International

Thursday, August 23rd 2012 - 05:44 UTC
Edinburgh the most welcoming UK airport; Paris and Moscow the rudest in Europe

Luton is the UK’s most unfriendly airport, with Edinburgh the most welcoming, according to a survey. The Bedfordshire airport got the thumbs-down from travellers asked to rate the friendliness of staff in a poll by travel search site Skyscanner.
Thursday, August 23rd 2012 - 01:52 UTC
“We need to prepare for war to live in peace”, says Paraguayan Defence minister

“We must prepare for war to live in peace” said Paraguay’s Defence minister Maria Liz Garcia in reference to the new geopolitical situation following the suspension of Paraguay as a member of Mercosur and Unasur.
Thursday, August 23rd 2012 - 01:27 UTC
Russia joins WTO after for 18 years; Putin plans greater global role for Moscow

Russia's formally joined on Wednesday 22 August the World Trade Organization after having waited for 18 years. On July 21, President Vladimir Putin signed the final accession document approved by all WTO countries, a final step clearing the way for Wednesday’s formal entry.
Thursday, August 23rd 2012 - 01:20 UTC
Carter Centre absent as observer from Venezuelan October presidential election

The Atlanta based Carter Centre said this week that it declined an invitation from Venezuela's National Electoral Council to have a team at the country's Oct. 7 presidential election. The Centre said it received the invitation too late ”to evaluate it and organize the necessary experts and financing”.
Thursday, August 23rd 2012 - 01:12 UTC
Merkel, Hillary and Rousseff the three most powerful women, says Forbes

Forbes magazine ranked German Chancellor Angela Merkel the most powerful woman in the world for the second year in a row in the annual list dominated by politicians, businesswomen and media figures. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton placed second, followed by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, making the top three spots unchanged from last year.
Thursday, August 23rd 2012 - 00:50 UTC
Where’s the cheapest to ‘fill her up’? Venezuela: 12.8 US cents a liter of petrol

Venezuela, the latest entry as full member of Mercosur has the cheapest petrol price in the world, 8 pennies per liter, (1 £ trading at 1.59 dollars on 22 August) according to the latest report from UK website, “This is money”, based on a research from Evans Halshaw.
Wednesday, August 22nd 2012 - 06:06 UTC
UN warns of risk of African swine fever in Caucasus region

Following the first-ever detection of African swine fever (ASF)in Ukraine, the United Nations is warning that while control measures appear to have temporarily halted the disease's spread, it has established a firm foothold in the Caucasus and poses an ongoing risk to neighbouring areas.
Wednesday, August 22nd 2012 - 05:44 UTC
Double standards in Ecuador: Correa ready to extradite Belarus who faces death threat

Less than a year ago an Ecuadorean judge denied a request to extradite Aliaksandr Barankov to Belarus, the former Soviet bloc nation whose president has been nicknamed “Europe's last dictator”, reports the US and European media.
Tuesday, August 21st 2012 - 22:01 UTC
Brazil with the lowest performance in the first half of 2012 among BRIC countries

Russian GDP growth in percentage terms surpassed Brazil in the first half of the year and even if the market still prefers Brazil’s diverse economy over Russia, the South American country is now dead last in terms of economic growth in the big four emerging markets, BRIC.
Tuesday, August 21st 2012 - 20:40 UTC
Sweden will not extradite Assange if he faces death penalty in the US

The Swedish government will not extradite Julian Assange to the US should he face the death penalty there, as any possible extradition request from Washington is then subject to strict conditions, an official from the country’s Justice Ministry.