Stories for 2015

Saturday, October 31st 2015 - 07:14 UTC
Falklands' visit early next year for Shadow Foreign minister Stephen Doughty

Cardiff South and Penarth MP Stephen Doughty has become the shadow minister responsible for Africa, South Asia and the Falkland Islands, reports Walesonline. The Labour MP takes on the role at a time when the UK is responding to the migrant crisis in North Africa and tensions have heightened between Britain and Argentina over the future of the Falklands, the Islands which he plans to visit early next year.
Saturday, October 31st 2015 - 07:04 UTC
Griesa accepts 'me too' claims and raises Argentina's bond debt to US$ 9bn

US judge Thomas Griesa on Friday accepted the priority repayment claims of hundreds more Argentine bondholders who did not join a huge debt restructuring. The ruling, on 49 complaints representing debt worth $6.1 billion, added fresh pressure on Buenos Aires which has refused to pay off two hedge fund creditors that already won court support for their claims.
Saturday, October 31st 2015 - 06:51 UTC
Venezuela seeking an additional 12 Sukhoi fighter jets from Russia

Venezuela will allocate $480 million to upgrade its Sukhoi fighter jets from Russia. “President Nicolas Maduro just authorized the payment of $480 million so that the service life of our Sukhoi planes and continue to fulfill their duty and give protection to the Venezuelan airspace,” Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez was quoted, by Moscow's Sputnik news agency on Thursday.
Saturday, October 31st 2015 - 06:42 UTC
Unemployment in recession-hit Brazil climbing: 8.8 million looking for jobs

Unemployment in recession deep Brazil climbed to 8.7% of active population in the quarter ending last August, the government said Thursday. The indicator shows a steep hike from the 6.9% recorded in August 2014, according to statistics of the National Study of Households (PNAD), published by the state Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE).
Saturday, October 31st 2015 - 06:26 UTC
El Niño turns the world's most arid desert into a blossomed carpet

One of the driest places on Earth has blossomed after some unusual rain earlier this year. The Atacama Desert, primarily located in Chile along the Pacific Ocean, is flush with flowers after relatively heavy precipitation in March and August fell in the drought-stricken region.
Saturday, October 31st 2015 - 06:08 UTC
Frustration with CCAMLR meeting: no advance on conservation proposals

The 34th meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Marine Living Resources closed Friday in Hobart, Tasmania with the unexpected emergence of China as a supporter for a revised Ross Sea MPA. The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) described the Commission’s slow progress to live up to its conservation responsibilities as “challenging”.
Friday, October 30th 2015 - 08:09 UTC
New Zealand rejects controversial sale of iconic dairy farm to Chinese company

Chinese conglomerate Shanghai Pengxin Group has been on a buying spree ever since it entered New Zealand in 2011. The food giant has bought 29 farms through local subsidiaries to become the country's third largest dairy producer.
Friday, October 30th 2015 - 08:03 UTC
WHO clarification: moderate consumption of meat, particularly preserved meat

The World Health Organization, WHO, has received a number of queries, expressions of concern and requests for clarification following the publication of a report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) relating to processed meat and colorectal cancer.
Friday, October 30th 2015 - 07:48 UTC
Chinese couples allowed to have a second child; policy was imposed in 1979 to slow population growth

China has decided to end its decades-long one-child policy, the state-run Xinhua news agency reports. Couples will now be allowed to have two children, it said, citing a statement from the Communist Party. The controversial policy was introduced nationally in 1979, to slow the population growth rate.
Friday, October 30th 2015 - 07:39 UTC
US growth slows sharply in the third quarter; consumer spending strong at 3.2%

United States growth slowed sharply in the third quarter of the year. GDP grew at an annualized pace of 1.5% between July and September, according to the Department of Commerce, down from 3.9% in the second quarter. The slowdown was partly due to companies running down stockpiles of goods in their warehouses.