International

• Friday, April 1st 2011 - 00:03 UTC

  G20 leaders closer on agreeing greater global role for Chinese currency

  

  G20 leaders have moved towards agreeing that China's currency should have a wider role in global finance. The G20 is to study whether to include the Chinese Yuan within the basket of currencies that make up the IMF Special Drawing Right.

• Thursday, March 31st 2011 - 07:35 UTC

  “Unlikely there will be a Mercosur/EU trade deal” in 2011 says Irish minister

  

  Ireland believes it looks increasingly unlikely that there will be a Mercosur-European Union trade deal before the end of the year. Mercosur and the EU resumed trade talks in May 2010 with the objective of reaching a deal by the end of 2011.

• Wednesday, March 30th 2011 - 05:25 UTC

  Israel concerned with Uruguay’s position in an Israeli/Palestinian forum

  

  Israel will follow with a critical eye the United Nations organized forum on the Israel-Palestine conflict which opened Tuesday in Montevideo, because whatever the results, the Israeli government is ‘particularly interested in the Uruguayan government’s position’.

• Wednesday, March 30th 2011 - 05:03 UTC

  G20 meeting in China expected to address Japan, Libya and European debt crisis

  

  China hosts Wednesday a Group 20 leaders meeting, originally scheduled to address the international monetary system, most probably criticism of the US Federal Reserve for flooding the world with money, but the latest world events, Japan, Libya and Europe’s debt crisis are bound to change the emphasis of the agenda.

• Tuesday, March 29th 2011 - 04:53 UTC

  Obama justifies his first war, but will not go down the Iraq road

  

  US President Barack Obama has defended the first war launched under his presidency, insisting US military involvement in Libya will be limited. He told Americans US intervention as part of the coalition had saved “countless lives” threatened by the forces of the “tyrant” Muammar Gaddafi.

• Tuesday, March 29th 2011 - 00:55 UTC

  African migrants flood Italian islands: 19.000 since civil unrest begun in January

  Nearly 2,000 African migrants, many of them Eritrean and Somalis, have arrived on Italy's tiny, overcrowded Lampedusa Island in the past 24 hours. It is one of the biggest migrant waves to reach Lampedusa this year.

• Tuesday, March 29th 2011 - 00:53 UTC

  Royal Navy former flagship HMS Ark Royal up for sale on MoD website

  

  British aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal is up for sale on the Ministry of Defence's auction website. The Royal Navy's former flagship was decommissioned two weeks ago after 25 years in service as part of the government's defence budget review.

• Monday, March 28th 2011 - 16:38 UTC

  Israel demands Argentina clarifies an alleged “trade for silence” deal with Iran

  

  Israel may cancel a visit by Argentina's foreign minister after a report that the country told Iran it would stop investigating two bombings of Jewish targets in exchange for better trade relations.
  Argentinean Foreign Minister Hector Timerman is scheduled to visit Israel next week.

• Monday, March 28th 2011 - 04:30 UTC

  Japan’s losses open excellent prospects for Chile’s coho salmon

  

  The March 9 earthquake and tsunami destroyed most of Japan’s profitable salmon industry, but Japan’s loss may be Chile’s gain. <br />
  The catastrophe directly hit the main fishing areas in the provinces of Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima, Ibaraki and Chiaba, destroying 20% of the salmon industry and completely shutting down fishing ports.

• Monday, March 28th 2011 - 01:03 UTC

  IMF recommends ending fiscal stimulus before turning to capital controls

  

  Latin American policy makers should withdraw fiscal and monetary stimulus to prevent their economies from overheating before turning to capital controls to limit foreign currency inflows, said Nicolas Eyzaguirre, the International Monetary Fund Western Hemisphere director.