International

• Friday, August 2nd 2013 - 04:05 UTC

  Argentina president of the United Nations Security Council

  

  Argentina assumed on August first s the rotating Presidency of the United Nations Security Council. Argentina was elected as a non-permanent member of the multilateral body by the General Assembly for the 2013-2014 term rallying unanimous support among Latin American and Caribbean nations.

• Friday, August 2nd 2013 - 03:55 UTC

  Brazil supports IMF aid to Greece and summons delegate back home to explain

  

  Brazil on Thursday expressed support for the IMF latest aid package for Greece, disavowing its IMF delegate who abstained in a vote on the issue. Finance Minister Guido Mantega spoke with IMF chief Christine Lagarde and backed the Fund's decision to release 1.7 billion Euros in rescue loans to ailing Greece Monday, his spokesman said.

• Friday, August 2nd 2013 - 03:49 UTC

  Lagarde again warns Argentina about the need for ‘credible stats’

  

  The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde has once more requested that Argentina present economic figures based on “trustworthy and credible numbers and statistics”.

• Friday, August 2nd 2013 - 03:39 UTC

  Rajoy admits in Parliament mishandling corruption scandal, but won’t resign

  

  Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy apologised on Thursday for mishandling a major corruption scandal, but denied he or his conservative People's Party, PP, accepted illegal payments and rejected opposition calls to step down.

• Friday, August 2nd 2013 - 02:56 UTC

  Overall feeling that corruption in the Americas in the rise, says watchdog group

  

  From the US capital Washington D.C. to Caracas, people throughout the Americas feel that corruption in sectors of society is on the rise, according to a survey from the watchdog group, Transparency International.

• Friday, August 2nd 2013 - 02:51 UTC

  US ‘extremely disappointed’ with Russian asylum to leaker Snowden

  

  White House officials say they are “extremely disappointed” by Russia’s decision to grant asylum for one year to Edward Snowden, who is accused of leaking U.S. government secrets. Officials are deciding how to respond.

• Friday, August 2nd 2013 - 02:47 UTC

  Bank of England leaves rates unchanged as UK economy seems to be picking up

  

  Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has left interest rates at 0.5%. The key borrowing rate has been at that level since March 2009. MPC also said it would make no change to the £375bn of monetary stimulus it is providing through its quantitative easing program (QE).

• Friday, August 2nd 2013 - 02:42 UTC

  Euro rates to remain unchanged for extended period of time, says ECB

  

  The European Central Bank left interest rates at a record low 0.5% on Thursday and said that they will remain there for some while to come and could yet fall further. ECB President Mario Draghi hinted that policy would not be tightened until well into next year at the earliest, although the central bank will give no time horizon for when rates might move.

• Friday, August 2nd 2013 - 02:33 UTC

  France’s Council of State lifts ban on growing GM corn from Monsanto

  

  The battle over growing genetically modified crops in France flared anew on Thursday as the country's top administrative court overturned a government ban on growing GM corn sold by the US giant Monsanto.

• Thursday, August 1st 2013 - 03:08 UTC

  Gibraltar’s artificial reef anticipates tougher times ahead for relations with Spain

  

  The Spanish Ministry for Agriculture, Food and Environment has filed a complaint over Gibraltar’s artificial reef at the office of Spain’s environmental prosecutor, a section of the state’s prosecution service that specialises in investigating environmental offences.