International

• Friday, February 27th 2015 - 08:29 UTC

  Trelew in Patagonia and Caernarfon in Wales to be linked as 'sister-cities'

  

  Trelew in Argentine Patagonia and Caernarfon in Wales will be linked as 'sister-cities' during a ceremony scheduled for next Saturday, attended by Lord Dafydd Wigley and a Welsh delegation visiting the country in anticipation of this year's 150th anniversary of the first Cymru settlement in southern Argentina.

• Friday, February 27th 2015 - 05:46 UTC

  Argentine Congress approves 'strategic integral alliance' agreements with China

  

  Despite the strong questioning from the opposition, the manufacturers' lobby and many unions, the Argentine ruling coalition mustered sufficient votes in the Lower House to pass the controversial package of cooperation, economic and investment agreements between Argentina and China.

• Thursday, February 26th 2015 - 23:21 UTC

  Gibraltar's vital role for the US Navy's operations is underlined

  

  Gibraltar plays a ‘vital’ role for the US Navy’s submarine operations at a time of increased Russian naval activity, a US think tank said. The Heritage Foundation made the statement in its Index of US Military Strength 2015, a wide-ranging annual research project that assesses the ability of the United States Armed Forces.

• Thursday, February 26th 2015 - 17:30 UTC

  Is oil returning to 100 dollars or dropping to 10?

  

  If you have been following the price of oil over the last few months, the chances are you're a little confused. On the one hand you have the likes of A. Gary Shilling who, in this Bloomberg article, loudly trumpets the prospect of oil at $10/Barrel, and on the other there is T. Boone Pickens, who, at the end of last year was predicting a return to $100 within 12-18 months.

• Wednesday, February 25th 2015 - 16:41 UTC

  The easy oil is gone so where do we look now?

  

  In 2008, Canadian economist Jeff Rubin stunned the oil market with a bold prediction: With the world economy growing at 5% a year, oil demand would grow with it, outpacing supply, thus lifting the oil price from $147 to over $200 a barrel.

• Wednesday, February 25th 2015 - 05:01 UTC

  China prepared to help Argentina recover its air force with new fighter jets

  

  China has agreed to supply Argentina with new fighter jets that will replace its aging fleet of single-engine Dassault Mirage planes. Defense experts said two types of China-developed fighters are likely candidates: the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation-built FC-1/JF-17 and the J-10, according to a report from Chinatopix.

• Wednesday, February 25th 2015 - 04:38 UTC

  German court rules against Argentina on bonds' interest payments

  

  Argentina lost a ruling at Germany’s top civil court over interest payments on bonds it sold to investors in the European country that don’t have terms that allow for restructuring by a majority vote of creditors, according to a report from Bloomberg at Karlsruhe.

• Wednesday, February 25th 2015 - 04:33 UTC

  HSBC reports 17% fall in annual pretax profit; 3.7bn provision for settlements and fines

  

  HSBC reported a 17% fall in annual pretax profit and cut its profitability target, saying allegations its Swiss business had helped customers to dodge taxes had brought shame on the bank. Results from Europe's biggest bank reflected the cost of past misconduct and of protecting itself against the impact of further scandals.

• Wednesday, February 25th 2015 - 04:23 UTC

  HSBC singles Brazil, Mexico and U.S. as 'problem areas': 12/24 months to prove their worth

  

  HSBC singled out three large markets in the Americas, Brazil, Mexico and the U.S., as problem areas in which its businesses need to shape up or face restructuring, including possible asset sales. “We're talking of 12 to 24 months”.

• Wednesday, February 25th 2015 - 04:07 UTC

  Falklands' war zone coverage controversy rages in US media; Fox to the rescue of O'Reilly

  

  Controversy over the coverage by US reporters of the 1982 Falklands conflict continues to rage in US media, since Fox News top star Bill O'Reilly admitted that at the time, working for CBS News, he was based in Buenos Aires, far from the 'war zone' as he had characterized his task.