International

• Monday, January 23rd 2012 - 16:42 UTC

  HMS Victory, ‘mightiest vessel of the 18th century’ to be rescued from the sea bed

  

  The remains of a 300-year-old Royal Navy warship are to be raised from the sea bed, according to reports. The wreck of HMS Victory, a predecessor of Nelson's famous flagship, was found near the Channel Islands in 2008.

• Monday, January 23rd 2012 - 16:32 UTC

  Spain’s central banks says economy forecasted to shrink 1.5% in 2012

  

  Spain’s economy contracted in the fourth quarter and will shrink 1.5% this year, the Bank of Spain estimated, undermining government efforts to cut the budget deficit amid the second recession in two years.

• Monday, January 23rd 2012 - 16:28 UTC

  China admits “big distribution challenges” in the Year of the Dragon

  

  China will face “bigger challenges” in the Year of the Dragon its Prime Minister Wen Jiabao warned Saturday, as he pledged economic reforms to improve wealth distribution, state media reported.

• Monday, January 23rd 2012 - 15:23 UTC

  Costa Concordia captain claims he was ordered to make the fatal ‘salute’ display

  

  The operators of the Costa Concordia faced questions over their share of the blame for the shipwreck, as divers recovered another body from the stricken liner, bringing the known death toll to 13.

• Monday, January 23rd 2012 - 15:15 UTC

  New Spanish minister proposes Gibraltar ‘quadripartite’ talks on cooperation

  

  Spanish Foreign Affairs minister Jose Garcia-Margallo is seeking to revisit talks on co-operation with the disputed Gibraltar UK Overseas Territory on a new variation of the formulas for talks: a quadripartite forum.

• Monday, January 23rd 2012 - 15:13 UTC

  Mass pilot whale stranding in New Zealand; desperate efforts to save remaining 77

  

  New Zealand officials say at least 22 pilot whales have died after being beached on the country's South Island.

• Monday, January 23rd 2012 - 15:10 UTC

  Dutch school girl mariner completes youngest round the world solo

  

  Dutch schoolgirl sailor Laura Dekker, who has fulfilled her dream to become the youngest round-the-world sailor, arrived late on Saturday on the Dutch Antillean Island of St Maarten in the Caribbean, a year and a day after starting her epic voyage and breaking all the records she set out to surpass.

• Monday, January 23rd 2012 - 15:00 UTC

  Cairn Energy sells 30% of stake in Greenland licence to Norway’s Statoil

  

  British Oil explorer Cairn Energy has sold off a 30% stake in one of its Greenland exploration licences to Norwegian group Statoil. It is part of Cairn's plan to bring in a partner in to share the costs of exploration in the Arctic.

• Monday, January 23rd 2012 - 04:08 UTC

  Asia welcomes the Year of the Dragon, the most revered sign of the Chinese zodiac

  

  Asia welcomed the Year of the Dragon on Monday with a cacophony of fireworks, hoping the mightiest sign in the Chinese zodiac will usher in the wealth and power it represents.

• Sunday, January 22nd 2012 - 23:36 UTC

  A “psychological war” to persuade UK to negotiate Falklands’ sovereignty

  

  So far it’s a psychological war to try and persuade the British to begin Falkland Islands a sovereignty discussion with Argentina but there is nothing to discuss about since the Islanders don’t want to belong to Argentina and that’s it, said UK retired Major General Julian Thompson.