International

• Wednesday, September 12th 2012 - 01:54 UTC

  EU bites the hand that feeds it: Russia’s Gazprom will bite back

  

  Gazprom has Europe's natural gas market in a stranglehold and Europe is attempting to fight back, first with a raid last year on the Russian giant's offices and then with a probe launched earlier this week against its allegedly illicit efforts to control the EU natural gas supplies.

• Wednesday, September 12th 2012 - 01:41 UTC

  Euro-Rescue-Day: German constitutional court rules on support for the EU currency

  

  Germany's Constitutional Court rejected on Tuesday an attempt to further delay a ruling on the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) and fiscal compact, which had previously been pushed back by months while the judges reviewed whether the German parliament is permitted under the constitution to ratify the treaties.

• Wednesday, September 12th 2012 - 01:23 UTC

  Spanish bankruptcy spurs separatism: Catalonia the main tax contributor takes to the streets

  

  Hundreds of thousands of Catalans took to the streets of Barcelona in an unprecedented show of mass support for autonomy from Madrid, blaming Spain's economic crisis for dragging their wealthy region down.

• Tuesday, September 11th 2012 - 06:21 UTC

  Gibraltar flag flies over the Foreign Office

  

  The Gibraltar flag can be seen flying over the Foreign Office in Whitehall, London on the part of the building overlooking Whitehall and Downing Street to celebrate Gibraltar Day, September 10.

• Tuesday, September 11th 2012 - 06:01 UTC

  Poor news in China and US could mean additional stimuli could be in the pipeline

  

  The Brazilian stock exchange Bovespa index rose for a third session as Brazilian raw-material producers rallied after weaker economic data from China to the US fueled strong hopes policy makers will take further steps to boost growth.

• Tuesday, September 11th 2012 - 05:24 UTC

  Fears of sharp slowdown of the Chinese economy as imports keep sliding

  

  China's exports grew less than forecast and imports fell in August, adding to fears about a sharp slowdown in its economy. Exports rose by 2.7% from a year earlier as global demand continued to remain subdued. Imports fell 2.6% from a year ago, indicating a decline in home grown consumption.

• Tuesday, September 11th 2012 - 05:19 UTC

  Air carrier HMS Ark Royal sold for scrap metal for £ 3 million

  

  Aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal is being sold for £3m for scrap metal by the Ministry of Defence to help tackle a multi-billion pound defence deficit. The removal of the Royal Navy's former flagship from service in 2011, five years early, was a “difficult but necessary decision”, the MoD has said.

• Monday, September 10th 2012 - 05:33 UTC

  Mexican president says some Latam countries are losing the democracy battle

  

  Democracy is in retreat in some Latinamerican countries warned the Mexican president Felipe Calderon in the Russian city of Vladivostok where he attended the APEC summit forum, (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation).

• Monday, September 10th 2012 - 01:35 UTC

  Soros calls on Germany “to lead or leave the Euro”; suggests Euro zone target of 5% growth

  

  International financier George Soros has called for Germany to “lead or leave the euro” days before a crucial ruling on the Euro zone's bailout fund by Germany's constitutional court. Mr Soros argued that the euro zone should target 5% economic growth.

• Monday, September 10th 2012 - 01:25 UTC

  Foreign Office flies Gibraltar flag on Rock’s Day; last June 14 it was the Falklands’ flag

  

  The Foreign Office will fly the Gibraltar flag on Monday, National Day in its building along Whitehall. Foreign Office ministers David Lidington and Mark Simmonds, respectively the ministers for Europe and the Overseas Territories, have said they welcome the raising of the Gibraltar Flag over the FCO in Whitehall to mark Gibraltar Day.