International

• Friday, December 7th 2012 - 17:43 UTC

  Overseas Territories reaffirm self determination and call for de-listing from Decolonization Committee

  

  The British Overseas Territories Joint Ministerial Council this week agreed a joint statement underscoring a shared commitment to self-determination. The Falklands were represented at the council by lawmakers Jan Cheek and Sharon Halford.

• Friday, December 7th 2012 - 17:38 UTC

  UK says “no options should be ruled out” in defending Gibraltar territorial waters

  

  The British Government said on Thursday that “no options should be ruled out” in defending the British sovereignty of Gibraltar’s territorial waters, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.

• Friday, December 7th 2012 - 17:33 UTC

  IATA forecasts 3.6 billion passengers for 2016; a 28.5% increase over 2011

  

  The International Air Transport Association (IATA) released an industry traffic forecast showing that airlines expect to welcome some 3.6 billion passengers in 2016. That’s about 800 million more than the 2.8 billion passengers carried by airlines in 2011.

• Friday, December 7th 2012 - 17:31 UTC

  A record one billion tourists will travel to other countries in 2012

  

  A record one billion people will travel across an international border as a tourist in 2012, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council. That means that one in seven people on the planet will participate in world travelling this year, an activity that just a few decades ago was exclusively for the wealthy.

• Friday, December 7th 2012 - 17:24 UTC

  FAO food prices index down in November except for dairy

  

  The FAO Food Price Index averaged 211 points in November 2012, down 3 points (1.5%) from October and the lowest since June 2012. Except for dairy, international prices of all the commodity groups included in the Index fell in November, with sugar undergoing the sharpest dip, followed by oils and cereals. The decline puts the November index value nearly 3% below one year ago.

• Friday, December 7th 2012 - 14:23 UTC

  Falklands & Southern Oceans Department re-established at the Foreign Office

  

  The reestablishment of a Falklands Department at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office has been announced by Peter Hayes, Director of the Overseas Territories, on Wednesday.

• Friday, December 7th 2012 - 05:26 UTC

  Bank of England at crossroad on stimulus program despite weaker economy

  

  The Bank of England has decided not to extend its quantitative easing (QE) stimulus program, which has injected £375bn into the UK financial system.

• Friday, December 7th 2012 - 01:48 UTC

  ECB slashes Euro-zone growth prospects; further rate cut not discarded

  

  The European Central Bank on Thursday opened the door to a rate cut next year, after slashing its economic growth projections for the 17-member Euro- zone.

• Friday, December 7th 2012 - 01:41 UTC

  Standard Chartered ready to settle with US regulators for making business with Iran

  

  Standard Chartered expects to pay 330 million dollars to US regulators to settle claims that it did not comply with US sanctions against Iran. The amount is on top of 340m it paid to New York's Department of Financial Services (DFS) earlier this year.

• Thursday, December 6th 2012 - 23:29 UTC

  EU, US and Japan ask WTO to rule on Argentine imports’ restrictions

  

  The European Union, the US and Japan have jointly asked the World Trade Organization to rule in a protracted trade dispute with Argentina. They criticize what they believe are unfair import restrictions and protectionism.