International

• Monday, July 9th 2012 - 12:26 UTC

  France and Germany re-enact De Gaulle/Adenauer peace and reconciliation pact

  

  The leaders of France and Germany joined in a symbolic celebration of unity, hailing a relationship that has brought peace to Europe for 50 years but must now prove it can survive its most serious crisis to date.

• Monday, July 9th 2012 - 12:22 UTC

  Majority of Spaniards say Gibraltar is and issue of little interest for foreign policy

  

  A survey by the leading Spanish think tank Real Instituto Elcano has found that nearly 60% of those polled believe Gibraltar is of little or no importance to Spanish foreign policy.

• Monday, July 9th 2012 - 12:20 UTC

  Italy announces further cuts in expenditure and freezes government hiring

  

  Italy's government has agreed to cut spending by 26bn Euros over the next three years to plug the gap between spending and income. The cuts, approved after seven hours of talks, include a 10% reduction in the number of civil servants and cuts to healthcare and come as Italy struggles to keep the faith of investors.

• Monday, July 9th 2012 - 06:13 UTC

  UK Serious Fraud Office investigating the rigging of the Libor rate

  

  The United Kingdom Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has confirmed that it has formally launched an investigation into the rigging of inter-bank lending rates. The case could lead to criminal charges being brought against individuals.

• Monday, July 9th 2012 - 06:09 UTC

  China inflation down to a 29-month-low in June: 2.2%

  

  China’s consumer-price inflation eased to a 29-month low in June, giving Premier Wen Jiabao more room to relax economic policies after the second interest-rate cut in a month. The consumer price index rose 2.2% percent from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said in Beijing. Producer prices dropped 2.1%.

• Saturday, July 7th 2012 - 05:12 UTC

  Euro crisis “the greatest external economic risk” for Latinamerican growth

  

  The Euro crisis is the “greatest external economic risk” for Latinamerica warned the Inter American Development Bank Luis Alberto Moreno who nevertheless said he was convinced the world with end acknowledging the efforts from the European Union and Spain.

• Saturday, July 7th 2012 - 01:18 UTC

  Faulty sensors and inadequate pilot training caused Air France Flight 447 tragedy

  

  French investigators say faulty sensors and inadequate pilot training caused Air France's Rio-to-Paris 447 flight to crash into the Atlantic in 2009. Their final report caps a bitter row between the airline and Airbus.

• Saturday, July 7th 2012 - 01:11 UTC

  “Collusion” much to do with Japan’s Fukushima nuclear crisis, says expert panel

  

  Japan's Fukushima nuclear crisis was a preventable disaster resulting from “collusion” among the government, regulators and the plant operator, an expert panel said, wrapping up an inquiry into the worst nuclear accident in 25 years.

• Saturday, July 7th 2012 - 01:02 UTC

  Europe’s tallest skyscraper the Shard opens in London with 26 floors of vacant office space

  

  Europe's tallest skyscraper the Shard was inaugurated in London in a dazzling sound and light show befitting its status as the capital's brashest and most controversial building.

• Friday, July 6th 2012 - 15:15 UTC

  MPs call for UK to vote against World Bank loans to Argentina to counter Falklands’ aggression

  

  Twenty nine British MPs have called for Britain to vote against Argentina receiving any more money from the World Bank. The group signed an early day motion in Parliament that was put forward by Conservative MP for Romford, Andrew Rosindell, who had previously visited the Falklands.