Stories for July 9th 2012

Monday, July 9th 2012 - 12:26 UTC
France and Germany re-enact De Gaulle/Adenauer peace and reconciliation pact

The leaders of France and Germany joined in a symbolic celebration of unity, hailing a relationship that has brought peace to Europe for 50 years but must now prove it can survive its most serious crisis to date.
Monday, July 9th 2012 - 12:22 UTC
Majority of Spaniards say Gibraltar is and issue of little interest for foreign policy

A survey by the leading Spanish think tank Real Instituto Elcano has found that nearly 60% of those polled believe Gibraltar is of little or no importance to Spanish foreign policy.
Monday, July 9th 2012 - 12:20 UTC
Italy announces further cuts in expenditure and freezes government hiring

Italy's government has agreed to cut spending by 26bn Euros over the next three years to plug the gap between spending and income. The cuts, approved after seven hours of talks, include a 10% reduction in the number of civil servants and cuts to healthcare and come as Italy struggles to keep the faith of investors.
Monday, July 9th 2012 - 06:17 UTC
Peña Nieto confirmed as Mexican president but won’t have majority in Congress

Enrique Peña Nieto won Mexico's July 1 presidential election by 3.3 million ballots, or almost 7 percentage points, although allegations of excessive campaign spending and voter fraud could be reviewed by the electoral tribunal, officials said.
Monday, July 9th 2012 - 06:13 UTC
UK Serious Fraud Office investigating the rigging of the Libor rate

The United Kingdom Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has confirmed that it has formally launched an investigation into the rigging of inter-bank lending rates. The case could lead to criminal charges being brought against individuals.
Monday, July 9th 2012 - 06:09 UTC
China inflation down to a 29-month-low in June: 2.2%

China’s consumer-price inflation eased to a 29-month low in June, giving Premier Wen Jiabao more room to relax economic policies after the second interest-rate cut in a month. The consumer price index rose 2.2% percent from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said in Beijing. Producer prices dropped 2.1%.
Monday, July 9th 2012 - 06:05 UTC
Influential Brazilian banker says further weakening of the Real “would be better”

Luciano Coutinho president of Brazil’s state development bank BNDES, said the country has benefited from the recent weakening of its currency and a further drop would be better, according to newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo.
Monday, July 9th 2012 - 05:59 UTC
Chavez announces trip to Brazil for Venezuela’s formal admission to Mercosur

President Hugo Chavez said he will be attending at the end of July the coming Mercosur meeting in Brasil when Venezuela will officially become the group’s fifth full member, a decision that has proved controversial and exposed differences inside the Common Market of the South.
Monday, July 9th 2012 - 05:51 UTC
Brazilian Air Force delays for another six months bidding for huge contract

Brazilian Air Force has asked bidders to renew their offers on a contract to provide 36 next-generation fighter jets, extending for six months a race between US, French and Swedish contestants.
Monday, July 9th 2012 - 05:35 UTC
Reports of a serious outbreak of cholera in Cuba; Havana says it is under control

According to the BBC a patient has been diagnosed with cholera in the Cuban capital, Havana, days after three people died in a rare outbreak in the south-eastern town of Manzanillo.