International

Friday, October 10th 2008 - 21:00 UTC
Flurry of meetings to calm markets and unfreeze credit

Finance ministers from leading industrialised nations have pledged action to tackle the financial crisis after a torrid week on stock markets. The G7 nations said they would take “decisive action and use all available tools”, after a meeting in Washington.

They issued a five-point plan aimed at unfreezing the flow of credit.
Friday, October 10th 2008 - 21:00 UTC
G-7: situation calls for “urgent and exceptional action”

The Group of Seven finance ministers and central governors released on Friday, following their meeting in Washington, the following plan of action to address financial disruptions
Thursday, October 9th 2008 - 21:00 UTC
IMF ready for the rescue with seven recommendations

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has activated an emergency finance mechanism to help countries hit by the financial crisis. IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Khan said the lending procedure would allow the IMF to react quickly to support countries facing funding problems.
Wednesday, October 8th 2008 - 21:00 UTC
UN sponsored accord to protect manatees, whales and dolphins

Dolphins, small whales and manatees living in the waters off West Africa or islands in the mid-Atlantic Ocean will now receive greater protection after 15 countries signed an agreement under a United Nations-backed treaty that aims to conserve wildlife and habitats.
Wednesday, October 8th 2008 - 21:00 UTC
Great Britain announces bank rescue plan

The British government has announced plans to partially nationalise the country's major banks, in a package using up to £50bn ($87.5bn) of taxpayers' money.
Wednesday, October 8th 2008 - 21:00 UTC
Google 24 hour tool tracks endangered ocean habitats

Conservationists working with Google Inc. have unveiled a tool that lets people view protected marine areas with the click of a mouse, a bid to harness the Internet's top search engine to raise awareness of endangered ocean habitats.
Wednesday, October 8th 2008 - 21:00 UTC
Oil below 90 USD prompts OPEC emergency meeting

OPEC is consulting on whether to hold an emergency meeting on November 18 to discuss the impact of the global financial crisis on the oil market, Libya's top oil official said on Wednesday.
Wednesday, October 8th 2008 - 21:00 UTC
UN plans to protect and boost poor rural areas income

Increasing nature-based enterprises could simultaneously enhance incomes for the world's rural poor and increase their resilience to economic, social and environmental threats, according to a new United Nations-backed report launched Wednesday.
Wednesday, October 8th 2008 - 21:00 UTC
US dollar soars in Chile and closes trading at 612 pesos

With no end in sight for the global financial and confidence crisis, plus the price of commodities falling, the US dollar is breaking new records in Chile having closed trading on Wednesday at 612 Chilean pesos.
Wednesday, October 8th 2008 - 21:00 UTC
Germany, France and Italy spear EU 0.2% contraction in 2Q

The economy of the euro zone contracted 0.2% in the second quarter after growing 0.7% the previous quarter, according to the latest EU data, which confirmed earlier estimates.