International

• Saturday, December 14th 2013 - 06:26 UTC

  Bank of England concerned about potential for a UK housing market bubble

  

  Bank of England governor Mark Carney has said he is concerned about the “potential” for a UK housing market bubble, but will tighten lending requirements if necessary. Meanwhile, a survey suggested house prices will continue “surging ahead”.

• Saturday, December 14th 2013 - 06:21 UTC

  Lloyds bank 'collects' another fine: this time for retail conduct failings

  

  Lloyds Banking Group has been fined £28m for “serious failings” in relation to bonus schemes for sales staff. The UK Financial Conduct Authority said it was the largest fine that it or the former Financial Services Authority had imposed for retail conduct failings.

• Saturday, December 14th 2013 - 05:56 UTC

  Prince Harry and team of 'Walking with the wounded' reach South Pole

  

  Prince Harry and his fellow adventurers in the Walking With The Wounded expedition have arrived at the South Pole, the organizers have said. The group stood at the bottom of the world at 12:00 GMT Friday after more than three weeks of pulling sleds.

• Friday, December 13th 2013 - 18:06 UTC

  UK dengue fever health warning for Britons traveling to the Caribbean

  

  The United Kingdom has issued a new health advisory for Britons travelling to the Caribbean following a surge in the incidence of dengue fever in England. The steep rise in British cases of the mosquito-borne disease has forced the health agency Public Health England (PHE) to warn travelers to be on the alert for signs of the illness after visiting the Caribbean.

• Friday, December 13th 2013 - 13:14 UTC

  Madrid vows to block any independence referendum in Catalonia

  

  The Spanish government has vowed to block plans by parties in Catalonia to hold a referendum on independence on 9 November of next year. “The poll will not be held,” Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon told journalists moments after Catalonia's President, Artur Mas, announced a deal.

• 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.