International

• Monday, February 11th 2013 - 22:08 UTC

  FAO January food price index shows oil and fats up, cereals down, dairy and beef unchanged

  

  FAO Food Price Index held steady at 210 points in January 2013 after three straight months of decline. Increases in oil and fats prices offset lower cereals and sugar quotations while dairy and meat values remained substantially unchanged. The pause in the Index's decline tallies with a significant upward revision in FAO latest forecast for 2012 world cereal production. This is now estimated at 2.302 million tonnes - 20 million tonnes up on December's forecast.

• Monday, February 11th 2013 - 21:18 UTC

  Australian/UK team complete re-enactment of Shakleton’s epic Antarctic expedition

  

  Nearly 100 years after Sir Ernest Shackleton’s legendary Antarctic survival journey, a team of British and Australian explorers have completed their expedition to recreate it. Team leader Tim Jarvis and climber Barry Gray arrived at the Stromness whaling station in South Georgia on Sunday, despite extreme weather over the weekend that had put the expedition in jeopardy.

• Monday, February 11th 2013 - 21:14 UTC

  Gibraltar delegate to address ‘self-determination and sovereignty claims” at Falklands’ conference

  

  The 43rd British Islands and Mediterranean Region Annual Conference of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association hosted by the Falkland Islands for the second time begins on Tuesday. Over forty delegates have travelled to the Islands for the Conference and Falklands Radio will be broadcasting some of the sessions.

• Monday, February 11th 2013 - 21:13 UTC

  Everybody fears Berlusconi, who keeps climbing in the polls for Italian elections

  

  Prime Minister Mario Monti accused his media magnate rival Silvio Berlusconi of trying to buy votes with impossible promises as Italy's election campaign entered its last phase. With February 24-25 vote two weeks away, polls suggest the centre-left Democratic Party (PD) will win a solid lower house majority but may need a deal with Monti's centrists to gain the control of the Senate it must have to govern.

• Monday, February 11th 2013 - 16:13 UTC

  Next Pope could be Latinamerican, admit senior Vatican officials

  

  With Pope Benedict's stunning announcement that he will resign end of the month, the time may be coming for the Roman Catholic Church to elect its first non-European leader and it could be a Latin American. The region already represents 42% of the world's 1.2 billion-strong Catholic population, the largest single block in the Church, compared to 25% in its European heartland and is has several outstanding candidates, according to Church sources.

• Monday, February 11th 2013 - 05:25 UTC

  Millions celebrating the arrival of the ‘snake’ and Chinese New Year

  

  Millions of people are celebrating Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year, the most important annual holiday in much of Asia. The New Year began in China at midnight Saturday, with firework displays and family gatherings. It marked the opening of the year of the snake, taking over from the dragon.

• Monday, February 11th 2013 - 04:52 UTC

  Argentina/Iran accord increases crossfire between government and Jewish community

  

  A new crossfire has emerged between the Argentine President Cristina Fernandez and the Jewish community over the agreement reached by the Argentine government with Iran to investigate the 1994 bombing of a Jewish institution in Buenos Aires which left 85 dead and hundreds injured, and remains unresolved.

• Monday, February 11th 2013 - 04:49 UTC

  PM Cameron to Scotland: “we’re better off together and poorer apart”

  

  British Prime Minister David Cameron conceded that Scotland had what it takes to be an independent nation, but said it currently enjoyed “the best of both worlds”, imploring it not to break the United Kingdom apart.

• Monday, February 11th 2013 - 04:18 UTC

  UK expects Uruguay to respect the Falklands’ referendum, which is a three sided event

  

  British ambassador in Uruguay Ben Lyster-Binns said the coming referendum in the Falkland Islands involves the people of the Islands, United Kingdom and Argentina and expects the Uruguayan government to respect the referendum even when Foreign Minister Luis Almagro anticipated that the country will not recognize the results of the ballot.

• Monday, February 11th 2013 - 01:00 UTC

  Hague accuses Argentina of “bullying and intimidatory behavior” towards the Falklands

  

  Foreign Secretary William Hague has accused Argentina of “bullying and intimidatory behaviour” towards the Falkland Islands. Mr Hague in a Sunday interview with The Sun promised never to negotiate over the islands' sovereignty unless their people called for it - a referendum will take place next month.