International

• Friday, April 3rd 2009 - 05:10 UTC

  Euro zone rate lowered to 1.25% and possibly to 1% in May

  

  The European Central Bank said Thursday it would lower its key lending rate a quarter of a percentage point to 1.25%, effective April 8. It is the sixth time the ECB has lowered its key rate since October 2008, when it stood at 4.25%, as it tries to boost economic activity.

• Thursday, April 2nd 2009 - 13:47 UTC

  Mrs. Kirchner approach to Malvinas issue infuriates Jewish community

  

  Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner strong lobbying for support from the Arab League in its dispute with Britain over the Falkland Islands is proving to be a short lived pyrrhic victory since she involved Argentina in the Palestine question and infuriated the Jewish community.

• Thursday, April 2nd 2009 - 13:23 UTC

  Huge population of rare dolphins discovered in South Asia

  

  The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has announced the discovery of a huge population of rare dolphins in South Asia—but warns that the population is threatened by climate change and fishing nets.

• 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.