International

• Friday, January 15th 2016 - 07:31 UTC

  Departing Spanish minister joins Argentine bandwagon claiming 'Malvinas dialogue'

  

  Spanish Foreign Secretary Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo has delivered what could possibly be his last comment on Spain’s claim to Gibraltar’s sovereignty in his current role. The official has jumped on the bandwagon of a new Argentine platform seeking international support for the return of the Falkland Islands and urging UK to agree to bilateral talks over Gibraltar’s sovereignty.

• Thursday, January 14th 2016 - 06:54 UTC

  Argentina needs to reach an agreement with holdouts, insists Prat-Gay

  

  Argentina's new finance minister said on Wednesday it was imperative to resolve the country's legal dispute with U.S. creditors over unpaid debt because financing of the country's fiscal deficit this year may depend on progress on the issue.

• Thursday, January 14th 2016 - 06:33 UTC

  Socialist becomes Spain's parliament speaker; no agreement yet on new government

  

  Spain's parliament held its first session Wednesday, with lawmakers from four main parties taking their seats at a time of political turmoil. Lawmakers picked a Socialist, Patxi Lopez, a former head of the regional government of the northern Basque Country, as parliamentary speaker, in the first pact between rival parties still engaged in talks to form a government since last month's inconclusive election.

• Thursday, January 14th 2016 - 06:24 UTC

  Gibraltar logged 431 Spanish vessels' incursions into territorial waters

  

  The number of unlawful incursions by Spanish state vessels into British Gibraltar territorial waters rose last year compared to 2014. But the number of serious incidents tailed off in the final months of 2015 against the context of diplomatic efforts to increase cooperation at sea, according to a report published in the Gibraltar Chronicle.

• Thursday, January 14th 2016 - 05:48 UTC

  Rio mayor confident the city has the funds to host the 2016 Olympic Games

  

  The mayor of 2016 Olympic host city Rio de Janeiro insisted authorities had the finances to avoid disruption to the summer Games despite Brazil’s recession. Latin America's largest economy is suffering from a deep recession and soaring inflation -- a contrast to the boom times of 2009, when Rio won the right to host the Olympics.

• Thursday, January 14th 2016 - 05:37 UTC

  Suspended FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke has been sacked

  

  “The FIFA Emergency Committee decided on 9 January 2016 to dismiss Jérôme Valcke from the position of FIFA secretary general with immediate effect. Jérôme Valcke is therefore no longer the secretary general of FIFA,” a FIFA statement said on Wednesday.

• Wednesday, January 13th 2016 - 08:16 UTC

  Airbus delivered 635 planes last year, but was below Boeing's record

  

  Airbus delivered a record number of planes in 2015 but failed to dethrone Boeing as the world's biggest aircraft manufacturer. The European company delivered a record 635 planes last year, compared with a tally of 762 jets for Boeing.

• Wednesday, January 13th 2016 - 04:04 UTC

  IAATO Executive Director and Falklands' resident awarded the Queen's Polar Medal

  

  Dr Kim Crosbie, IAATO Executive Director, and IAATO Member Jérôme Poncet of Golden Fleece Expeditions who is a resident of the Falkland Islands, have been awarded the Queen’s Polar Medal. The announcement was made last week in The London Gazette.

• Wednesday, January 13th 2016 - 03:51 UTC

  Princess Anne in the Falkland Islands laid a wreath at Liberation Monument

  

  Due to adverse weather, the timings for the two events which were due to take place in the Falkland Islands later this month on the occasion of the visit of HRH The Princess Royal Anne and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence took place on Tuesday in Stanley.

• Tuesday, January 12th 2016 - 07:10 UTC

  Messi undisputed king of the 'beautiful game': fifth Ballon d'Or

  

  Lionel Messi reclaimed the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for the world player of the year on Monday, after watching his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo walk off with the prize for the previous two years. The Argentine Barcelona forward finished ahead of Ronaldo and Brazil forward Neymar as he scooped the award for a record fifth time overall, having previously won it four years in a row from 2009 to 2012.