Falkland Island’s Legislative Assembly member, Mike Summers, recently travelled to North America on a three week trip to gauge support for the Falklands’ right to self-determination from the new Canadian Government. In addition to visiting Canada, MLA Summers also made stops in Miami and the Bahamas.
China COSCO Shipping has won the draw for its container vessel Andronikos to make the ceremonial first transit through the Expanded Panama Canal during the waterway's inauguration on Sunday, June 26. The vessel, which has a maximum capacity of 9,400 TEUs, is 48.25 meters in beam and 299.98 meters in length.
On World Press Freedom Day 2016, Foreign Office Minister Baroness Anelay said: Promoting freedom of the press and the right to access information is not just the right thing to do; it is also the smart thing to do. Where it is denied, we see a stifling of healthy debate and innovation, harming a country’s long term social and economic prospects, Foreign Office minister Baroness Anelay said on World Press Freedom Day.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Message for 2016 - Human rights, democratic societies and sustainable development depend on the free flow of information. And the right to information depends on press freedom. Each year, we observe World Press Freedom Day to emphasize these fundamental principles, to protect the independence of the media and to honour media workers who risk and have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession.
NATO said on Wednesday it had agreed to non-member Israel setting up representation at its Brussels headquarters, a tentative sign of rapprochement between the Jewish state and NATO member Turkey.
The European Central Bank has announced it will stop printing €500 notes in 2018. It says the move is to stop the notes being used by money launderers and criminals. In effect they are easily transportable. A million Euros in €500 notes weighs 2.2 kilograms and can be carried in a laptop bag.
European farmers took to the streets of Dublin outside the EU Commission offices to highlight the potential “sellout” of the multi-billion-euro beef industry in trade talks with Mercosur. Concerns have been rising over discussions at EU level over the impact a deal with Mercosur would have on Ireland's €2.5bn beef industry, which depends on EU markets for over 90% of its exports.
Spain's King Felipe VI signed the decree dissolving parliament following December's inconclusive general election. As no political parties were able to coalesce their support into a coalition government in time for the deadline, new elections will be held on June 26.
Presidential candidate of Peruvians for Change, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (PPK), has a vote intention of 50.1%, while Popular Strength presidential candidate, Keiko Fujimori garnered 49.9% of the votes ahead of the 5 June runoff, according to the latest GFK survey, released this week.
Brazil’s state-run oil firm Petrobras said it has concluded the sale of its 67.2% stake in Petrobras Argentina to Argentina’s Pampa Energía for US$ 892 million, according to a securities filing. Petrobras also sold all of Petrobras Chile Distribución to Southern Cross Group for about US$ 490 million as part of its divestment program, the company said.