International

• Sunday, September 28th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Melamine milk scare extends to instant coffee & tea products

  

  The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is alerting consumers that seven Mr. Brown instant coffee and milk tea products are being recalled by the Taiwanese company, King Car Food Industrial Co. Ltd., due to possible contamination with melamine. King Car Food Industrial Co. used a non-dairy creamer manufactured by Shandong Duqing Inc., China, which was found to be contaminated with melamine.

• Sunday, September 28th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Spanish bank and UK government ready to take over B & B

  

  Spanish bank Santander is on the brink of taking over the £20bn savings business of troubled bank Bradford & Bingley, the BBC has learned. Treasury officials and bankers are putting the final touches to a deal, says BBC business editor Robert Peston.

• Friday, September 26th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Contaminated milk products scare reaches FAO

  

  Given the ongoing crisis in China over melamine-contaminated powdered food which has hospitalized nearly 13,000 children, United Nations agencies urged countries to ensure the safe feeding of infants and to be on alert for the possible spread of tainted dairy products.

• Friday, September 26th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Labor reiterates in Manchester pledge to Gibraltar sovereignty

  Gibraltar Chief Minister Peter Caruana exchanged greetings with Prime Minister Gordon Brown at the Labour conference this week just moments after Minister for Europe Jim Murphy reiterated the UK Government pledge to Gibraltarians on sovereignty.

• Thursday, September 25th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  China has no hegemony aspiration Hua Jiabao tells UN

  

  China is pursuing a path of peaceful development, building its military strength only to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity, the General Assembly's high-level debate was told on Wednesday.

• Thursday, September 25th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  EU announces strict rules but no US style banks bail out

  

  Europe does not need a US-style bail-out of banks, but must introduce stricter financial supervision, a top EU official has said. Economy commissioner Joaquin Almunia said mimicking the 700 billion US plan to unfreeze credit markets was unnecessary because the situation was “less acute”.

• Thursday, September 25th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  Financial crisis: Bush appeals to Congress, Obama and McCain

  

  Americans must support a massive bail-out of financial markets to ease a “serious financial crisis”, US President George W Bush said on Wednesday. The entire economy was in danger, he said in a live TV speech, and failure to act now would cost more later.
  
  He has invited presidential rivals John McCain and Barack Obama to the White House on Thursday to discuss the 700 billion US dollars rescue package.
  
  The rivals have disagreed on delaying a TV debate over the economic turmoil.

• Thursday, September 25th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  UK reveals design of Identity cards for foreign nationals

  

  The United Kingdom Border Agency revealed on Thursday the design of the first identity cards to be issued to foreign nationals in the UK.

• Thursday, September 25th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  First case mother and son mad cow deaths confirmed in Spain

  The mother of a Spanish man who died from mad cow disease also succumbed to the illness, announced on Thursday the Spanish Ministry of Health.

• Thursday, September 25th 2008 - 21:00 UTC

  EU bans Chinese baby food and could include other foods

  The European Union has banned imports of baby food that contains Chinese milk and is considering restrictions on other Chinese food products with powdered milk, as a tainted milk scandal in China takes on international proportions.