International

• Monday, July 23rd 2012 - 19:16 UTC

  Paraguay could appeal Mercosur sanctions before the International Court of Justice

  

  Paraguay is prepared to demand Mercosur co-members before the International Court of Justice at The Hague for what it describes as “violation of signed treaties” and sustained “international isolation” following the rejection of an appeal to have sanctions lifted.

• Monday, July 23rd 2012 - 19:02 UTC

  Pranab Mukherjee, a political “bridge builder” elected president of India

  

  Former Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee was elected president on Sunday of the world’s largest democracy and a crucial member of the emerging markets BRIS group.

• Monday, July 23rd 2012 - 09:20 UTC

  ECB chief says “Euro is irreversible”; praises will to create supranational bodies

  

  European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said that the Euro was not in danger despite some analysts' worse case scenarios for a break-up and said that greater financial, budgetary and political union among Euro zone countries was inevitable.

• Monday, July 23rd 2012 - 09:09 UTC

  Brazil moves into Ghana with 96million dollars loan for small farmers

  

  Ambassador to Ghana, Irene Vida Gala announced that Brazil has plans to make available a 96-million-dollar loan facility to boost small-scale and rural farming in Ghana to help increase food production and subsequently improve the country’s bread basket.

• Monday, July 23rd 2012 - 08:46 UTC

  The global super-rich have at least 21trillion dollars hidden in secret tax havens

  

  The global super-rich elite had at least 21 trillion dollars hidden in secret tax havens by the end of 2010, according to a major study. The figure is equivalent to the size of the US and Japanese economies combined.

• Monday, July 23rd 2012 - 08:41 UTC

  Euro-zone countdown for Greece: Germany and IMF will not yield on austerity measures

  

  German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble warned Greece in a newspaper interview Monday that it must redouble efforts to comply with bailout conditions imposed by international creditors. “If there were delays, Greece must make up for them,” he told the daily Bild.

• Monday, July 23rd 2012 - 08:18 UTC

  Gibraltar demands action from UK, after latest incident with Spain’s Guardia Civil

  

  The Gibraltar government has told the UK that 'the time has now come for action, not simply written protests from London to Madrid' in defence of British Gibraltar Territorial Waters, following the latest incident where a Gibraltar vessel was boarded by the Guardia Civil in Gibraltar waters 'and forcibly conveyed' together with its occupants to Algeciras 'at high speed and without navigational lights.'

• Monday, July 23rd 2012 - 04:22 UTC

  Scientists discover whales learn to protect their ears from loud noise

  

  Scientists have long known that man-made, underwater noises — from engines, sonar, weapons testing, and such industrial tools as air guns used in oil and gas exploration — are deafening whales and other sea mammals.

• Monday, July 23rd 2012 - 04:15 UTC

  After 18 years of negotiations Russia is member of World Trade Organization

  

  President Vladimir Putin signed the bill ratifying Russia’s entry to the World Trade Organisation after 18 years of often acrimonious negotiations, the Kremlin press office said.

• Monday, July 23rd 2012 - 04:06 UTC

  EU parliament president warns economic crisis could spark “social explosion”

  

  European Parliament president Martin Schulz warned this weekend that Spain's economic crisis could spark a “social explosion” across the continent.