Stories for April 2017

Monday, April 24th 2017 - 06:14 UTC
Tony Blair predicts landslide for PM May, but warns 'unreasonable' Brexit policy is geared by right wing Tories

Tony Blair has urged voters not to elect MPs who “back Brexit at any cost”, whichever party they are from. The ex-PM told the BBC that Brexit was a bigger issue than party allegiance for the general election on 8 June.
Sunday, April 23rd 2017 - 06:51 UTC
UK government recovers the £20.3bn spent bailing out Lloyds Banking Group

The £20.3bn spent bailing out Lloyds Banking Group during the financial crash has been re-paid in full, UK chancellor Philip Hammond has said. Nine years after the government bought 43.4% of Lloyds, the taxpayer has now got slightly more - £20.4bn - back.
Saturday, April 22nd 2017 - 14:15 UTC
IMF Lagarde calls for “growth friendly fiscal policies” and warns on automation

The International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde said that to get the global economy moving at a faster pace it was necessary to share the benefits of capitalism, more global regulation and more action to protect workers against automation and robots.
Saturday, April 22nd 2017 - 14:02 UTC
Germany and US confident an understanding on trade can be reached

Recent tensions between the U.S. and other major economies over trade did not reemerge during Friday’s meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, fueling hopes global policy makers can avert an open dispute with the Trump administration over globalization, top German officials said.
Saturday, April 22nd 2017 - 13:25 UTC
King of Spain to UK will be rescheduled announced Madrid

The King of Spain’s state visit to the UK is likely to be rescheduled after his country’s foreign minister indicated that staging it during the UK’s general election would not be appropriate. King Felipe VI, accompanied by his wife, Queen Letizia, are due to tour the UK from June 6-8 after it was announced in March that he had accepted an invitation from the Queen.
Saturday, April 22nd 2017 - 13:16 UTC
United Airlines PR disaster: the carrier will link pay to customer satisfaction

Two weeks after a passenger was violently dragged from one its planes, United Airlines says it is to link pay more closely to customer satisfaction. The US carrier has also revealed its chief executive, Oscar Munoz, will now not become chairman, as anticipated.
Saturday, April 22nd 2017 - 13:00 UTC
Cruise to assess micro-plastic pollution in Spain's northern waters and sediments

Researchers from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) have started an oceanographic survey to assess micro-plastic contamination in both water and sediments off the coast of Galicia and Cantabria.
Saturday, April 22nd 2017 - 10:47 UTC
Looting and stray shooting kill twelve more in Venezuela; death toll rises to 21

Twelve more Venezuelans lost their lives on Friday in violence associated with a wave of anti-government demonstrations, including eight who died electrocuted when they came in contact with a 220 kV cable while looting a bakery. This brings up to 21 the number of fatalities since the new wave of protest started in early April.
Saturday, April 22nd 2017 - 09:53 UTC
Tear gas and rubber bullets to protect Cristina Fernandez surrounded by protestors in Rio Gallegos

Argentine ex president Cristina Fernandez and her sister in law and governor of Santa Cruz province Alicia Kirchner, are holding in at their home in Rio Gallegos surrounded by an angry crowd in the midst of a chaotic situation as police try to disperse protestors with tear gas and rubber bullets.
Saturday, April 22nd 2017 - 09:35 UTC
Falklands: Malcorra cautious about EU's position on the dispute following Brexit

The European Union could reevaluate its position on the disputed Falkland Islands after Britain leaves the bloc, Argentina’s foreign minister said in Brussels, where she attended a meeting with EU negotiators on Mercosur/EU trade discussions.