International

• Tuesday, October 11th 2016 - 03:20 UTC

  Brazil's prosecutor office questions spending cap: fears it could limit corruption investigations

  

  Brazil’s Prosecutor-General’s Office questioned the constitutionality of President Michel Temer’s proposed public spending cap and recommended that Congress shelve the austerity measures. The office said in a statement the proposal interferes with the autonomy of other federal powers and would weaken the country’s judicial system, handicapping efforts to combat corruption.

• Monday, October 10th 2016 - 23:13 UTC

  Global debt reached 225% of world GDP; concern with private debt buildup in China and Brazil

  

  The world is swimming in a record US$152 trillion in debt, the IMF said on Wednesday, even as the institution encourages some countries to spend more to boost flagging growth if they can afford it. Global debt, both public and private, reached 225% of global economic output last year, up from about 200% in 2002, the IMF said in its new Fiscal Monitor report.

• Monday, October 10th 2016 - 19:03 UTC

  FAO September food price index 10% higher over a year ago; dairy prices up 13.8% in a month

  

  The FAO Food Price Index averaged 170.9 points in September, up 2.9% from August and 10% from a year earlier. The increase was driven by a 13.8% monthly jump in the FAO Dairy Price Index, partly as a result of a sharp jump in butter prices benefiting exporters in the EU, where dairy output is declining.

• Monday, October 10th 2016 - 18:57 UTC

  Airline industry agrees to significantly reduce jetliners carbon emissions

  

  The airline industry agreed on a framework for reducing its carbon footprint at a UN meeting in Montreal, the first commercial sector on its own to tackle climate change. Six years of negotiations culminated in what International Civil Aviation Organization president Azharuddin Abdul Rahman called a “historic” deal at the ICAO's plenary session to cap carbon-dioxide emissions by 2035 at 2020 levels.

• Monday, October 10th 2016 - 11:38 UTC

  Record global productions of wheat, rice and corn will keep prices low

  

  Global food markets will likely remain “generally well balanced” in the year ahead, as prices for most internationally-traded agricultural commodities are relatively low and stable, FAO said. The benign outlook, especially for staple grains, is poised to lower the world food import bill to a six-year low, according to the Food Outlook.

• Monday, October 10th 2016 - 10:35 UTC

  Fed vice chairman sees the anti-globalization political speech as main threat to trade and growth

  

  Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said a rising tide of opposition to international trade and integration threatens global growth. Global trade this year will grow at the slowest pace since 2007, according to the World Trade Organization.

• Monday, October 10th 2016 - 10:14 UTC

  Brexit controversy: UK major business call on PM May to preserve free trade with Europe

  

  A group of major business lobby groups has written an open letter urging the United Kingdom government to preserve barrier free trade with Europe. The letter is signed by leaders of the Confederation of British Industry, CBI, and manufacturers' body the EEF.

• Saturday, October 8th 2016 - 11:13 UTC

  Antarctica celebrates 25th anniversary of the Environment Protection Protocol

  

  Tuesday 4 October was the 25th anniversary of the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty which was created in order to protect the unique and pristine Antarctic landscape. The Protocol designates Antarctica as a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science; and bans the commercial extraction of minerals (mining and drilling).

• Saturday, October 8th 2016 - 11:04 UTC

  “The Spanish flag will never fly over Gibraltar, neither in four or 4.000 years ”

  

  Neither in four years or in 4,000 or any other longer time, the Spanish flag will never fly over Gibraltar. It’s “No way, Jose”, so get used to it”, was the direct and clear message from Chief Minister Fabian Picardo to the Caretaker Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo who on Wednesday night vowed to “plant his flag on Gibraltar”.

• Saturday, October 8th 2016 - 10:47 UTC

  Fracking controversy erupts in UK following approval of shale gas industry request

  

  Horizontal fracking can go ahead, the British government has said, in a landmark ruling for the UK shale gas industry. Communities Secretary Sajid Javid has approved plans for fracking at Cuadrilla's Preston New Road site at Little Plumpton in Lancashire.