International

• Monday, June 18th 2012 - 07:17 UTC

  Public and private sectors pledge in Rio+20 to restore “oceans’ health and productivity”

  

  Over 80 countries, civil society groups, private companies and international organizations have declared their support for the new Global Partnership for Oceans (GPO), signalling their commitment to work together around coordinated goals to restore the world’s oceans to health and productivity.

• Monday, June 18th 2012 - 07:14 UTC

  Gibraltar in C24 challenges Spain to take disputed waters case to the International Court

  

  Spain is scared to test its “feeble claims” in Court, whether in respect of Gibraltar’s undisputable right to self determination or its undisputable waters. That was the charge made by Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo on Friday before the United Nations Committee of 24 as he challenged Madrid to take these issues to the appropriate international courts.

• Monday, June 18th 2012 - 07:12 UTC

  Europe’s richest man is Spaniard Amancio Ortega, owner of Zara clothing chain

  

  Just as Spain asked Europe for a bailout of 125 billion Euros, Amancio Ortega, the septuagenarian Spaniard who founded retailer Inditex SA became the region’s richest man.

• Monday, June 18th 2012 - 07:06 UTC

  France defies Germany proposes 120bn Euros “pact for growth” to EU leaders

  

  French President Francois Hollande has proposed a 120 billion Euro “growth pact” ahead of key talks with Euro zone leaders, newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche reported on Sunday.

• Monday, June 18th 2012 - 05:10 UTC

  France deposits full confidence in Hollande and his promised growth-strategy

  

  France's Socialists won control of parliament on Sunday, handing President Francois Hollande the convincing majority he needs to push through his tax-and-spend agenda to battle the Euro zone debt crisis.

• Monday, June 18th 2012 - 03:24 UTC

  Brussels willing to soften austerity measures for the Greek pro-bail out government

  

  European governments signaled a willingness to relent on Greece’s austerity measures as leaders turn from an election victory by Greek bailout proponents to focus on safeguarding the other 98% of the Euro economy

• Monday, June 18th 2012 - 03:12 UTC

  “An agreement over the Falklands is a matter of time”, says world affairs analyst

  

  Analyst of the Investigation Conflicts Unit at The Hague, Ivan Briscoe said that some kind of agreement involving the Argentine claim of sovereignty of the Falkland/Malvinas Islands is only a matter of time.

• Monday, June 18th 2012 - 02:24 UTC

  Ban Ki-moon good offices on Falklands issue if “both parties are willing to engage”

  

  United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon reiterated his good offices to help resolve the Falklands/Malvinas sovereignty dispute between Argentina and the UK, but also pointed out “as long as the parties are willing to engage”.

• Monday, June 18th 2012 - 01:12 UTC

  European crisis could reduce Latin America’s growth prospects by 40%

  

  An aggravation of the European crisis could reduce growth prospects in Latin America up to 40%, said the Inter American Development bank president Luis Alberto Moreno, particularly because of the influence of European financial institutions in the influx of capital to the region.

• Monday, June 18th 2012 - 01:02 UTC

  UN calls to join ‘Save Food’, an initiative to cut down on food losses and waste

  

  The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and key partners called on companies and organizations around the world to join in SAVE FOOD, a global initiative designed to cut down on food losses and waste.