International

• Tuesday, August 11th 2015 - 08:18 UTC

  China devalues the currency in support of its struggling export sector

  

  China has moved aggressively to devalue its currency in a bid to support its struggling export sector as the economy shows further signs of weakness on the way to reporting its slowest annual pace of growth in 25 years. The People's Bank of China surprised the market on Tuesday weakening the fix on its daily reference rate for the Yuan by a record 1.9%.

• Tuesday, August 11th 2015 - 08:06 UTC

  Google restructures creating new parent company, Alphabet

  

  Google has unveiled a surprise restructuring, creating a new parent company called Alphabet Inc. Under the rebranding, Google will retain its best-known businesses, such as search, apps, YouTube and Android.

• Tuesday, August 11th 2015 - 07:55 UTC

  Argentina wins a battle in its ongoing struggle with hedge funds

  

  Argentina on Monday won a battle in its ongoing struggle with hedge funds holding sovereign bonds. In this case Argentina managed the reversal of a U.S. judge's ruling that a group of bondholders suing over its defaulted debt said entitled them to $700 million.

• Monday, August 10th 2015 - 07:20 UTC

  Pope Francis criticizes destruction of forests to plant soy bean

  

  Pope Francis criticized the destruction of forests in order to plant soy in an interview with an Argentine radio station on Saturday, reinforcing his message that the environment should take precedence over financial gain.

• Monday, August 10th 2015 - 07:00 UTC

  Dairy and vegetable oils prices help FAO's July food index reach its lowest since 2009

  

  Prices for major food commodities in July hit their lowest average monthly level since September 2009 as sharp drops in the prices of dairy products and vegetable oils more than offset some increases for those of sugar and cereals. Meat prices, meanwhile, remained stable.

• Monday, August 10th 2015 - 06:46 UTC

  Global oil supply more fragile than you think

  

  Many oil companies had trimmed their budgets heading into 2015 to deal with lower oil prices. But the rebound in April and May to $60 per barrel from the mid-$40s suggested that the severe drop was merely temporary.

• Monday, August 10th 2015 - 06:38 UTC

  “Spain acting as an aggressor and not a European partner” with Gibraltar

  

  Gibraltar’s Conservative MEP Ashley Fox is compiling a dossier of constituent complaints and experiences of crossing the border in and out of Gibraltar. Mr Fox will hand the dossier to the EU Commission and says it will show Spain is acting “as an aggressor and not a European partner”, according to a report from the Gibraltar Chronicle.

• Monday, August 10th 2015 - 06:21 UTC

  UK calls 'outrageous' and 'unlawful', Spanish incursions in Gibraltar waters

  

  Spain has been accused of an “outrageous” and “unlawful” violation of British sovereignty after boats entered UK waters in Gibraltar on Sunday. Helicopters were also flown over a beach on the British territory as Spanish police chased criminals on the water, a move branded extremely dangerous by the Government of Gibraltar.

• Monday, August 10th 2015 - 06:05 UTC

  Scotland to ban growing genetically modified crops

  

  Scotland is to ban the growing of genetically modified crops, the country's rural affairs secretary has announced. Richard Lochhead said the Scottish government was not prepared to “gamble” with the future of the country's £14bn food and drink sector.

• Monday, August 10th 2015 - 05:50 UTC

  World Lion Day, Monday 10 August to celebrate the King of Beasts

  

  World Lion Day is to be remembered on Monday, August 10, and to celebrate this first campaign to protect the imposing animal many websites are dedicating amazing photos of the King of Beasts, as it is sometimes called.