International

• Sunday, August 30th 2009 - 22:09 UTC

  'Major win' for Japan opposition

  

  A historic election win by Japan's opposition Democratic Party on Sunday is likely to buoy Tokyo shares on hopes for less policy deadlock, putting pressure on Japanese government bonds and the yen.

• Saturday, August 29th 2009 - 10:06 UTC

  IMF injects 283 billion SDR to boost world economy

  

  With much of the world still mired in recession, the IMF took action to bolster its members’ reserves through an allocation of SDRs, or Special Drawing Rights. The allocation, equivalent to 250 billion USD was made on August 28 and will be followed by an additional, albeit much smaller, allocation of 33 billion on September 9.

• Saturday, August 29th 2009 - 09:48 UTC

  Deveronvale Perfection Textel tup lamb beats all records: £231,000

  

  A sheep is believed to have become the world most expensive after selling for £231,000. Deveronvale Perfection, bred in Banffshire, was bought by a fellow local sheep farmer at a sale in Lanark.

• Saturday, August 29th 2009 - 09:43 UTC

  Extra choppers in Afghanistan -would be “more tactically effective” for UK forces

  

  The commander of British forces in Afghanistan has said an increase in the number of helicopters would make the military effort “more tactically effective”. Brigadier Tim Radford said while there had been enough aircraft for the Operation Panther's Claw offensive, any commanding officer “would like more”.

• Saturday, August 29th 2009 - 09:40 UTC

  Bad, but good news from the UK economy: decline easing

  

  The rate of contraction of the UK economy in the three months from April to June has been reduced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Gross domestic product (GDP) has been revised to a fall of 0.7% from 0.8% compared with the previous quarter.

• Saturday, August 29th 2009 - 09:38 UTC

  HMS Gloucester begins Monday a two-week visit to Chile

  

  HMS Gloucester is expected next Monday in the port of Valparaiso where she will remain until September 14 as part of a program to reaffirm the close professional links with the Chilean Navy. It will also be an opportunity for the crew to rest and recover after spending months in South Atlantic patrolling.

• Friday, August 28th 2009 - 19:48 UTC

  Spanish economy keeps contracting in the second quarter: down 1.1%

  

  The Spanish economy shrunk more than expected in the second quarter in contrast with signs of recovery in France and Germany, according to the latest release from the Statistics Institute. Second quarter GDP contracted 1.1% quarter-on-quarter, a slight improvement on the first quarter when the economy shrunk 1.6%, mostly due to a hefty state stimulus spending plan.

• Friday, August 28th 2009 - 19:42 UTC

  Poultry connection strengthens global H1N1 flu pandemic, says FAO

  

  The detection of an H1N1 virus in turkeys in Chile raises concern that poultry farms elsewhere in the world could also become infected with the pandemic flu virus currently circulating in humans, FAO said Thursday.

• Friday, August 28th 2009 - 19:32 UTC

  Baby boom in Britain pushes population over the 61 million mark

  

  Britain is in the midst of a baby boom, helping push the population over the 61 million mark for the first time. More than three quarters of a million children were born in the UK last year, as fertility rates hit their highest levels in a generation.

• Thursday, August 27th 2009 - 08:45 UTC

  China has come to the rescue of Latinamerican exports, says Cepal

  

  China’s sustained demand for food, energy and minerals has helped Latinamerican countries to stimulate their economies and contain the negative impact of the current global recession, according to the latest report from the United Nations Economic Commission for Latinamerica and the Caribbean, Cepal.