International

• Wednesday, July 1st 2009 - 12:29 UTC

  UK first quarter contraction rate was fastest in 50 years

  

  The recession-blighted United Kingdom economy shrank at its fastest rate for more than 50 years in the first three months of 2009, official figures have shown. And revisions to figures revealed the current recession began earlier than first thought, with a 0.1% decline seen between April and June last year compared with previous estimates of zero growth.

• Wednesday, July 1st 2009 - 08:38 UTC

  Gibraltar expects record 248 cruise calls and 380.000 visitors this year

  

  The great success of Gibraltar’s cruise industry with record 248 calls scheduled for this year with an estimated 380.000 passengers was underlined by Minister for Development Joe Holliday in his intervention before the local Parliament during the Budget Debate for 2009.

• Tuesday, June 30th 2009 - 06:47 UTC

  Baroness Thatcher with her left arm in a sling, released from hospital

  

  Baroness Thatcher has returned home from hospital more than two weeks after breaking her arm in a fall. The former Prime Minister, dressed in a pink cardigan, pink top and cream-coloured skirt, with her left arm apparently in a sling, waved at reporters and smiled on the doorstep of her central London home.

• Tuesday, June 30th 2009 - 06:44 UTC

  Royal family costs British taxpayer 69p per person

  

  Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Family cost the British taxpayer 69p per person last year - an increase of 3p, Buckingham Palace accounts have revealed. The total cost of keeping the monarchy increased by £1.5 million to £41.5 million during the 2008-09 financial year.

• Monday, June 29th 2009 - 11:16 UTC

  Whaling Commission could discuss ending commercial hunting ban

  

  The Whaling Commission (IWC) has suggested whale conservation could benefit from ending the commercial hunting ban. Dr William Hogarth's remarks came at the end of this year's IWC meeting in Madeira, Portugal, which saw pro- and anti-whaling nations agree to further compromise talks. A Greenpeace spokesman said the moratorium had to stay intact.

• Saturday, June 27th 2009 - 10:34 UTC

  Russia to supply Bolivia helicopters and military hardware

  

  Russian ambassador in Bolivia Leonid Golubev said Moscow would help Bolivia modernize its arms and military equipment, following on the credit agreement reached last February between presidents Diimitri Medvedev and Evo Morales.

• Saturday, June 27th 2009 - 10:29 UTC

  Met Office forecasts heat wave in UK as of next Monday

  

  Britain could experience a heat-wave next week, the Met Office and the Department of Health said on Friday. Temperatures could reach 32C (89.6F) in London on Monday and Tuesday, with other parts of the country also enjoying prolonged sunshine.

• Saturday, June 27th 2009 - 10:16 UTC

  China again calls for “super-sovereign” currency to replace US dollar

  

  China's central bank has reiterated its call for a new reserve currency to replace the US dollar. The report from the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said a “super-sovereign” currency should take its place.

• Saturday, June 27th 2009 - 10:12 UTC

  Spain approves 9 billion Euro support fund for banking system

  

  The Spanish cabinet approved Friday a 9 billion Euro (12.7 billion US dollars) fund to help revive the financial sector by buying stakes in banks hit by the global crisis and get them lending again.

• Thursday, June 25th 2009 - 17:00 UTC

  UK cocaine capital of Europe; one in 100 Londoners “problem drug user”

  

  The United Kingdom is the cocaine capital of Europe, the United Nations has said. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime said the UK was Europe's largest cocaine market - with more than one million regular users.