International

• Tuesday, December 15th 2009 - 08:05 UTC

  Exxon-Mobil buys Texas gas producer for 41 billion US dollars

  

  US oil giant Exxon Mobil is buying natural gas producer XTO Energy in a deal worth 41 billion US dollars. XTO Energy, based in Texas, is an on-shore natural gas producer. The deal includes 10 billion of debt from XTO.

• Tuesday, December 15th 2009 - 07:49 UTC

  FAO calls to limit trade of Atlantic Bluefin tuna and several shark species

  

  An advisory panel of independent experts convened by FAO has issued recommendations regarding six proposals to limit international trade in a number of commercially exploited aquatic animals under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

• Monday, December 14th 2009 - 13:19 UTC

  London could be pushed into third place by Shanghai as financial centre

  

  London could be pushed into third place as a global financial centre by Shanghai in the next decade, according to a report.

• Monday, December 14th 2009 - 08:49 UTC

  Miss Gibraltar defeats 111 hopefuls to become Miss World 2009

  

  Gibraltar's Kaiane Aldorino claimed the title of Miss World 2009 on Saturday, defeating 111 other hopefuls at a glittering ceremony in South Africa.

• Saturday, December 12th 2009 - 15:22 UTC

  Australia threatens Japan with international legal action over whaling

  

  Australia has threatened international legal action after the new Japanese Government declared there would be no change to its stance on whaling. Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada said in Tokyo that he saw no need for a review of the Government's policy, disappointing those who thought it might break with the past.

• Saturday, December 12th 2009 - 15:11 UTC

  Arctic climate change forcing Eskimos to build deep freezers to store game

  

  Inuit communities (Eskimos) need funds to adapt to climate change in the Arctic, including measures to build communal deep freezers to store game because warming is reducing their hunting season, an Inuit leader said on Friday.

• Saturday, December 12th 2009 - 09:21 UTC

  Drastic budget cuts anticipated for UK Ministry of Defence

  

  The British Ministry of Defence is facing hundreds of millions of pounds in cuts - including the closure of at least one RAF base - as it struggles to balance its books, it was reported.

• Saturday, December 12th 2009 - 07:45 UTC

  US warns Latinamerica ing about “flirting” with the Iran regime

  

  US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Friday urged Latin American countries to “think twice” about establishing links with Iran, which she said is the world's leading promoter and exporter of terrorism. Clinton also expressed concern about democratically-elected leaders in Latin America who later move to undermine democratic institutions.

• Friday, December 11th 2009 - 17:34 UTC

  FAO report predicts “an ocean of change” for fishers and fish farmers

  

  Marine capture fisheries already facing multiple challenges due to overfishing, habitat loss and weak management are poorly positioned to cope with new problems stemming from climate change, a new FAO study suggests.

• Friday, December 11th 2009 - 07:54 UTC

  S&P downgrades Spain’s credit outlook to negative from stable

  

  Spain has had its credit outlook cut to negative from stable by the ratings agency Standard & Poor's. The agency said Spain faced a deeper deterioration in public finances and a longer period of economic weakness than it had previously expected.