
Climate change is killing about 315,000 people a year through hunger, sickness and weather disasters, according to a new report. The report, commissioned by the Geneva-based Global Humanitarian Forum (GHF) and released on Friday, said the the annual death toll is expected to rise to half a million by 2030.

Aerolineas Ándalus will delay the launch of flights between British Overseas Territory Gibraltar and Barcelona, Spain by at least a month because of low demand. The company began selling tickets several weeks ago but few people were buying, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.

The Euro zone annual inflation rate in the 16-country region fell to 0% in May from April’s 0.6%, according to Euro-stat. Economists said inflation would turn negative in June, --deflation—further complicating the task of the European Central Bank as it attempts to combat the worst economic downturn for half a century.

Oil surged past 65 US dollars a barrel on Thursday to a fresh six-month high after OPEC decided to keep output unchanged and data showed a steep drop in US crude inventories.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) is predicting global unemployment between 210 million and 239 million people in 2009 which represents a rate of 6.5% to 7.4%. Geneva based ILO made public Thursday its report on Tackling The Global Jobs Crisis in advance of the ILO annual conference, which begins June 3.

United States will host the next G20 summit of world leaders in September, the White House has confirmed. The meeting will take place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Thursday 24 September and Friday 25 September.

A regional strategy for invasive species in the South Atlantic should be ready towards the end of the year, following the conclusion of the regional workshop on Ascension Island.

In the wake of recent tense incidents at sea off Gibraltar with Spain, police and military planners have revisited the operating procedures for marine crews patrolling British waters, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.

Two more British Members of Parliament have succumbed to intense pressure over their expenses by saying they will not seek re-election. Tory backbencher Julie Kirkbride said the situation had become unbearable as she followed husband Andrew MacKay in announcing her departure from parliament at the next general election.

A group of exporting countries called this week for a deal in the World Trade Organization's long-running Doha round as the best way to tackle growing protectionism threats in the economic crisis.