International

• Saturday, January 9th 2016 - 07:34 UTC

  Platini drops out of FIFA presidential race; Infantino and Ebrahim Al Khalifa, leading candidates

  

  Suspended UEFA chief Michel Platini has withdrawn from the FIFA presidential race as he fights to clear his name following an eight-year ban. Platini was banned by FIFA's ethics judge in December over a “disloyal” $2 million payment he received from Sepp Blatter in 2011. It virtually ended his dreams of succeeding Blatter at the helm of FIFA in the Feb. 26 election.

• Friday, January 8th 2016 - 20:02 UTC

  FAO: major food commodities prices declined in 2015 for the fourth year running

  

  Prices of major food commodities declined for the fourth year in a row in 2015, averaging 19.1% below their previous-year's levels, as the dwindling global economy also triggered sharp price falls from metals to energy markets.

• Friday, January 8th 2016 - 11:06 UTC

  Argentina and Uruguay will bid to jointly host 2030 World Cup

  

  Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez and Argentine counterpart Mauricio Macri agreed on Thursday that their countries will present a joint bid to host the World Cup in 2030, a century after Uruguay was the site of the first tournament.

• Thursday, January 7th 2016 - 09:19 UTC

  Rockhopper faces challenge with offshore exploration project in Italy

  

  Rockhopper Exploration PLC on Wednesday was forced back to the drawing board to review its Ombrina Mare project offshore Italy after the country's parliament reintroduced restrictions on activity near the coast. The news could be a blow to the company, which is set to merge with Falkland Oil & Gas Ltd, after Falkland Oil shareholders approved the deal on Tuesday.

• Thursday, January 7th 2016 - 09:13 UTC

  UN declares 2016 the International Year of Pulses

  

  The United Nations 68th General Assembly declared 2016 the International Year of Pulses (IYP) and FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) has been nominated to facilitate the implementation of the Year in collaboration with Governments, relevant organizations, non-governmental organizations and all other relevant stakeholders.

• Thursday, January 7th 2016 - 08:55 UTC

  UK Labour split turns into open crevasse following Corbyn's 'revenge reshuffle'

  

  British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn tried to assert some authority over the Labour Party this week but his “revenge reshuffle” appeared only to worsen divisions between moderates and his leftist inner circle. Four months into the hard left veteran's tenure following his surprise leadership election win, Corbyn sacked two frontbench moderates for alleged disloyalty and demoted his defence spokeswoman with one commentator calling the situation inside the party “nuts”.

• Thursday, January 7th 2016 - 08:46 UTC

  World bank slashes 2016 global economy growth forecast; points to disappointing “China and Brazil”

  

  World Bank slashed its growth forecast for the global economy in 2016, citing “disappointing” growth in major emerging market economies like China and Brazil. The bank has cut its previous June forecast for global economic expansion in 2016 by 0.4 percentage point to 2.9%, though that is still faster than 2015's sluggish 2.4%, which itself missed an earlier prediction.

• Thursday, January 7th 2016 - 08:30 UTC

  Spain calls for dialogue on Gibraltar and Falklands; UK reiterates support for self determination

  

  The United Kingdom has reiterated that the sovereignty of Gibraltar is not a matter for discussion or negotiation with Spain. This follows a call by the Spanish Foreign Ministry for a resumption of bilateral dialogue with the UK over Gibraltar.

• Thursday, January 7th 2016 - 08:17 UTC

  Macri will become first Argentine president to attend Davos forum in twelve years

  

  For the first time in twelve years and Argentine president will be attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland that runs between January 20-23. President Mauricio Macri will be present together with ally Sergio Massa, leader of dissident Peronist Renewall Front, in order to attract investment.

• Wednesday, January 6th 2016 - 12:10 UTC

  FIFA recommends nine-year ban from football for secretary general Valcke

  

  FIFA investigators have recommended a nine-year ban from football for suspended secretary general Jerome Valcke for seven alleged ethics violations. Suspended in September over allegations linking him to a 2014 World Cup ticketing scam, Valcke’s provisional 90-day suspension expires on Tuesday.