FIFA's ruling body has voted unanimously to expand the World Cup from 32 to 48 teams in 2026. The FIFA Council approved the plan at its meeting Tuesday in Zurich. Under the new format, there will be 16 groups of three teams. A knockout stage for 32 teams will follow.
Spain has little prospect of gaining joint sovereignty over Gibraltar, Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis said this weekend as he acknowledged that Gibraltarians “have a right” to reject the offer. In an interview with the leading Spanish newspaper El País, the foreign minister insisted any post-Brexit relationship between Gibraltar and the EU must first be agreed by the UK and Spain.
The British Pound slumped lower on ongoing Brexit worries on Tuesday, while the US Dollar recouped some of its recent losses as investors wait for President-elect Donald Trump's first press conference Wednesday. While Trump's Twitter account has been active since he won the keys to the White House and given clues to his policies, Wednesday's press conference will give Trump the platform to explain his tax and spending plans.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has stepped up pressure on Theresa May over Brexit by saying that the European Union must consider limiting UK access to the single market if it fails to accept free movement of EU citizens. The chancellor repeated her mantra that there must be no negotiations based on “cherry picking” of the Union’s four freedoms of movement for capital, goods, services and people.
The Falkland Islands government remembered on Tuesday. the 34th anniversary of the first visit of ex prime minister Margaret Thatcher to the Islands. Flowers were laid by the Falklands government office representative in London, Sukey Cameron, MBE.Flowers laid to mark #MargaretThatcherDay #Falklands. 10th January 1983 she first visited the Islands.@FalklandsGov.
Tony Mason has been appointed to the role of Chief Executive Officer for the Latin America Travel Association. He is the former Chief Executive Officer of the Falkland Islands Tourist Board. Mason will support the Chair, Byron Shirto and Executive Committee in the governance of the Association.
Britain will be in the front seat to negotiate a new trade deal with the incoming Trump administration, a top Republican in the US Senate has said. A US-UK trade deal would be a priority, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker said after meeting Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned Prime Minister Theresa May that she is not bluffing on the promise of a second independence referendum if Scotland is driven off a hard Brexit cliff. In an interview with BBC's Andrew Marr she felt the prime minister had no plan in terms of her strategy for the UK leaving the EU.
Negotiations for an ample trade and cooperation agreement between the European Union and Mercosur are strategic, essential and must be urgently concluded, said Ramon Jauregui, head of the Euro-chamber for Latin America delegation, following on the recent accords signed by the EU with Ecuador and Cuba.
UK foreign secretary has held positive but frank talks with some of Donald Trump's key advisers during a visit to New York, officials have said. Boris Johnson met Mr Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kuchner, and Steve Bannon, the US president-elect's strategist.