International

• Tuesday, December 9th 2014 - 23:42 UTC

  Former Roma mayor accused of laundering 'suticases full of money' in Argentina

  

  A mafia corruption investigation into alleged wrongdoing by the former mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, stretched all the way across the Atlantic to Argentina, following reports in the Italian media that the right-wing politician visited Patagonia three years ago, accompanied by his son, with “suitcases full” of undeclared money.

• Tuesday, December 9th 2014 - 07:52 UTC

  Wealth redistribution and inequality at its highest in OECD countries

  

  The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has found that the divide between the richest 10 percent and poorest 10 percent in many of the world's wealthiest countries - including Germany, US and UK - has been growing. In a report released Monday, OECD said that this, in turn, had caused growth to slow.

• Tuesday, December 9th 2014 - 07:44 UTC

  'Guantanamo inmates will be out in Montevideo streets after medical checkups'

  

  “Once the medical checkups are over they'll be out of the Military Hospital and walking in the streets of Montevideo as any other refugee or immigrant” said Uruguayan Defense minister Eleuterio Fernadez Huidobro on Monday in reference to the Guantanamo inmates that arrived on Sunday morning.

• Tuesday, December 9th 2014 - 07:38 UTC

  World's main oilfield services provider drastically reducing size of marine seismic fleet

  

  Schlumberger Ltd, the world's No.1 oilfield services provider, said it was reducing the size of its marine seismic fleet to lower costs as it expects customers to cut exploration spending.

• Monday, December 8th 2014 - 23:46 UTC

  Reconciliation and commemoration: 100 years after the Battle of the Falklands German flags fly over Stanley

  

  “With substantial losses at both the Battle of Coronel and the Battle of the Falklands, the annual remembrance events are an opportunity to reflect on the lives lost from both the British and German navies. It was decided early on that this commemorative approach, highlighting the tragic loss of life during both battles, should be echoed throughout events on this Centenary year”

• 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.