The United Nations Security Council approved tough new sanctions on North Korea on Saturday including a ban on coal and other exports totaling more than US$1 billion — a huge bite in its total exports, valued at US$3 billion last year. U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley praised the new sanctions, telling council members after the vote that it is the single largest economic package ever leveled against the North Korean regime.
Brexit will still happen despite the UK becoming more aware of the “density of problems” during withdrawal negotiations, Jean-Claude Juncker has said. The European Commission president indicated he disagreed with the Maltese prime minister Joseph Muscat, who reportedly said last week he saw “hopeful signs” that “Brexit will not happen”.
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has called for unique solutions to preserve the relationship between the UK and the European Union after Brexit. On his first official visit to Northern Ireland, he raised the possibility of a bilateral UK-EU customs union, and described Brexit as the challenge of this generation.
by Luke Blackstock -The change of employer for 25-year-old, Brazilian footballer Neymar da Silva Santos Jr and a diplomatic crisis halfway around the world apparently have no link. Neymar has become the world’s most expensive footballer after signing for Paris Saint-Germain, and priced away from one of its biggest clubs.
Standard Chartered is set to spend about US$20m to turn its Frankfurt office into a European base due to Brexit. The bank plans to create a subsidiary at its German branch to maintain access to the European market after Britain withdraws from the European Union.
The governor of the Bank of England has warned that uncertainty over Brexit is already weighing on the economy. Mark Carney's comments came as the Bank voted to hold rates and cut growth forecasts. It edged this year's growth forecast down to 1.7% from its previous forecast of 1.9% made in May and also cut the forecast for 2018 from 1.7% to 1.6%.
Labour MP close to Jeremy Corbyn has criticized the US's decision to impose sanctions on the Venezuelan president. Chris Williamson said it would be better to facilitate talks between the government and opposition amid ongoing political unrest and violence.
Venezuela's state-run PDVSA has reduced crude sales to its U.S. refining unit Citgo Petroleum while increasing supply to Russia's Rosneft, following a plan signed in May to catch up on overdue deliveries, according to PDVSA documents, sources from the company and its joint ventures.
Qatar has filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization over a trade embargo imposed by its Gulf neighbors. The complaint accuses Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates of violating the trade group's core laws and conventions on trade of goods and services, and trade-related aspects of intellectual property, according to a statement from Qatar's ministry of economy and commerce.
The 100th anniversary of the first time an aircraft touched down on the deck of a moving ship is to be marked. Squadron Commander Edwin Dunning landed a Sopwith Pup biplane on HMS Furious in Scapa Flow, Orkney, on 2 August, 1917.