International

• Tuesday, December 1st 2015 - 07:53 UTC

  Yuan joins the exclusive club of IMF's basket of reserve currencies

  

  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced that China's currency, the Yuan, will join the fund's basket of reserve currencies. Currently just the US dollar, the euro, the yen and the pound are in the group.

• Monday, November 30th 2015 - 07:51 UTC

  EU hopes Macri's election will give new impetus to trade talks with Mercosur

  

  The European Union said it hopes the election of a centre-right government in Argentina will give new impetus to stalled talks on a free trade pact with Mercosur, the Latin American bloc.

• Monday, November 30th 2015 - 07:32 UTC

  OAS Secretary General open letter regarding Venezuela's pre-electoral climate

  

  The following open letter from the Organization of American States Secretary General Luis Almagro was addressed to president Nicolás Maduro regarding the pre-electoral climate in Venezuela, which is holding legislative elections next Sunday in very questionable and controversial conditions for opposition candidates.

• Monday, November 30th 2015 - 07:18 UTC

  Queen's honour for Spaniard who helped develop Falklands' fishing industry

  

  Spanish citizen Jose Antonio Cordeiro Otero has received the Falkland Islands’ Queen’s Certificate and Badge of Honor in recognition of his services to the Falkland Islands and particularly for his work in the fishing industry. The award was presented by the British Ambassador Simon Manley during a ceremony at the Ambassador’s Residence in Madrid.

• Monday, November 30th 2015 - 07:03 UTC

  What I expect from the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris

  

  By Ban Ki-Moon (*) - For the nearly nine years that I have been Secretary-General, I have travelled the world to the front-lines of climate change, and I have spoken repeatedly with world leaders, business people and citizens about the need for an urgent global response

• Monday, November 30th 2015 - 06:18 UTC

  Cameron urges Commonwealth countries to lead the fight against corruption

  

  Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron has urged Commonwealth countries to lead the fight against corruption at the summit in Malta, ahead of a landmark conference on the issue in the UK next year.

• Sunday, November 29th 2015 - 09:10 UTC

  South American football association revolving door at full steam

  

  The head of Brazilian football, Marco Polo del Nero, has finally bowed to the pressure and agreed to resign from FIFA's Executive Committee after being a no-show for the last six months amid fears he could be caught up in the burgeoning corruption scandal.

• Sunday, November 29th 2015 - 08:58 UTC

  FIFA ethics committee recovers 48 of 65 watches handed at Brazil's World Cup

  

  FIFA’s ethics committee has recovered 48 of 65 watches handed out to football officials last summer in a breach of the federation’s rules. Parmigiani watches worth $26,600 each were left in gift bags for the 28 FIFA ExCo members by the Brazilian football federation (CBF) during the World Cup.

• Saturday, November 28th 2015 - 07:17 UTC

  Commonwealth summit opens in Malta; counter extremism top of the agenda

  

  Britain's Queen opened on Friday a two-day summit of leaders of the 53 Commonwealth nations in Malta. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm), held every two years, will focus on climate change, with talks on security issues also expected.

• Saturday, November 28th 2015 - 06:45 UTC

  “Tsunami support” re-elects Gibraltar Chief minister Fabian Picardo

  

  Gibraltar's incumbent Chief Minister Fabian Picardo thanked his supporters for their “tsunami of support” on Friday after he won a landslide victory in a general election.