International

• Thursday, October 23rd 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Asbestos on watch list of hazardous substances says FAO

  

  Ministers and officials will decide whether to add three hazardous chemicals – including the world's most widely used form of asbestos – to a trade “watch list” under a United Nations-backed treaty, aimed at helping developing countries more effectively manage potentially harmful imported substances.

• Thursday, October 23rd 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Ban Ki-moon to discuss global crisis with economists

  Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will meet with a group of eminent economists tomorrow as part of his evaluation of the impact of the global financial crisis on United Nations efforts to achieve the anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

• Thursday, October 23rd 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Oil price at a 16-month low as energy demand contracts

  

  Oil prices tumbled on Wednesday to a 16-month low amid more evidence that the economic downturn was drying up energy demand. Light, sweet crude on the New York Mercantile Exchange - the benchmark price - settled at 66.75 US dollars, around five dollars lower than the day's high.

• Thursday, October 23rd 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  PM Brown admits the “r-word” is round the corner

  

  Prime Minister Gordon Brown finally admitted that Britain is likely to suffer a recession - hours after a similar warning from the Bank of England sent the value of the pound plunging to a five-year low.

• Thursday, October 23rd 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Brazilian football super star Pelé joins the cruise industry

  

  On June 28, 2009, the flagship of the Costa fleet will sail the first cruise dedicated to “O' Rey”, the King of world football Pelé. He will be joined by some of Europe's best footballers of the 20th century, presidents of football federations, confederations and clubs, plus great Brazilian performers like Toquinho and Alexandre Pires.

• Wednesday, October 22nd 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  UN preparing map of underground fresh water resources

  

  The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO will publish the first-ever world map of underground aquifers, which account for some 96 per cent of global freshwater resources, the agency announced in a press release today.

• Tuesday, October 21st 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Financial meltdown could increase jobless by 20 million

  The global financial crisis could increase world unemployment by an estimated 20 million women and men, the Director-General of the International Labour Office (ILO) said on Monday.

• Tuesday, October 21st 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Recession and job cuts hit China's toy industry province

  

  The global economic slowdown is starting to impact on China, the world's biggest industrial production centre. As many as half of all toy manufacturers in the Pearl River Delta could go out of business within the next two years an industry expert said on Monday following the closure of the Smart Union toy factory.

• Tuesday, October 21st 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Gibraltar opens new “shop window and face” in London

  

  Chief Minister Peter Caruana proudly showed off Gibraltar's new plush modern London offices which will be known as “Gibraltar House”.

• Tuesday, October 21st 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Copper falls below 2 USD benchmark; lowest in three years

  

  Copper tumbled below 2 US dollars a pound for the first time since December 2005, having dropped 34% so far this year. Speculation that the world economy is headed for a recession, including slower growth in China, anticipates a weaker demand for metals.