infect up to 40% of the United Kingdom population in the next six months if the outbreak becomes a pandemic, world health officials said. Professor Neil Ferguson, a member of the World Health Organisation (WHO) taskforce which decided to raise its alert over the virus to level four, said four in 10 people could be infected if the country is hit by a pandemic.

• Wednesday, April 29th 2009 - 04:08 UTC

  Religious cross-border procession unites Gibraltar and Spain’s La Linea

  

  Hundreds of faithful from Gibraltar and neighbouring Spanish location La Linea expressed their devotion to Our Lady of Europe on Monday in the first time ever cross-border procession, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.

• Tuesday, April 28th 2009 - 11:49 UTC

  Swine flu two steps short from a full pandemic, warns WHO

  

  The World Health Organization (WHO) has raised its alert level over swine flu from three to four, two steps short of declaring a full pandemic. WHO Assistant Director General Dr Keiji Fukuda said it signalled a “significant step towards pandemic influenza”, but added “we are not there yet”.

• Tuesday, April 28th 2009 - 11:47 UTC

  Global crisis brings China and Taiwan closer

  

  The global crisis has its positive effects: Taiwan and China signed a set of new agreements on financial services and new direct flights on Sunday to facilitate business between the two sides, and allowing direct investment from China in recession-hit Taiwan.

• Monday, April 27th 2009 - 14:39 UTC

  WHO admits swine flu could become pandemic, but world “better prepared”

  

  The international community is better prepared than ever to deal with the threatened spread of a new swine flu virus, the top United Nations health chief has said. As the UN warned the outbreak might become a pandemic, World Health Organization Director-General Dr Keiji Fukuda said years of preparing for bird flu had boosted world stocks of anti-virals.

• Monday, April 27th 2009 - 14:34 UTC

  UK has enough anti-viral drugs to treat 50% of the population

  

  Health experts in Britain are on high alert to prevent the spread of a new human strain of the swine flu virus. Britain’s NHS also revealed it has a stockpile of £ 500 million of Tamiflu anti-viral drug which has proved effective on patients in Mexico where the outbreak seems to have started.

• Monday, April 27th 2009 - 14:14 UTC

  “Major rebalancing” of British forces to counter irregular warfare

  

  United Kingdom Special Forces like the SAS are to be boosted as part of a new military strategy to take on al-Qaeda and other terror networks that threaten Britain's security, Defence Secretary John Hutton is expected to announce. They are included in plans for a “major rebalancing” of the armed forces over the next 10 years.

• Monday, April 27th 2009 - 13:51 UTC

  New hope for the “critically endangered” grey whales

  

  Conservation campaigners are hailing a victory for the “critically endangered” grey whale. The groups have won agreement from some oil and gas companies in Russian waters to end seismic work, giving grey whales a chance to breed undisturbed.