International

• Saturday, January 30th 2010 - 14:31 UTC

  Russia and Antarctica

  

  A historic discovery was made on January 28, 1820. A Russian navy expedition under the command of Faddei Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev sighted the last of the remaining unexplored continents - Antarctica.

• Saturday, January 30th 2010 - 08:18 UTC

  Euro zone unemployment hits 10%; Spain tops the list with 19.5%

  

  Unemployment in the 16 countries that use the Euro hit 10% in December for the first time since the single currency was introduced in 1999. It had been reported that the rate hit 10% in November, but this has subsequently been revised down to 9.9%.

• Friday, January 29th 2010 - 12:01 UTC

  China confirms commitment as leading economy for world recovery

  

  China reaffirmed its economic goals of raising domestic incomes and consumption while reducing its reliance on exports and investment. For this purpose China is pursuing a “proactive fiscal policy” and “moderately easy monetary policy” said Vice Premier Li Kegiang in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

• Friday, January 29th 2010 - 11:53 UTC

  Sweet-sour conflict: EU plants to export extra 500.000 tons of sugar

  

  The European Union plans to export an extra 500,000 tonnes of sugar because world sugar prices have soared and European beet farmers have surpluses. The European Commission says the export of extra, unsubsidised sugar will not violate international trade rules. It says the measure is temporary.

• Friday, January 29th 2010 - 06:48 UTC

  Bill Clinton asks Davos forum for money and distribution trucks

  

  Former US President Bill Clinton appealed for global business leaders to help Haiti rebuild after the earthquake which devastated its coastal capital and killed as many as 200,000 people.

• Friday, January 29th 2010 - 06:00 UTC

  Ford post full-year earnings for the first time since 2005

  

  Ford Motor Co posted 2009 earnings of 2.7 billion USD, its first full-year profit since 2005, and said it expected a 2010 profit amid market share gains and a slow US auto sales recovery.

• Friday, January 29th 2010 - 03:05 UTC

  Cambio? The Obama Administration in Latin America: A Disappointing Year in Perspective

  

  In a memorandum written as Barack Obama assumed office in January 2009 COHA’s Research Fellows Guy Hursthouse and Tomás Ayuso considered widespread Latin American expectations of a dramatic shift in approach from Washington under the new president, and outlined an agenda for change aimed at achieving those hopes as the result of a bold new direction for U.S. relations with the region. A year later, they offer their evaluation of developments to date and conclude that a clear and meaningful program of change has failed to materialize under Obama, his Secretary of State, and the leadership team to which he has looked for drafting his regional agendas. At best, their fractured approach to Latin American issues has delivered mixed results. Looking ahead, the authors ask, despite the continued backing Obama continues to enjoy from a resilient public that still refuses give up on him, can we expect the president’s second year in office to deliver that coherent mixture of realism and idealism which has up to now proved elusive?

• Thursday, January 28th 2010 - 13:59 UTC

  Air passengers traffic in 2009 experienced biggest decline in post-war era

  

  The year 2009 saw the biggest decline in air passenger traffic in the post-war era, according to the International Air Transport Association IATA. Passenger demand for the full year was down 3.5% with an average load factor of 75.6%. Freight showed a full-year decline of 10.1% with an average load factor of 49.1%.

• Thursday, January 28th 2010 - 13:41 UTC

  Sarkozy raps bankers and calls for a fundamental rethink of capitalism

  

  French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called for a fundamental rethink of capitalism in the aftermath of the financial crisis. “We need deep profound change,” he said in his keynote speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

• Thursday, January 28th 2010 - 05:41 UTC

  “Super Charlie”, 7 year-old from London collects £ 200.000 for Haiti

  

  Seven-year-old Charlie Simpson, from west London, met on Wednesday British Prime Minister's wife at 10 Downing Street after raising more than £200,000 for earthquake victims in Haiti.