International

• Saturday, August 29th 2009 - 09:43 UTC

  Extra choppers in Afghanistan -would be “more tactically effective” for UK forces

  

  The commander of British forces in Afghanistan has said an increase in the number of helicopters would make the military effort “more tactically effective”. Brigadier Tim Radford said while there had been enough aircraft for the Operation Panther's Claw offensive, any commanding officer “would like more”.

• Saturday, August 29th 2009 - 09:40 UTC

  Bad, but good news from the UK economy: decline easing

  

  The rate of contraction of the UK economy in the three months from April to June has been reduced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Gross domestic product (GDP) has been revised to a fall of 0.7% from 0.8% compared with the previous quarter.

• Saturday, August 29th 2009 - 09:38 UTC

  HMS Gloucester begins Monday a two-week visit to Chile

  

  HMS Gloucester is expected next Monday in the port of Valparaiso where she will remain until September 14 as part of a program to reaffirm the close professional links with the Chilean Navy. It will also be an opportunity for the crew to rest and recover after spending months in South Atlantic patrolling.

• Friday, August 28th 2009 - 19:48 UTC

  Spanish economy keeps contracting in the second quarter: down 1.1%

  

  The Spanish economy shrunk more than expected in the second quarter in contrast with signs of recovery in France and Germany, according to the latest release from the Statistics Institute. Second quarter GDP contracted 1.1% quarter-on-quarter, a slight improvement on the first quarter when the economy shrunk 1.6%, mostly due to a hefty state stimulus spending plan.

• Friday, August 28th 2009 - 19:42 UTC

  Poultry connection strengthens global H1N1 flu pandemic, says FAO

  

  The detection of an H1N1 virus in turkeys in Chile raises concern that poultry farms elsewhere in the world could also become infected with the pandemic flu virus currently circulating in humans, FAO said Thursday.

• Friday, August 28th 2009 - 19:32 UTC

  Baby boom in Britain pushes population over the 61 million mark

  

  Britain is in the midst of a baby boom, helping push the population over the 61 million mark for the first time. More than three quarters of a million children were born in the UK last year, as fertility rates hit their highest levels in a generation.

• Thursday, August 27th 2009 - 08:45 UTC

  China has come to the rescue of Latinamerican exports, says Cepal

  

  China’s sustained demand for food, energy and minerals has helped Latinamerican countries to stimulate their economies and contain the negative impact of the current global recession, according to the latest report from the United Nations Economic Commission for Latinamerica and the Caribbean, Cepal.

• 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.