International

• Thursday, August 27th 2009 - 08:34 UTC

  High-speed railway project to link Scotland with London

  

  Britain’s Network Rail has proposed a new £34 billion high-speed railway line linking Scotland and London by 2030. The line would serve Birmingham and Manchester, getting passengers from Glasgow to London in just two hours and 16 minutes, the rail firm said. It rejected several alternative routes, including the east of England.

• Thursday, August 27th 2009 - 08:30 UTC

  British households suffering from “worklessness” soars to 3.3 million

  

  The British government was accused of “deserting” millions of people after official figures showed the number of households in the UK with no one over the age of 16 working has increased by 240,000 in the past year to 3.3 million.

• Wednesday, August 26th 2009 - 02:01 UTC

  Skyrocket US budget deficit: tax rise once recession is over

  

  The US budget deficit will soar to almost 1.6 trillion US dollars this year, the highest on record, both the White House and Congress have warned. Fuelled by President Obama's 787 billion stimulus package and reduced tax revenues due to the recession, it compares with a 455 billion US dollars deficit in 2008.

• Wednesday, August 26th 2009 - 01:53 UTC

  A miserable story of accountability and opportunity

  

  Abdelbaset Ali al Megrahi was an intelligence agent. Since he worked for the Libyan government, he probably did some bad things. But he probably did not do the specific bad thing for which he was sentenced to 27 years in prison in Scotland.

• Wednesday, August 26th 2009 - 00:33 UTC

  Spain and Morocco to monitor Gibraltar Strait traffic; UK side-lined

  

  Britain has been side-lined from a proposal to change the mandatory reporting system for ships sailing through the Strait of Gibraltar, despite its jurisdiction over Gibraltar and the surrounding waters, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.

• Tuesday, August 25th 2009 - 22:30 UTC

  South Korea launched its first space rocket with “partial success”

  

  South Korea has launched its first space rocket, though a scientific satellite it was carrying failed to enter into its proper orbit. South Korean officials described the launch as a “partial success”.

• Tuesday, August 25th 2009 - 22:20 UTC

  UK avionics controversy delays delivery of eight Chinook choppers to Afghanistan

  

  The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence has denied claims that eight Chinook helicopters have not been usable since they were bought in 2001 because of a failed attempt to design its own software for them.

• Tuesday, August 25th 2009 - 14:55 UTC

  Drug and drink offences, main causes for arrests of Britons overseas

  

  Drug offences now account for a fifth of all arrests of Britons abroad, Foreign Office (FO) figures show. There are currently 22 British nationals facing capital charges for drugs worldwide, the FO said.

• Tuesday, August 25th 2009 - 14:49 UTC

  China rebounding but economy still “unstable” warns Premier Wen Jibabo

  

  Premier Wen Jiabao has warned that China is still facing various uncertainties ahead despite signs of economic recovery, saying the government will maintain the macro economic policies.

• Monday, August 24th 2009 - 11:11 UTC

  Iran accuses Argentina of “interfering in internal affairs”

  

  Iran's government accused Argentina of “interfering in internal affairs,” referring to criticism against the designation of Ahmad Vahidi as Defence Minister. Vahidi has been wanted since 2007 by Interpol for supposed ties to the AMIA terrorist attack in Buenos Aires which caused 85 deaths and hundreds of injured.