Stories for 2017

Monday, July 31st 2017 - 07:46 UTC
Open divisions on post-Brexit policy surface in the British cabinet

Allowing free movement of people after Britain leaves the European Union would not “keep faith” with the Brexit vote, the international trade secretary said, underling divisions in the government over the issue. Liam Fox told the Sunday Times that senior government ministers had not reached a consensus on retaining free movement of people for a transitional period, a proposal outlined by finance minister Philip Hammond on Friday.
Saturday, July 29th 2017 - 23:29 UTC
Brazilian budget remains at record breaking deficit

Brazil posted another large budget deficit in June, the biggest on record for the month, highlighting the government's uphill battle to meet its budget target amid a slow economic recovery. The monthly primary deficit, before interest rate payments, narrowed in June to 19.552 billion reais (US$6.21 billion) from 30.7 billion in May.
Saturday, July 29th 2017 - 14:53 UTC
Hammond admits post-Brexit transitional deal up, but until general election in 2022

Any “transitional deal” in the period after Brexit must end by June 2022, the time of the next general election, Philip Hammond has said. But the chancellor said there must be “business as usual, life as normal” for Britons as the UK left the EU.
Saturday, July 29th 2017 - 14:16 UTC
Uruguay reports two outbreaks of PRRS at two pig farms

Uruguay's veterinary authorities have reported two outbreaks of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) at two pig farms, one based in Salto and the other in Canelones. An immediate notification was sent to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) on 20 July.
Saturday, July 29th 2017 - 13:58 UTC
Brexit controversy: Ireland against any “economic border” with North Ireland

Ireland is against the imposition of an “economic border” with Northern Ireland and the Irish government is not going to help Britain design one, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Friday.
Saturday, July 29th 2017 - 12:55 UTC
Century anniversary of the Third Battle of Ypres, remembered for the scale of casualties

Next 31 July 2017 will mark a century since the beginning of the Third Battle of Ypres – widely known as Passchendaele. The UK Government, in collaboration with the Belgian Government, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and the Royal British Legion is hosting a series of events to mark one of the defining battles of the First World War.
Saturday, July 29th 2017 - 12:23 UTC
Gibraltar reminds Madrid of close cross-border cooperation and the 7.800 Spaniards working in the Rock

Gibraltar will continue to grow in a post-Brexit world and Spain should not create obstacles to cross-border cooperation that will generate jobs and wealth for the region, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo told a seminar in the neighboring town of San Roque in Andalucía.
Saturday, July 29th 2017 - 11:46 UTC
Post-Brexit trade deals and serious obstacles when it comes to food

As the United Kingdom begins contacts to negotiate new trade deals as it leaves the EU in 2019, food will be one of many areas that will need to be addressed. The ongoing spat over chlorine chicken highlights how tastes and safety practices around the world can differ hugely, since what might seem normal practice in one country can seem problematic elsewhere.
Saturday, July 29th 2017 - 11:25 UTC
More protests and fighting in Caracas as US orders family members of embassy staff to leave Venezuela

The U.S. government ordered family members of employees at its embassy in Venezuela to leave on Thursday as a political crisis deepened ahead of a controversial vote critics contend will end democracy in the oil-rich country.
Saturday, July 29th 2017 - 11:13 UTC
Trump's “political commissar” Scaramucci makes his first “kill”, chief of staff Priebus

President Donald Trump has named General John Kelly, who currently heads the Department of Homeland Security, as his next chief of staff. The announcement, made on Twitter on Friday afternoon, removes Reince Priebus from the role.