International

• Wednesday, September 2nd 2009 - 07:16 UTC

  Penny-saving Brits in July pay back more than they borrow

  

  The amount of debt Britons owe fell for the first time since records began during July, figures show. People repaid £635 million more than they borrowed during the month, reducing outstanding lending to £1.456 trillion.

• Wednesday, September 2nd 2009 - 07:13 UTC

  Commonwealth fully suspends Fiji for refusing to call elections

  

  The Commonwealth has fully suspended Fiji after it refused to bow to demands to call elections by next year. Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma cited the Pacific island country's lack of progress towards democracy.

• Wednesday, September 2nd 2009 - 07:01 UTC

  Chinese company moves heavily into Canadian oil sands

  

  PetroChina plans to acquire a majority stake in Canada’s Athabasca Oil Sands which holds the largest lease in Alberta’s oil sands. The 1.7 billion US dollars deal with Asia’s largest oil company means taking control of 60% of the 1.3 million acres of oil sand leases held by Athabasca.

• Wednesday, September 2nd 2009 - 02:36 UTC

  Climate change alarmism discredits the science

  

  Almost every day there is a new dire warning about global warming. But some claims regarding global warming are more extreme than others overselling the issue and can potentially damage the argument.

• Tuesday, September 1st 2009 - 22:19 UTC

  FAO: New treaty will leave fish pirates without safe haven

  

  91 FAO Members have agreed on an international agreement to implement “port state measures” to combat illegal fishing.

• Tuesday, September 1st 2009 - 12:25 UTC

  Black Monday in China’s impacts on world markets

  

  Chinese equities Monday plunged 6.74% to a three-month low as investors showed concern a slowdown in bank lending would erode economic growth, reported the Xinhua news agency. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 192.94 points to finish at 2,667.75. This was the largest daily drop for the key Shanghai index since June last year.

• Monday, August 31st 2009 - 14:38 UTC

  SWINE flu has crippled a Royal Navy ship that patrols waters off the Falkland Islands.

  

  At least eight members of HMS Clyde's 38-strong crew have been struck down by the bug.

• Monday, August 31st 2009 - 07:46 UTC

  China surpasses Germany as the world’s largest exporter

  

  China has become the world's largest exporter surpassing Germany, the World Trade Organization has said. China displaced Germany, which held the No.1 slot since 2003, by a slim margin of 100 million US dollars after exporting goods worth 521.7 billion USD in the first half of 2009.

• Sunday, August 30th 2009 - 22:28 UTC

  China's Policy Paper on Latin America and the Caribbean

  

  On November 5, 2008, the Chinese government released a policy paper on Latin America and the Caribbean, as it had previously done so for Europe in 2003 and for Africa in 2006.

• 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.