International

• Friday, November 6th 2015 - 14:54 UTC

  Why America invented Ahmad Chalabi

  

  The following piece by Gideon Rose (*) was published in The New York Times Opinion page and helps to understand much about the Iraq war and ongoing instability.

• Friday, November 6th 2015 - 08:57 UTC

  Two British bankers convicted in the US for manipulation of the Libor rate

  

  Two British bankers have been convicted by a New York jury of manipulating inter-bank lending rates. Anthony Allen and Anthony Conti were charged with conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud and committing wire fraud, by misreporting the London interbank offered rate (Libor) as it related to the US dollar. Both worked for Dutch lender Rabobank.

• Friday, November 6th 2015 - 08:23 UTC

  Recovery at “a modest pace” in the EU and Euro-zone next year

  

  The economic recovery within the European Union and the eurozone should continue at “a modest pace” next year, the EU has forecast. The economy of the 28-nation EU is set to grow by 1.9% this year, 2.0% in 2016 and by 2.1% the year after.

• Friday, November 6th 2015 - 08:05 UTC

  The ambitious TPP trade deal full text of 6.000 pages released to the public

  

  The long-awaited text of the landmark trade deal called the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has been released to the public for the first time. The text still has to be translated into the languages of the signatories. The TPP is one of the world's most extensive trade agreements, bringing together 12 Pacific rim countries, including the US and Japan.

• Friday, November 6th 2015 - 07:49 UTC

  Malvinas war Argentine film screened to Falklands veterans at embassy

  

  British veterans of the 1982 Falklands/Malvinas conflict met with Argentine ex-combatant Edgardo Esteban at the Embassy of Argentina in London where an Argentine produced film about the war was screened.

• Thursday, November 5th 2015 - 07:30 UTC

  Beijing and Taiwan leaders to meet for the first time in 66 years, in Singapore

  

  Just weeks before Taiwan holds general and presidential elections, Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou announced he will hold face-to-face talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Singapore. The meeting Saturday will be the first between Taiwanese and Chinese leaders since 1949 and authorities in China are predicting it will be a “major historic milestone” in the development of cross-strait relations.

• Thursday, November 5th 2015 - 07:17 UTC

  Liberal chief Justin Trudeau, 43, takes office with a gender-balanced cabinet

  

  Justin Trudeau was sworn in Wednesday as Canada's prime minister, ending 10 years of Conservative rule. Trudeau led his Liberal Party to a commanding victory in parliamentary elections last month, taking 184 seats compared with 99 for Stephen Harper's Conservative Party.

• Thursday, November 5th 2015 - 06:13 UTC

  Francis battle to combat Vatican corruption and out of control spending exposed in two books

  

  The scale of the challenge facing Pope Francis as he struggles to overhaul the Vatican’s finances was exposed on Wednesday by the publication of confidential documents and private recordings of his meetings. In effect just months after his election in 2013, Francis demanded a clampdown on uncontrolled spending by the Vatican.

• Thursday, November 5th 2015 - 05:38 UTC

  Putin, Merkel and Obama, in that order, the world's three most powerful people, according to Forbes

  

  Russia's President Vladimir Putin (No. 1) takes the top spot out of 73 on Forbes’ seventh annual ranking of “The World’s Most Powerful People” for the third year in a row. German Chancellor Angela Merkel (No. 2) moved up 3 spots from last year, while President Barack Obama (No. 3) dropped 1 spot, making it the first year a sitting U.S. President has not made it into the top 2 spots.

• Wednesday, November 4th 2015 - 07:55 UTC

  Moody's bets are on Macri: upgrades Argentina's debt rating to 'stable' from 'negative'

  

  Following the first round of presidential elections in Argentina on Oct. 25, which the ruling party won by a lower-than-expected margin, credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service upgraded on Monday the country's debt rating to “stable” from “negative.”