International

• Friday, December 23rd 2011 - 04:33 UTC

  HMS Illustrious ready to take over as on-call helicopter carrier from HMS Ocean

  

  As when she first joined the Fleet in 1982, HMS Illustrious has once again been formally welcomed into the bosom of the Royal Navy with a rededication ceremony at sea. The aircraft carrier held the ceremony as she returned from Hamburg - the ship's first visit to a foreign port in more than two years.

• Thursday, December 22nd 2011 - 21:02 UTC

  Hague and Almagro to discuss Falklands’ flagged vessels restrictions on Friday

  

  Britain’s Foreign Secretary William Hague and Uruguay’s Foreign Affairs minister Luis Almagro will discuss the Falklands/Malvinas flagged vessels issue on Friday according to a release from the British embassy in Montevideo

• Thursday, December 22nd 2011 - 05:08 UTC

  Orthodox economists will manage the Spanish economy with Rajoy

  

  New Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy named on Wednesday a cabinet of mostly close advisers charged with reviving the sluggish economy while slashing spending to reassure investors the Euro zone's No. 4 economy can stay solvent.

• Thursday, December 22nd 2011 - 05:01 UTC

  European Central bank supports financial sector with ultra-cheap € 490 billion

  

  Europe's banks borrowed nearly 490 billion Euros from the European Central Bank at its first-ever offer of three-year loans on Wednesday, encouraging demand for the Euro and stocks on hopes the funding will ease the two-year old debt crisis.

• Thursday, December 22nd 2011 - 04:57 UTC

  Former First Sea Lord suggests sending a nuclear sub to protect the Falklands

  

  A former British First Sea Lord (2002-2006) and Commander during the South Atlantic conflict stated that Britain should respond to the Mercosur bloc’s decision to close their ports to ships that fly the Falklands/Malvinas flag, by sending a nuclear submarine to protect the Islands, the Telegraph newspaper reported Wednesday.

• Wednesday, December 21st 2011 - 19:21 UTC

  The thuggery of Argentina's Falklands claim

  

  By Ian Dunt @IanDunt<http://twitter.com/iandunt - “The protection of peoples' self-determination to choose their own government is the protection of the weak from the strong”

• Wednesday, December 21st 2011 - 05:34 UTC

  Mercosur signs free trade agreement with Palestinian Authority

  

  Mercosur signed a free trade agreement with the Palestinian Authority on Tuesday, the first between the territories and a block of nations outside the Arab world. The ceremony took place during Mercosur presidential summit in Montevideo.

• Wednesday, December 21st 2011 - 02:26 UTC

  Congress votes Rajoy PM who anticipates even tougher austerity measures

  

  Spanish lawmakers voted Tuesday to make conservative leader Mariano Rajoy the new prime minister, approving his program of sweeping budget cuts and tough economic reforms.

• Wednesday, December 21st 2011 - 00:52 UTC

  Britain skips contribution to the IMF for a Euro zone bailout fund

  

  Britain’s refusal to contribute to the IMF for a Euro zone bailout fund has left the EU short of its 200 billion Euro target. The UK boycott leaves the Euro zone more reliant than ever on major economies such China and on Russia, which are willing to lend more to the IMF.

• Wednesday, December 21st 2011 - 00:48 UTC

  ”Gibraltar at this moment, a minor issue” says Spanish Conservative think-tank

  

  A senior director at a Conservative think-tank founded by Jose Maria Aznar, Spain’s former Popular Party prime minister, said Gibraltar was low on the list of priorities for Madrid, particularly at a time of crisis when it needed the UK as an ally.