
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.

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.

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.

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.

A major US study has found that people who drink up to five cups of coffee daily are less likely to die from health issues such as heart disease and diabetes compared to those who don’t drink coffee at all. The 10-year study found that the more coffee people drank, the less likely they were to die early. The results were similar with people who drank decaffeinated coffee.

A fiercely secessionist leader was elected president of the wealthy region of Catalonia thanks to a last-minute show of unity, giving fresh impetus to attempts to break away from Spain after months of infighting. The appointment of Carles Puigdemont, just hours before a deadline which would have forced fresh regional elections, drew an immediate rebuke from Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

German carmaker Volkswagen has posted its first drop in VW brand sales in 11 years as the company continues to cope with its emissions scandal. Sales of VW brand cars fell 4.8% in 2015 to 5.82 million cars from 6.12 million a year earlier. Falling demand in China and US added to the losses as orders fell in December.

Boeing looks to have cemented its position as the world's biggest aircraft manufacturer after delivering a record 762 planes last year. The figure exceeds Boeing's previous forecast that it would deliver between 755 and 760 aircraft.

Prime Minister David Cameron says he is hopeful of reaching a deal with European leaders in February that will allow him to hold the UK's EU referendum. The prime minister said the in-out vote would follow if agreement was reached on his reforms at next month's summit. He also said he would stay on as PM even if he ended up on the losing side.

Almost three weeks on from Spain’s election, which left a fragmented Parliament, Socialist Party leader Pedro Sánchez ruled out a coalition with the conservative People’s Party (PP) on Thursday and said he was seeking “a grand alliance of progressive forces” to lead the country.