Dubbed the “entente frugale” and criticised by some as a dangerous dilution of military sovereignty, Franco-British defence cooperation is nonetheless growing stronger. Shrinking budgets, a less indulgent United States and Europe’s diminishing military clout in the world have bolstered the two countries’ determination to work together.
On the first day that the Church is without a Pope, Cardinal Angelo Sodano announced that the first general congregation of cardinals will take place next Monday morning. Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, made the date public in an official letter sent to the world’s cardinal on Friday March first.
President Cristina Fernández defended on Friday her debt reduction policies and blasted the so-called vulture funds and multilateral organizations but also admitted Argentina was willing to pay holdouts on the same conditions that those who accepted the 2005 and 2010 debt restructuring.
British Airways parent International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) has pledged to push through a plan to shrink Spanish arm Iberia by 15% and deliver a profit rebound this year following a group-wide loss last year.
Unemployment in the Euro zone reached a new high of 11.9% in January, as an additional 201,000 people joined the jobless ranks in the crisis-battered bloc, latest data showed Friday. The unemployment rate has been increasing relentlessly since the middle of 2011.
Russia is back. President Vladimir Putin wants the world to acknowledge that Russia remains a global power. He is making his stand in Syria. The Soviet Union acquired the Tartus Naval Port in Syria in 1971 without any real purpose for it. With their ships welcomed in Algeria, Cuba or Vietnam, Tartus was too insignificant to be developed. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia lacked the funds to spend on the base and no reason to invest in it.
With the world undergoing a “great transition,” it is time for a new kind of inclusive dialogue about decolonization, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said, calling for fresh approaches to resolve the situations of the remaining 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories.
US-EU plans to join forces via a free-trade agreement are taking on shape. During his Berlin visit, US Secretary of State John Kerry described the planned pact as a priority for President Barack Obama's second term and marked out the agreement as a key element in cementing transatlantic ties.
Brazil’s Bovespa-index futures declined with the equity gauge poised for its biggest monthly drop since May, after iron-ore producer Vale SA posted a record loss in the fourth quarter.
The mastermind behind Britain's “Great Train Robbery”, a 1963 heist that turned its perpetrators into celebrities, has died aged 81, local media reported on Thursday. Bruce Reynolds died in his sleep at his home in London after a period of ill health, reports from news media which included the BBC said, citing comments from Reynolds's son, Nick.