International

• Thursday, August 9th 2018 - 06:38 UTC

  Pound falls below US$ 1.29 for the first time in almost a year

  

  The pound has fallen below US$1.29 for the first time in almost a year on continuing worries Britain will leave the EU without a trade deal. Sterling also hit a nine-month low against the euro, and was down against the yen and Swiss franc.

• Wednesday, August 8th 2018 - 10:08 UTC

  EU’s Blocking Statute enters in force to protect EU companies doing business with Iran

  

  European foreign affairs chiefs have pledged to protect firms against the impact of US sanctions for doing business with Iran. An EU “blocking statute” took effect on Tuesday to nullify US legal action against European firms in connection with Iran.

• Wednesday, August 8th 2018 - 09:50 UTC

  UK farmers call to make food security a priority for a post Brexit scenario

  

  British farmers have called on the government to make food security a top priority on the day the country’s cupboards would run bare if households relied only on British produce. A long-term decline in self-sufficiency that has stagnated at around 60% in recent years means around three quarters of the shortfall is imported from the rest of the European Union.

• Wednesday, August 8th 2018 - 09:41 UTC

  UK “bottom of the league” when improving life expectancy

  

  The UK has fallen to the “bottom of the league” when it comes to improving life expectancy, it has been warned. The country experienced one of the biggest slowdowns in increased life expectancy between 2011 and 2016, according to new analysis by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

• Wednesday, August 8th 2018 - 07:44 UTC

  Trump warns “anybody doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States”

  

  President Donald Trump has issued a strong warning to anyone trading with Iran, following his re-imposition of sanctions on the country. “Anyone doing business with Iran will NOT be doing business with the United States,” the president tweeted.

• Wednesday, August 8th 2018 - 07:34 UTC

  Ex Uruguayan diplomat murders neighbor in London, a LGTB rights campaigner

  

  A former Uruguayan diplomat has been sent to a secure psychiatric facility for killing his London neighbor after a long-running dispute. Enrique Facelli, who spent 18 years as cultural attaché at Uruguay's London embassy, was charged with the murder of LGBT rights campaigner Julian Aubrey, who lived in the same apartment building.

• Wednesday, August 8th 2018 - 06:20 UTC

  Amnesty makes abortion decriminalization debate in Argentina a worldwide issue

  

  Amnesty International has taken out a provocative advert that will appear in 134 countries on the eve of the vote to decriminalize abortion in Argentina. An image of a coat-hanger, a stark symbol long-associated with unsafe and clandestine abortions, will highlight the deadly consequences of the current law, and remind Senators that they have the power to save many lives by voting to decriminalize abortion.

• Wednesday, August 8th 2018 - 06:00 UTC

  “UK is and will remain a tier one military power”, after Brexit, Defense Secretary tells Washington

  

  British Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson insisted on Tuesday that Britain's military will not be diminished after it leaves the European Union next year. “Britain leaving the European Union has no impact in terms of the security and defense of Europe,” Mr Williamson said in a speech at the Atlantic Council in Washington.

• Tuesday, August 7th 2018 - 07:59 UTC

  Falklands' flag to fly all year round in Portsmouth

  

  Portsmouth could soon fly the Falklands flag all year round as a lasting tribute to all those who died to liberate the British territory 36 years ago. Plans are afoot to install a new flagpole outside the Falklands memorial in Old Portsmouth to allow the islands’ symbol to fly above the entrance to the city’s harbor.

• Tuesday, August 7th 2018 - 07:48 UTC

  US re-imposes first wave of sanctions on Iran; EU, China, Russia, India resist

  

  At midday on Tuesday, the first wave of U.S. sanctions suspended under the Iran nuclear deal will snap back into place, as the Trump administration tries to ramp up the economic pressure on Iran. But without partners in Europe, let alone buy-in from countries like Russia, China, and India, it's unclear how strong that pressure will be.