International

• Thursday, January 14th 2016 - 06:24 UTC

  Gibraltar logged 431 Spanish vessels' incursions into territorial waters

  

  The number of unlawful incursions by Spanish state vessels into British Gibraltar territorial waters rose last year compared to 2014. But the number of serious incidents tailed off in the final months of 2015 against the context of diplomatic efforts to increase cooperation at sea, according to a report published in the Gibraltar Chronicle.

• Thursday, January 14th 2016 - 05:48 UTC

  Rio mayor confident the city has the funds to host the 2016 Olympic Games

  

  The mayor of 2016 Olympic host city Rio de Janeiro insisted authorities had the finances to avoid disruption to the summer Games despite Brazil’s recession. Latin America's largest economy is suffering from a deep recession and soaring inflation -- a contrast to the boom times of 2009, when Rio won the right to host the Olympics.

• Thursday, January 14th 2016 - 05:37 UTC

  Suspended FIFA secretary general Jérôme Valcke has been sacked

  

  “The FIFA Emergency Committee decided on 9 January 2016 to dismiss Jérôme Valcke from the position of FIFA secretary general with immediate effect. Jérôme Valcke is therefore no longer the secretary general of FIFA,” a FIFA statement said on Wednesday.

• Wednesday, January 13th 2016 - 08:16 UTC

  Airbus delivered 635 planes last year, but was below Boeing's record

  

  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.

• Wednesday, January 13th 2016 - 04:04 UTC

  IAATO Executive Director and Falklands' resident awarded the Queen's Polar Medal

  

  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.

• Wednesday, January 13th 2016 - 03:51 UTC

  Princess Anne in the Falkland Islands laid a wreath at Liberation Monument

  

  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.

• Tuesday, January 12th 2016 - 07:10 UTC

  Messi undisputed king of the 'beautiful game': fifth Ballon d'Or

  

  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.

• Tuesday, January 12th 2016 - 06:30 UTC

  Five cups of coffee a day good for the heart and to combat diabetes, says 10-year study

  

  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.

• Monday, January 11th 2016 - 14:13 UTC

  Agreement in Catalonia puts more pressure on Madrid for a grand coalition

  

  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.

• Monday, January 11th 2016 - 13:45 UTC

  VW sales drop for the first time in eleven years following the emissions scandal

  

  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.