Politics

• Tuesday, November 25th 2014 - 07:40 UTC

  Two hard-core Pentagon former officials candidates for US Secretary of Defense

  

  President Barack Obama is considering two former Defense Department officials as successors to Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, administration officials said on Monday. Both are seasoned national security professionals whose credibility among members of both parties and Defense Department experience would be considered assets in managing the threat from the Islamic State, budget cuts and other challenges.

• Tuesday, November 25th 2014 - 07:32 UTC

  Israel approves bill defining the country as the “nation-state” of Jewish people

  

  In a move likely to further inflame tensions with Israel’s Arab citizens, a divided Israeli Cabinet approved a bill to legally define the country as the nation-state of the Jewish people.

• Tuesday, November 25th 2014 - 07:21 UTC

  Mujica apologizes to Mexico and gives full support to the fight against drugs

  

  Mexico and Uruguay declared on Monday an end to a brief diplomatic spat over the Uruguayan president's description of Mexico as a “kind of failed state.” Mexico's government protested the remarks by Uruguayan President Jose Mujica over the weekend and said it would summon the country's ambassador for an explanation.

• Tuesday, November 25th 2014 - 07:09 UTC

  Gibraltar to contract law of the sea expert to probe “innocent passage” concept

  

  A world legal expert on the law of the sea is to be engaged by the Gibraltar Government to probe the concept of ‘innocent passage’ as a concept of international law. The concept is regularly cited in relation to Spanish warships and Guardia Civil vessels when they pass through British Gibraltar Territorial Waters, usually when they do not engage in any other activity.

• Tuesday, November 25th 2014 - 04:16 UTC

  Falklands government has received no request, to date, for exhumations at Darwin cemetery

  

  To date (Monday) the Falkland Islands government has received no formal request for the exhumation and identification of the Argentine combatants buried at the Darwin Cemetery, was the reply from Gilbert House in Stanley to reports to that effect in The Independent, and in the Argentine media.

• Tuesday, November 25th 2014 - 00:45 UTC

  Falklands' reference in BBC Top Gear Argentina program: no end to controversy

  

  Ambassador Alicia Castro has addressed a letter directly to the Chair of the BBC Trust requesting formal apologies for the “false and biased” account reported on the BBC program “Top Gear” filmed in Argentina, and in a veiled subtle way ends hoping that the long established relationship between Argentina and the BBC, “will continue to blossom in the future”.

• Monday, November 24th 2014 - 07:44 UTC

  IMF monitoring impact of Venezuela's economic stress for Caribbean islands

  

  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it is monitoring the potential impact any changes to PetroCaribe, Venezuela’s oil alliance with several Caribbean islands will have on regional economies.

• Monday, November 24th 2014 - 07:31 UTC

  IMO adopts Polar Code which comes into force in 2017; environmental groups unsatisfied

  

  The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has adopted the Polar Code aimed at regulating shipping in Polar Regions. Several environmental groups have criticized the measures for not going far enough to protect the Arctic and Antarctic environments, arguing that while the new code is a positive step forward, it is insufficient to properly protect Polar environments from the anticipated increased levels of shipping activity.

• Monday, November 24th 2014 - 07:25 UTC

  Britain confirms financial assistance to five Eastern Caribbean countries

  

  Britain is providing assistance to five Eastern Caribbean countries “to help them return to economic growth while managing the risks from external shocks”. The Department for International Development (DFID) Caribbean says it will work closely with Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Dominica under the new program that runs until 2020.

• Monday, November 24th 2014 - 06:45 UTC

  Mexico/Uruguay incident following Mujica's statement about a 'failed state'

  

  Mexico said on Sunday it was summoning Uruguay's ambassador after Uruguayan President Jose Mujica said that the disappearance of 43 students in southwest Mexico suggests the country is a 'failed state'.