International

• Wednesday, January 20th 2010 - 08:55 UTC

  Chile and China make huge investments to increase copper production

  

  Chile’s state-owned mining company, Codelco, last week announced a 1.9 billion US dollars project to develop a subterranean mine at its Chuquicamata opencast mine facility in Chile’s northern Atacama region (region III).

• Wednesday, January 20th 2010 - 07:04 UTC

  UK December inflation jumps to 2.9%, biggest rise in a single month

  

  Inflation in the United Kingdom jumped at a record rate in December, official figures have shown. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) hit 2.9% last month - much higher than expected by the City - compared with just 1.9% in November.

• Wednesday, January 20th 2010 - 06:59 UTC

  E-Clear-Flyglobespan collapse: £35 million “no longer there”

  

  E-Clear, the company responsible for online ticket sales at the failed Scottish airline Flyglobespan, has been placed into administration. Flyglobespan also had the UK Ministry of Defence contract for the air bridge between Brize Norton and MPA in the Falkland Islands.

• Tuesday, January 19th 2010 - 13:40 UTC

  IMF warns it’s too early to withdraw stimulus packages

  

  International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said it’s too early for policy makers to withdraw stimulus that’s driving the global recovery.

• Tuesday, January 19th 2010 - 13:35 UTC

  UK has a decade of economic pain ahead, warns leading economic forecaster

  

  The UK faces a decade of economic pain after years of splurging on credit, a leading economic forecaster has warned. The Ernst & Young ITEM Club said the economy faced stagnation unless exports received a boost.

• Monday, January 18th 2010 - 13:33 UTC

  Former world champion Carlos Sainz claims first Dakar rally in Buenos Aires

  

  Spain’s Carlos Sainz claimed his first Dakar Rally victory after finishing second in the 14th and final stage which ended Sunday in the Argentine capital. The former world rally champion finished the race 2min 12sec ahead of Volkswagen team-mate Nasser al-Attiyah, who won the leg from San Rafael to Buenos Aires.

• Monday, January 18th 2010 - 11:44 UTC

  Australian aboriginal leaders to ask Prince William for remains of local warrior

  

  Australian aboriginal elders will ask Prince William to help them find the decapitated head of the great Aboriginal warrior, Pemulwuy and return it to their homeland.

• Monday, January 18th 2010 - 11:42 UTC

  The seven kilos leg of an Iberico ham plus DNA certificate for £ 1.800

  

  The world's most expensive ham has gone on sale, complete with its own DNA certificate as a proof of authenticity. The leg of Iberico ham, which weighs seven kilos, is on sale at the food hall in Selfridges in London's Oxford Street.

• Saturday, January 16th 2010 - 15:43 UTC

  Haiti: World Food Program estimates it must feed one million survivors

  

  United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is appealing to the international community for 550 million US dollar to meet Haitian earthquake victims' most urgent needs. Some three million people have been affected by the quake and Red Cross officials estimate the death toll at 45,000 to 50,000. Right now, the most important priority is to get water, food and tents to the survivors.

• Saturday, January 16th 2010 - 07:04 UTC

  Mayor Johnson says top bankers fleeing from London over taxes

  

  Thousands of high-earning bankers will flee London because of the Government's taxation policy, Mayor Boris Johnson has warned. He has written to Chancellor Alistair Darling asking for a meeting to discuss his introduction of a 50p income tax rate for top earners and a temporary 50% levy on banking bonuses over £25,000.