Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has signed a law that allows foreign companies to drill for oil for the first time since the sector was nationalised in 1938. The legislation was passed by Congress on 13 December and ratified by a majority of Mexican states. President Pena Nieto says the reform will help Mexico attract the investment needed to boost its falling oil output. The oppositio...
Angela Merkel has been confirmed as German chancellor for a third term, at the head of a grand coalition, by a vote in parliament. Her centre-right CDU/CSU bloc fell short of an overall majority in September’s polls and will share power with the Social Democrats (SDP). Merkel received 462 votes out of 621 in the Bundestag (parliament) on Tuesday. The SPD’s membership voted on Sunday to back...
Portugal has moved a step closer to exiting its bailout program after the international lenders that saved the country from bankruptcy approved a review of the economy six months early. The European Union and International Monetary Fund have been monitoring the country’s economic reforms, a condition of the 2011 78bn-euro (£66bn) bailout. Portugal hopes to leave the bailout agreement in the...