International

• Monday, February 3rd 2014 - 19:42 UTC

  Spain hassles Gibraltar on UN hazardous waste convention

  

  The European Union is not the only place where Spain punctiliously continues to press its position on Gibraltar as a clause in every international agreement. As recently as November 2013 amendment to the Basel Convention on the control of trans-boundary movements of hazardous wastes and their disposal, Spain introduced, via the office of the UN Secretary General, a communication relating to the territorial application by UK to Gibraltar.

• Monday, February 3rd 2014 - 19:34 UTC

  Mercosur still waiting to agree on a date for the much delayed summit

  

  Mercosur through its pro-tempore presidency under Venezuela is involved in a round of contacts to agree on the group's much delayed XLVI summit which has been postponed because of problems with 'presidents' agenda', revealed Paraguayan foreign minister Eladio Loizaga.

• Saturday, February 1st 2014 - 04:40 UTC

  Falklands' honors only New Zealand soldier killed during the 1982 war

  

  Falkland Islands Member of the Legislative Assembly Mike Summers attended on Friday a wreath-laying ceremony at Palmerston, New Zealand, to honor the sacrifice of Private Richard Absolon who was the only New Zealand solider killed during the Falkland Islands war in 1982.

• Saturday, February 1st 2014 - 04:27 UTC

  UK and France tighten defense cooperation and military procurement

  

  The UK and France have agreed to strengthen defense co-operation following a summit at RAF Brize Norton on Friday. A communiqué signed by UK Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande sets out plans for closer ties between the two countries.

• Saturday, February 1st 2014 - 04:12 UTC

  Royal Navy will make more regular calls to Gibraltar, says Lords spokesman on defense

  

  Royal Navy has sent additional personnel to Gibraltar to strengthen its Gibraltar Squadron in response to Spanish maritime incursions into British territorial waters.

• Saturday, February 1st 2014 - 04:04 UTC

  IMF calls on central banks to coordinate liquidity conditions; fears funding crunch

  

  The International Monetary Fund urged central banks to ensure that a financial market rout in the developing world does not lead to an international funding crunch. An IMF spokesman said some emerging market countries need to take “urgent action” to improve their economies, which are under threat by a recent sell-off in markets from India and Turkey to Brazil.

• Friday, January 31st 2014 - 23:14 UTC

  Falklands referendum: observers mission partially financed by Canada, claims Argentina

  

  The Falkland Islands referendum a year ago when an overwhelming majority of Islanders voted to remain as a British Overseas Territory, supported on the UN charter enshrined peoples' right to self determination has become an obsession for Argentina and the official news agency Telam has been researching the international validation of the event and Canadian support stands out strongly.

• Friday, January 31st 2014 - 06:58 UTC

  Chinese communities begin seven-day celebration of the Year of the Horse

  

  Chinese communities around the world are gearing up Thursday for the Lunar New Year holiday that begins at midnight. Mainland China will virtually shut down for the next seven days, and many residents of the polluted capital, Beijing, already have departed for holiday destinations.

• Friday, January 31st 2014 - 06:47 UTC

  One in three children in Spain lives in poverty, according to Save the Children

  

  One in three children in Spain lives at risk of poverty, the international charity Save the Children said in a report. The charity said austerity measures and cutbacks in public spending had worsened the situation and said the number of under-18s “at risk of poverty or marginalization”, an official EU measure of various aspects of economic hardship - soared to more than 2.8 million in 2012.

• Friday, January 31st 2014 - 06:29 UTC

  Bad times for Shell: suspends drilling offshore Alaska and profits plunge

  

  Royal Dutch Shell will suspend drilling in offshore Alaska following an adverse US court decision and as the oil major streamlines operations because of a slump in annual profits, the company said on Thursday.