International

• Thursday, February 5th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Euro bank says no to “zero rates”; benchmark 2%

  

  The European Central Bank kept interest rates on hold at 2% on Thursday but said it may resume cutting, although zero rates were not “appropriate” for the Euro zone at the moment.

• Wednesday, February 4th 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Darling raps bankers; demands change of “financial culture”

  British Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling criticised on Tuesday bank chiefs for failing to flag up the financial difficulties they faced at an earlier stage. Darling said some had wrongly given the impression that the problems afflicting Northern Rock were isolated and would not affect themselves.

• Tuesday, February 3rd 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Regional Spanish airline plans flights to Gibraltar

  

  An airline based in the Spanish region of Andalusia, Andalus Lineas Aereas, is planning to restore daily air links between Gibraltar and Madrid as part of an ambitious strategic plan to link regional air routes across Spain and Morocco.

• Tuesday, February 3rd 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  French minister warns of more social unrest in Europe

  

  With the rising threat of further job cuts and economic contraction Europe faces the risk of more social unrest unless measures are taken to quickly tackle the global economic crisis, France's finance minister says. Christine Lagarde said trust in the financial system needs to be restored.

• Tuesday, February 3rd 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Warning on the “other CO2 problem”: ocean acidification

  The world's marine ecosystems risk being severely damaged by ocean acidification unless there are dramatic cuts in CO2 emissions, warn scientists. More than 150 top marine researchers have voiced their concerns through the “Monaco Declaration”, which warns that changes in acidity are accelerating.

• Tuesday, February 3rd 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  UK unions seek disclosure from “nationalized” banks

  

  Banks which have received UK Government help to deal with the financial crisis should be made to reveal full details of their tax haven activities, urged union leaders in Britain, reports The Gibraltar Chronicle.

• Tuesday, February 3rd 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  FAO brokers binding accord to close ports to pirate fishing

  

  Representatives of over 80 countries have made significant progress in negotiating a binding international agreement aimed at closing ports to ships involved in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

• Monday, February 2nd 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  UK paralyzed by snow storm and more forecasted

  

  Tens of thousands of people were left stranded Monday as the heaviest snowfall to hit the United Kingdom in 18 years swept across the country, causing travel chaos and closing thousands of schools. And more snow is on the way. Helen Chivers, a forecaster with the Met Office, said a large area of sleet and snow showers was moving out of France on its way to the UK.

• Monday, February 2nd 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Millions of migrant rural workers in China are jobless

  

  An estimated 20 million Chinese migrant workers that left impoverished rural areas for jobs in the booming cities workshops are now unemployed as a direct consequence of the world crisis, admitted a high official from the ruling Communist party in Beijing.

• Monday, February 2nd 2009 - 20:00 UTC

  Wreckage of 18th century legendary HMS Victory found

  

  A shipwreck believed to contain more than a billion dollars of gold has been discovered at the bottom of the English Channel. HMS Victory, the legendary British warship which was the predecessor to Lord Nelson's Victory, sank during a storm in 1744, taking more than 1,000 sailors to their deaths