The Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth arrived in Gibraltar for her first overseas port visit. As she sailed into port under close security escort, UK Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson highlighted the Rock’s strategic role for UK military operations.
The British Ambassador to Venezuela, Andrew Soper, presented his Letter of Credentials to President Nicolás Maduro during a ceremony at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas.
The CEO of the European Tourism Association, ETOA, Tom Jenkins told Parliament that Brexit is already harming the inbound travel industry, damaging productivity and asked for assurances that hiring non-UK EU workers remains free from bureaucratic burdens, since language skills are particularly important in the industry.
Europe is once again a top travel destination for Americans. Five European countries, Italy, Ireland, France, Iceland and the United Kingdom, comprised half of the top 10 spots for vacation plans in 2018.
The Bank of England has indicated that the pace of interest rate increases could accelerate if the economy remains on its current track. Bank policymakers voted unanimously to keep interest rates on hold at 0.5% at their latest meeting. However, they said rates would need to rise earlier and by a somewhat greater extent than they thought at their last review in November. Economists think the next rate rise could come as soon as May.
UK expressed support for Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernandez who was re-elected in a controversial process, and calls on the new leader to make respect for human rights and the fight against corruption, the priorities of his administration. Fernandez took the oath of office on 27 January.
In an address to a Brussels think tank, the (Germany's Liberal Party) Friedrich Naumann Foundation, the Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia has declared that it would be manifestly unfair to use Gibraltar as a whipping boy who was made to suffer the consequences of Europe‘s wider disagreements with the United Kingdom.
British Prime Minister Theresa May was starting a crucial trade visit to China on Wednesday as she admitted the two countries will not always see eye-to-eye in sensitive areas like steel over-capacity and intellectual property rights.
The UK economy expanded at a slightly faster pace in the fourth quarter on services and manufacturing output, but the full-year growth was the weakest in five years, preliminary data from the Office for National Statistics showed. GDP grew 0.5% sequentially in the fourth quarter, while the rate was forecast to remain unchanged at 0.4%.
The unique Royal Mail Ship, RMS St Helena, will depart on a final voyage (268) from the remote South Atlantic island of St. Helena on Saturday, 10 February, having dutifully served for the past 27 years. The island, a UK Overseas Territory located 1200 miles off the west coast of Africa could only be reached by the ocean-going passenger-cargo ship service, until commercial flights began operating last October, following completion of an airport.