International

• Friday, December 13th 2013 - 12:57 UTC

  Argentina surprised by EU request to delay another month trade negotiations with Mercosur

  

  The European Union has asked for a one-month delay in the exchange of proposals to kick off free-trade negotiations with Mercosur, Argentine Cabinet Chief Jorge Capitanich confirmed on Thursday. The news was first reported by Sao Paulo newspapers on statements from Brazilian Foreign minister Luiz Fernando Figuereido.

• Friday, December 13th 2013 - 12:30 UTC

  Francis calls for more wealth-sharing among people and nations to narrow rich/poor gap

  

  Pope Francis attacked mega-salaries and big bonuses saying in the first peace message of his pontificate that they are symptoms of an economy based on greed and inequality

• Friday, December 13th 2013 - 12:18 UTC

  Spain not sure about success in legal challenge of Gibraltar waters

  

  Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel García-Margallo has expressed confidence that Madrid would win a legal case over jurisdiction of Gibraltar’s isthmus, though he was less certain about success in any challenge over the waters. He said the isthmus was not ceded to Britain under the Treaty of Utrecht and “illegally” occupied, but that Spain had yet to decide whether to “legally reclaim it or not”.

• Friday, December 13th 2013 - 09:20 UTC

  Another UK bank fined for ignoring rules and working with black-listed countries

  

  Royal Bank of Scotland has been fined 100 million dollars by US regulators for violating US sanctions against Iran, Sudan, Burma, and Cuba. The settlement follows from a 2010 internal investigation by RBS into its historical US dollar payment processes and controls. The violations took place between 2005-09, the US Treasury said.
  In a statement, RBS said it “acknowledges and deeply regrets these failings”.

• Friday, December 13th 2013 - 09:15 UTC

  US to faze out use of antibiotics in animals for meat as resistant diseases keep rising

  

  Citing a potential threat to public health, the United States Food and Drug Administration is taking steps toward phasing out the use of some antibiotics in animals processed for meat. In the US many cattle, hog and poultry producers give their animals antibiotics regularly to ensure that they are healthy and to make the animals grow faster.

• Friday, December 13th 2013 - 09:11 UTC

  Ice loss pushing Antarctica side-wards half an inch per year, according to GPS recordings

  

  Heavy ice loss in West Antarctica has weakened it mantle underneath, allowing the stronger East Antarctica mantle to push it around, according to Ohio State University researchers. The discovery was made after recording GPS measurements, which clearly showed that the West Antarctic bedrock is being pushed at an alarming rate of half an inch per year.

• Friday, December 13th 2013 - 09:07 UTC

  NASA study finds close links between climate and the ozone hole size variation

  

  It turns out that the ozone hole may not be completely healed--at least according to new NASA data. Scientists have examined the inner workings of the ozone hole that forms annually over Antarctica and have found that declining chlorine in the stratosphere has not yet caused a recovery of the ozone hole.

• Friday, December 13th 2013 - 08:59 UTC

  Abundance of cereals, 6% ahead of the 2011 record, says FAO latest forecast

  

  FAO’s latest forecast for world cereal production in 2013 has been revised upward marginally (2 million tons) since November to a new high of almost 2 500 million tons (including rice in milled terms), 8.4% more than last year and some 6% above the previous record in 2011. The latest revision mostly reflects adjustments to maize output estimates in the United States, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, which had become firmer towards the completion of the harvests.

• Friday, December 13th 2013 - 08:52 UTC

  FAO food price index in November unchanged: dairy up 23% over a year ago

  

  The FAO Food Price Index averaged 206.3 points in November 2013, almost unchanged from the revised value of 206.6 points in October, but 9.5 points (4.4%) below its November 2012 value. A sharp decline in sugar prices last month nearly offset the rise in oils. Cereals averaged slightly lower but meat and dairy values were stable.

• Thursday, December 12th 2013 - 22:24 UTC

  Falklands oil industry teams up with Scotland's oil service business sector

  

  A successful and well attended conference took place at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre on the 4th December 2013 to open up business links between the Falkland Islands and Scotland’s oil service business sector. This event was the second of the two planned events from the project known as FalkLink.