International

• Thursday, June 11th 2009 - 10:05 UTC

  Thomas Cook “completely ring-fenced” against bankruptcy

  

  Germany's Arcandor, which owns 52% of Thomas Cook, filed for bankruptcy protection after the German government rejected a request for loan guarantees.

• Thursday, June 11th 2009 - 10:01 UTC

  Shell settles lawsuit in Nigeria to help “reconciliation process”

  

  Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to settle a lawsuit accusing the firm of complicity in the executions of human rights activists in Nigeria for 15.5 million US dollars, revealed families of those killed. The settlement agreement came this week as the more than decade-long dispute was due to go to trial in a district court in New York.

• Thursday, June 11th 2009 - 06:36 UTC

  MPs expenses: independent regulator and aired in internet

  

  British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has set out plans for urgent legislative action to clean up Parliament in the wake of the expenses scandal. Brown said new legislation will be published before MPs rise for their summer break to create an independent regulator of Parliament and a code of conduct for MPs' behaviour.

• Thursday, June 11th 2009 - 06:21 UTC

  Low inventories push crude to 71 USD, highest in seven months

  

  Crude prices continued to surge on Wednesday, rallying on the news that US inventories fell more than expected and Chevron confirmed a fire at its Nigerian oil facility. Light, sweet crude for July delivery jumped 1.32 dollars, 1.9%, to settle at 71.33 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest close in seven months.

• Wednesday, June 10th 2009 - 13:29 UTC

  Falklands set for ‘peaceful’ relationship with new FCO Overseas Territory official?

  

  The Falkland Islands may be set to have a more peaceful relationship with the new Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Overseas Territories, than with the last.

• Wednesday, June 10th 2009 - 13:21 UTC

  Flight 447: Airlines rush to change Airbus speed sensors

  

  As Brazilian divers continue to recover bodies and remains of Air France Flight 447 wreckage, airlines worldwide are scrambling to replace plane speed sensors on a number of Airbus jets in the aftermath of the accident.

• Tuesday, June 9th 2009 - 12:52 UTC

  Vancouver, Canada chosen as the most liveable city in the world

  

  The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) announced Monday that Vancouver, British Columbia is the best city in the world to live, followed by Vienna, Austria and Melbourne, Australia.

• Tuesday, June 9th 2009 - 12:50 UTC

  Spain to the rescue of banks with 9 billion Euros emergency fund

  

  The Spanish government plans to set up a 9 billion Euros emergency fund to prop up the country's weakest banks if other measures fail, Finance Minister Elena Salgado said in a Sunday interview with Madrid’s ABC.

• Tuesday, June 9th 2009 - 10:01 UTC

  Air France pilots’ union demand replacement of speed sensors

  

  An Air France labour union of pilots called on its members to refuse to fly Airbus A330s and A340s until the airline replaces speed sensors after investigators said the equipment probably played a role in June first Flighty 447 plane crash.

• Tuesday, June 9th 2009 - 09:47 UTC

  World military expenditure in 2008 totalled 1.46 trillion, up 45% since 1999

  

  United States spent 607 billion US dollars on its military in 2008, accounting for 42% of the total world military expenditure for the year with China, France and the United Kingdom far behind, according to the 2009 Yearbook on Armaments, Disarmament and International Security, issued by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI, on Monday.