International

• Monday, December 8th 2014 - 23:25 UTC

  Commemoration Service for Battles of Coronel and the Falklands at London's St Martin-in-the-Fields

  

  The first two significant naval battles of the First World War were commemorated in London and the Falklands in parallel church services on the 8th December – a hundred years after these momentous events took place.

• Monday, December 8th 2014 - 11:09 UTC

  Ten months of 2014 the hottest on record; land surface temperature up 2 Celsius degrees

  

  Despite the record early snowfall in parts of the United States in recent weeks, 2014 is shaping up to be the hottest year on record and according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, the first ten months of this year have been the hottest since record keeping began more than 130 years ago.

• Monday, December 8th 2014 - 07:18 UTC

  Argentina claims BBC Top Gear had three different plates and planned to set the cars on fire

  

  The BBC Top Gear team which last October toured Argentina with three vehicles and which triggered a strong controversy apparently had three different plates in just one car and tried to torch the vehicles to cause further 'scandal', according to reports from the Patagonian police which were attached to a second letter sent by Argentine ambassador Alicia Castro to the BBC Executive Board.

• Monday, December 8th 2014 - 07:04 UTC

  Lagarde wishes to continue improving relations with Argentina

  

  The head of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde said she wishes to “continue improving” the relationship between the IMF and Argentina, while at the same time focusing on the necessities of the region's third largest economy which is not growing as fast as it should.

• Monday, December 8th 2014 - 05:16 UTC

  Their Grave is the Sea - 1914 Naval Battles: Coronel and Falklands

  

  By Harold Briley (*) Early in World War One the Royal Navy suffered one of its most disastrous defeats followed five weeks later by one of its most decisive victories. In the Battle of the Falkland Islands on 8 December, 1914, all five battle cruisers of the German East Asian Squadron and its support ships were defeated with nearly 2,000 men killed including their commander, Vice Admiral Graf von Spee. No British ships were lost and only eight British sailors were killed.

• Saturday, December 6th 2014 - 04:15 UTC

  Chile consulted Argentina before allowing HMS Dragon to dock in Valparaiso

  

  Chilean foreign minister Jorge Burgos revealed this week that the presence of HMS Dragon in Valparaiso was authorized after having consulted with Argentina, and underlined that Chile strictly abides with what was agreed regarding the passage of British vessels through Chilean waters.

• Friday, December 5th 2014 - 23:56 UTC

  UK ambassador underscores shared values and qualities of Royal and Chilean navies

  

  UK ambassador in Chile Fiona Clouder underlined the values and qualities of the Royal Navy and Chilean Navy during a reception on HMS Dragon, which called at Valparaíso for the week long Exponaval 2014, considered the most important naval, maritime and ports' exhibition in the southern hemisphere.

• Friday, December 5th 2014 - 23:41 UTC

  Top Gear incident in Argentina: “Foreign Office did not incur in any additional assistance costs”

  

  The Foreign Office did not incur any costs in providing assistance to the BBC Top Gear team which was recently in an Argentine tour and was forced to leave the country under protection, following alleged disrespectful references to the 1982 Falklands war by the team.

• Friday, December 5th 2014 - 06:50 UTC

  Could falling oil prices spark a financial crisis?

  

  The oil and gas boom in the United States was made possible by the extensive credit afforded to drillers. Not only has financing come from company shareholders and traditional banks, but hundreds of billions of dollars have also come from junk-bond investors looking for high returns.

• Friday, December 5th 2014 - 06:45 UTC

  Bank of England leaves rates unchanged but deflation fears persist

  

  UK interest rates have been held at a record low of 0.5% for another month by the Bank of England. It also decided to maintain its quantitative easing program, designed to stimulate lending in the economy, at the £375bn already spent.