International

• 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.

• Friday, December 11th 2009 - 07:47 UTC

  Bank of England leaves rates and QE program unchanged

  

  The Bank of England has held UK interest rates at the record low of 0.5% in a widely-expected move. It also announced no changes to its program of pumping newly-created money into the economy - so-called quantitative easing (QE).

• Friday, December 11th 2009 - 07:44 UTC

  UK Chancellor warned about spending cuts and budget deficit targets

  

  United Kingdom Chancellor Alistair Darling was warned he must find £36 billion in new spending cuts if the British Government is to meet its commitment to halve the budget deficit over the next four years.

• Friday, December 11th 2009 - 07:42 UTC

  Weak dollar helps US October exports rise 2.6%, highest level in almost a year

  

  The United States trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed in October as exports rose to their highest level in almost a year, official figures have shown. The deficit fell to 32.9 billion US dollars, 7.6% lower than September's downwardly revised 35.7 billion

• Friday, December 11th 2009 - 04:11 UTC

  President Obama defended the concept of “just war” at Peace Nobel ceremony

  

  President Barack Obama defended the concept of a just war as he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway on Thursday. The US leader acknowledged he was a controversial recipient, not least because he is the commander-in-chief of a nation fighting two conflicts overseas.

• Thursday, December 10th 2009 - 11:42 UTC

  Global food prices on the rise four months running, cautions FAO

  

  Global food prices are on the ascent again with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Food Price Index – a food basket composed of cereals, oilseeds, dairy, meat and sugar – registering four straight monthly rises.

• Thursday, December 10th 2009 - 11:28 UTC

  FOGL trying to tempt Chilean companies to join Falklands’ oil exploration

  

  Senior executives from Falkland Oil and Gas Limited (FOGL), which operates in the Falkland Islands, where it just announced the existence of significant oil reserves tempted Chile's State Oil Company (ENAP) into entering the business to help them explore and develop a 49,000 square meter basin in the South Atlantic.