International

• 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.”

• Wednesday, November 4th 2015 - 07:18 UTC

  Australia announces construction of new icebreaker and more funds for Antarctic research

  

  The Australian government has provided the first look at Australia's new icebreaker, a ship it says will offer scientists unprecedented and extended access to the Southern Ocean and Antarctica.

• Wednesday, November 4th 2015 - 06:45 UTC

  Falklands lawmaker meets Red Cross chief to discuss identification of Argentine soldiers remains

  

  The President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Peter Maurer, met on Monday with representatives of the authorities of the United Kingdom and of the Falkland Islands to discuss a process seeking to identify the remains of a number of unidentified Argentine soldiers buried at Darwin cemetery in Falklands/Malvinas Islands.

• Tuesday, November 3rd 2015 - 12:38 UTC

  Chinese manufacturing contracts for third month running

  

  Chinese manufacturing has contracted for the third month in a row, according to the government's latest factory survey. The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) showed a reading of 49.8 for October, unchanged from last month. A figure below 50 indicates that factory activity contracted.

• Tuesday, November 3rd 2015 - 10:03 UTC

  HSBC profits up following massive cut of jobs and sale of assets

  

  Lower costs from regulatory fines have contributed to higher profits for HSBC. Pre-tax profit at Europe's biggest lender jumped 32% from a year ago in the third quarter, beating analysts' expectations. Profit reached $6.1bn, up from $4.6bn in the same period a year earlier and above forecasts of $5.2bn.