Turkish planes and helicopter gunships bombed Kurdish rebels along the border with Iraq today.

Robert Zoellick, a nimble negotiator who has criss-crossed the globe as President George Bush’s trade chief and as the number two US diplomat, is the White House’s choice for the next World Bank presidency.

Caribbean officials yesterday criticised a World Trade Organisation ruling against a new EU tariff on imported bananas, saying the move could squeeze regional producers out of a market vital to their fragile economies.

Three Caribbean trade ministers will visit Europe next week to lobby against an EU proposal to slash Caribbean sugar subsidies, an official said yesterday.

The EU and China stepped up their cooperation today, signing agreements on education and development of clean energy.