International

• Friday, June 12th 2015 - 05:05 UTC

  Rousseff denies being upset with Argentina over Mercosur and trade policies

  

  Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff stated on Thursday in Brussels she was not upset by differences with Argentina over the trade agreement Mercosur is to sign with the European Union, despite president Cristina Fernandez administration's cold feet on the issue.

• Friday, June 12th 2015 - 04:55 UTC

  “Isolated” mad cow case in Ireland; OIE had recently returned the “controlled risk status”

  

  Irish authorities have identified a suspected case of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or “mad cow disease”, on a dairy farm in County Louth, the first such case to be discovered in the country since 2013. The Irish Department of Agriculture said on Thursday the five-year-old diseased cow was discovered as part of ongoing inspections of animals that die on farms.

• Thursday, June 11th 2015 - 04:13 UTC

  Timerman waters down Mercosur/EU agreement expectations

  

  Argentine Foreign minister Hector Timerman affirmed that a trade deal would not be signed between Mercosur and the European Union (EU) in the second summit of the Community of Latin American States (CELAC) and the European body, which is taking place in the Belgian city of Brussels.

• Thursday, June 11th 2015 - 04:05 UTC

  Falklands triggers strong reply from Cameron when Timerman brings up the issue at Celac/EU summit

  

  Foreign Minister Hector Timerman defended on Wednesday Argentina’s right to claim the Falkland/Malvinas Islands during the summit of the Community of Latin American States (CELAC) and the European body which is taking place in the Belgian city of Brussels. UK Prime Minister David Cameron responded by describing his comments as threatening, according to British sources.

• Thursday, June 11th 2015 - 01:11 UTC

  Battle of coins re-edits the Battle of Waterloo 200 years later

  

  Belgium finally has managed to circumvent French resistance to the introduction of Euro coins to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Napoleon's defeat in Waterloo (18th June 1815). It has done so by invoking a little-known European Union rule that allows countries to issue Euro coins of their choice, provided they are in an irregular denomination.

• Thursday, June 11th 2015 - 00:41 UTC

  Mercosur ready to deliver its proposal for the trade agreement with EU

  

  Mercosur is ready to deliver its proposal on goods, services and tariff reductions as part of the negotiations with the European Union for a trade and cooperation agreement, said Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff on Wednesday, following a meeting in Brussels with Charles Michel, Belgium's Prime minister.

• Thursday, June 11th 2015 - 00:29 UTC

  Bolivia's Morales does not support Mercosur/EU deal based on 'competitive' trade

  

  Bolivian president Evo Morales said that if Mercosur insists in forging a trade agreement with the European Union, Bolivia will have to 'withdraw“, because ”we support solidarity and not competitive trade”. Morales is in Brussels attending the EU/Celac heads of government and state summit which takes off on Thursday.

• Wednesday, June 10th 2015 - 22:22 UTC

  Bank of England and Chancellor want tougher sentences for bankers' “culture of impunity”

  

  Bank of England governor Mark Carney has called for longer prison sentences for bankers who break the law, in a speech attacking on ethics in the City. In his Mansion House speech Mr Carney said individuals acted with a “culture of impunity”. But, he warned: “The age of irresponsibility is over.”

• Wednesday, June 10th 2015 - 22:10 UTC

  BOTs tax havens played a key role in 'rampant, systemic' corruption in soccer

  

  British overseas tax havens in the Caribbean played a key role in what US authorities have called “rampant, systemic and deep-rooted” corruption in the world of football, according to Britain’s Observer newspaper.

• Wednesday, June 10th 2015 - 21:50 UTC

  Colombia, Guatemala and China in ITUC list of world’s ten worst countries for workers

  

  The Gulf States are among the world’s worst countries for workers’ rights, while workers under European austerity measures endured the starkest deterioration of standards, according to the 2015 Global Rights Index. The ITUC rights index ranks 141 countries against 97 internationally recognized indicators to assess where workers’ rights are best protected, in law and in practice.