International

• Thursday, December 11th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Obama transition team supports call for Latam free trade

  

  United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Latinamerica to continue fighting poverty and avoid the temptation of closing off trade. Rice said on Wednesday countries should not “repeat the mistakes of the Great Depression when nations deepened that crisis by turning inward”.

• Thursday, December 11th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  UN admits human rights protection is far from achieved

  

  The international community has not lived up to the vision held in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told a ceremony on Wednesday marking the 60th anniversary of the landmark document.

• Thursday, December 11th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Russia/Argentina sign “strategic alliance” and criticize US

  

  Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner called for a closer partnership with Russia at Kremlin talks on Wednesday, implying criticism to the United States perceived dominance of world affairs.

• Thursday, December 11th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Germany/UK clash over origin of crisis and Keynes legacy

  

  The German finance minister has launched an outspoken attack on the UK government's plans to help pull Britain out of the economic downturn. In an unusual breach of standard diplomacy, Peer Steinbruck attacked the UK's decision to cut VAT and raise the national debt to record levels.

• Thursday, December 11th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Putin's Russia supports Argentina's Falklands claim

  

  Russia openly supported Argentina's sovereignty claim over the Falkland Islands and called for a peaceful resolution of the dispute with Britain in the joint statement following the meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner with counterpart Dmitri Medvedev.

• Thursday, December 11th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Royal Navy cash saving review delays building of carriers

  

  Britain's Royal Navy two new aircraft carriers are likely to be delayed by up to two years following a cash-saving review of Ministry of Defence equipment spending, it was announced this week.

• Thursday, December 11th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  German economy forecasted to contract 2.2% next year

  

  Germany's Munich based Ifo (Institute for Economic Research) expects the German economy to contract 2.2% in 2009 and continue falling into the following year, according to a forecast published on Thursday.

• Thursday, December 11th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Global oil demand forecasted to drop, first time since 1983

  

  Global oil demand will contract this year for the first time since 1983 shrinking by 200.000 barrels per day, with the total revised down to 85.8 million barrels per day according to the monthly report from the International Energy Agency.

• Thursday, December 11th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Tentative agreement for second EU Ireland referendum

  

  The way could be cleared for Ireland to hold a second referendum on the European Union's Lisbon Treaty by October 2009, a draft statement by EU leaders said Thursday.
  
  The statement grants several major concessions to Dublin in an effort to convince Irish voters of the merits of adopting the reforming treaty, which attempts to streamline decision-making within the 27-member bloc.

• Thursday, December 11th 2008 - 20:00 UTC

  Brazil demands leadership from Obama on trade

  

  Brazil said on Thursday that global trade talks need a strong signal from US President-elect Barack Obama to save them from failure. Brazilian Minister Celso Amorim made the announcement after meeting with World Trade Organization Director General Pascal Lamy in Geneva.