International

• Friday, July 13th 2012 - 23:41 UTC

  Former PM Berlusconi will return as candidate in next year’s general election

  

  Former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will return to frontline politics as the centre-right candidate in next year's general election, a senior official in his PDL party was quoted this week.

• Friday, July 13th 2012 - 03:21 UTC

  Commons report reveals UK sold £ 2.3m of military equipment to Argentina

  

  The British government must exercise more caution in granting licences for the export of arms, according to a parliamentary report which mentions authoritarian regimes such as Bahrain but also areas of direct concern for UK such as Argentina and the Falklands.

• Thursday, July 12th 2012 - 22:35 UTC

  ECB zero deposit-rate shakes EU banking system and forces to look for alternatives

  

  European Central Bank's new zero deposit rate had an instant impact as it came into force, with banks more than halving the amount of cash parked there overnight and one ECB policymaker saying he expected the move to increase banks' lending.

• Thursday, July 12th 2012 - 19:59 UTC

  Gibraltar says UK/Spain bilateralism is “dead and will never ever be revived”

  

  Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo has declared that UK-Spain bilateralism is “dead and will never ever be revived under any circumstances” regarding the Rock’s future.

• Thursday, July 12th 2012 - 19:36 UTC

  Rockhopper signs a billion dollars deal to develop Falklands’ oil discovery

  

  Britain's Premier Oil announced on Thursday a 1 billion dollars deal to farm in and develop Rockhopper Exploration oil and gas discoveries in the Falkland Islands.

• Thursday, July 12th 2012 - 07:00 UTC

  Canada protests Bolivian decision to revoke licence to mine silver deposits

  

  Canadian company is protesting Bolivia's decision to revoke its licence to mine a rich silver deposit in the country and nationalize the project.

• Thursday, July 12th 2012 - 06:57 UTC

  China cuts retail fuel prices 5%, the third cut in two months

  

  China, the world's second biggest consumer of fuel, has cut retail oil prices by about 5% with immediate effect. This is the third cut in two months, and some analysts say could be an attempt to increase fuel consumption. Demand for oil fell for the first time in three years in April.

• Wednesday, July 11th 2012 - 22:56 UTC

  'Euroleaf', trademark for the strict EU organic farming standards

  

  The “Euro-leaf” EU organic logo was introduced on 1 July 2010, but in order to help operators adapt to the new rules, and to avoid waste of existing packaging, a 2-year transition period was allowed before it was compulsory on all products.

• Wednesday, July 11th 2012 - 22:33 UTC

  ILO anticipates further job losses in Euro-zone because of austerity measures

  

  The Euro-zone could lose 4.5 million more jobs in the next four years unless the region shifts away from austerity, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has warned. That rise would take unemployment in the 17-nation bloc to 22 million.

• Wednesday, July 11th 2012 - 22:28 UTC

  Rajoy raises VAT to 21% and drastically cuts benefits and other perks

  

  Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced a swathe of new taxes and spending cuts designed to slash 65 billion Euros from the budget deficit by 2014 as recession-plagued Spain struggles to meet tough targets agreed with Europe.