International

• Wednesday, February 17th 2010 - 23:55 UTC

  Greece defends controversial debt-swaps masterminded by Goldman Sachs

  

  Greece has defended a controversial deal that may have masked the extent of its budget woes and has annoyed the European Union. The 2001 debt-swap deal with Goldman Sachs was legal under EU rules, Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou told the Greek parliament.

• Wednesday, February 17th 2010 - 23:00 UTC

  UK unemployment 7.8%, but jobseekers allowance claimants set a new record

  

  Unemployment in the UK fell at the end of last year but the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance has now reached a record high, new figures show. The number of Britons out of work fell to by 3,000 to 2.46 million in the three months to December, leaving the unemployment rate at 7.8%.

• Wednesday, February 17th 2010 - 22:52 UTC

  Russia’s interests in Latinamerica are “purely commercial”

  

  Russia has increased arms sales to Latin America but Moscow’s interests in the region are “purely commercial” said Russian Foreign Affairs minister Sergei Lavrov following talks with his Mexican counterpart, the last stop of a regional tour that included Cuba, Guatemala and Nicaragua.

• Wednesday, February 17th 2010 - 03:05 UTC

  Seventy journalists killed in 2009, the worst in thirty years, says CJP

  

  Seventy journalists were killed in 2009, making it the worst year since records began 30 years ago, the Committee to Protect Journalists says. A massacre of 31 journalists in the Philippines broke the old record of 67 deaths, set only in 2007.

• Wednesday, February 17th 2010 - 01:28 UTC

  Record fall for US Treasury bonds demand; China net seller

  

  Foreign demand for US Treasury bonds and notes fell by a record amount in December as China reduced its holdings. The Treasury said foreign holdings of US debt dropped by 53 billion USD, surpassing the previous record set last April.

• Wednesday, February 17th 2010 - 01:18 UTC

  Return of 17.5% VAT in January pushes UK inflation to an annual 3.5%

  

  United Kingdom price rises caused by the return of 17.5% VAT in January saw inflation reach 3.5%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose to 3.5% last month from 2.9% in December as goods and services became more expensive.

• Tuesday, February 16th 2010 - 19:56 UTC

  Mercosur/EU agreement anticipated for next May at Madrid summit

  

  Mercosur and the European Union could be signing a cooperation and free trade agreement, although not in its final version, next May during the two continents summit in Madrid, according to the Brazilian Foreign Affairs minister Celso Amorim

• Tuesday, February 16th 2010 - 02:20 UTC

  Darling defends cautious approach to tackling budget deficit

  

  Chancellor Alistair Darling has defended his approach to tackling the UK's budget deficit. Speaking to the BBC, Mr Darling said he disagreed with economists who had called for more aggressive action to close the deficit.

• Tuesday, February 16th 2010 - 02:17 UTC

  Eurostat orders Greece to disclose details of currency swaps

  

  European Union regulators ordered Greece to disclose details of currency swaps after an inquiry by the country’s Finance Ministry uncovered a series of agreements with banks that it may have used to conceal mounting debts.

• Tuesday, February 16th 2010 - 02:12 UTC

  Pro-growth, pro-jobs, European Central bank next vice-president

  

  Euro-zone finance ministers meeting Monday in Brussels nominated Portugal’s Vitor Manuel Ribeiro Constancio to become the next vice president of the European Central Bank, improving the chances of Germany’s Axel Weber to take the top job next year.