International

• Thursday, April 10th 2014 - 06:07 UTC

  Gibraltar after closer political and cooperation links with Malta

  

  Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo met with top officials from Malta this week during a two day visit focused on building links with the island state. The officials included Foreign affairs minister George Vella, Speaker of the Maltese Parliament Angelu Farrugia and Financial Services and Gaming Minister Albert Isola.

• Thursday, April 10th 2014 - 06:02 UTC

  Mas defies Madrid: Catalonia will go ahead with the independence referendum

  

  Catalonia President Artur Mas said he would forge ahead with his region's plans to hold a referendum on independence in November after Spain's parliament overwhelmingly rejected the petition. After a seven-hour debate in Madrid, and despite heavy support for the separatist movement in the wealthy northeastern region, 299 lawmakers voted against, 47 voted for and one abstained.

• Thursday, April 10th 2014 - 05:46 UTC

  Pope Francis joins the lynching outbreak debate in Argentina

  

  In a letter addressed to two Argentine humanists living in Sweden, Pope Francis deeply regretted the murder of an 18-year-old who was beat to death by a group of Rosario citizens after he had allegedly stolen a woman’s purse. “The worst that can happen to us is to forget about that scene,” the pontiff said.

• Thursday, April 10th 2014 - 05:37 UTC

  China has become Latam's banker loaning 102bn dollars from 2005 to 2013

  

  China loaned 102 billion dollars to Latin America between 2005 and 2013, mainly to Venezuela and Argentina, while Mexico seems to be going the same way, according to a release from the Global Economic Governance Initiative which depends from the University of Boston.

• Wednesday, April 9th 2014 - 19:44 UTC

  Renewable energy keeps advancing despite a drop in overall investment

  

  Renewable energy's share of world electricity generation continued its steady climb last year despite a 14% drop in investments to 214.4 billion dollars, according to a new report released on Monday and produced by the Frankfurt School-UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

• Wednesday, April 9th 2014 - 17:26 UTC

  HMS Portland, first Royal Navy visit to Sao Tomé and Príncipe in 29 years

  

  HMS Portland on Atlantic patrol, became the first Royal Navy Ship to visit São Tomé and Príncipe in 29 years when she anchored off the islands for a two day visit. The last Royal Navy Ship to visit the former Portuguese colony was the survey vessel HMS Herald in 1985. Prior to that, the last recorded visit of a Royal Naval Warship was in 1889.

• Wednesday, April 9th 2014 - 07:19 UTC

  President Higgins visit to UK consolidates reconciliation after decades of mistrust

  

  Queen Elizabeth II welcomed the Irish president to Britain on Tuesday for the first time since the republic became independent with a banquet also controversially attended by former IRA commander Martin Guinness.

• Wednesday, April 9th 2014 - 07:08 UTC

  Gibraltar 'close to British hearts', but plenty of room for 'practical dialogue'

  

  UK Ambassador to Spain, Simon Manley has told a Spanish newspaper that British people hold Gibraltar ‘close to their hearts’ and that delays at the border are politically motivated. He underscored Britain and Gibraltar’s desire to engage in “practical” dialogue toward better cross-border relations that would benefit communities on either side of the frontier fence.

• Wednesday, April 9th 2014 - 07:03 UTC

  Algeciras mayor highlights 'English occupation' of Gibraltar and the Falklands

  

  The mayor of the Spanish town of Algeciras, Jose Ignacio Landaluce flew back this weekend from Argentina, where he had attended a twinning ceremony with Rio Grande, Tierra del Fuego that sought to highlight the ‘English occupation’ of Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands.

• Wednesday, April 9th 2014 - 06:48 UTC

  Osborne launches with Mantega Brazil/UK 'economic and financial dialogue'

  

  Finance minister Guido Mantega and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced on Tuesday in Sao Paulo the launching of the Brazil/UK Economic and Financial Dialogue to strengthen bilateral trade and cooperation, and investment in infrastrucutre, according to a joint release.