The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has said that there is “a real risk” that no agreement will be reached with the UK in talks on its withdrawal from the political bloc. Speaking on a visit to the Border area of Ireland, Mr Barnier said that the EU was preparing for all options, including the possibility that Brussels and London cannot reach a deal on the UK’s departure in March 2019.
The UK has backed a “vitally important” nuclear deal with Iran, despite accusations from the US and Israel that Iranians are pursuing atomic weapons. Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu claims thousands of “secret nuclear files” proved Iran covertly sought nuclear weapons - an accusation Iran rejects.
Last week the Falkland Islands Government published their annual report on safeguarding and child protection issues in the Islands. The Government is obliged legally to publish an annual report on such matters, a requirement brought into law in 2014 after a number of historic issues were discovered and investigated in recent years. This document looks to summarize activities in this field over the past year and does not provide any details on individual cases.
The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) reported its visitor numbers for the 2017-2018 Antarctic season at the start of its annual meeting in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. IAATO has been monitoring, analyzing and reporting trends since 1991 as part of its commitment to ‘leave only footprints’ through the effective self-management of its activities.
The Falklands Islands Government have just recently finalized a review process of their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Falklands Conservation, a local environmental NGO. This is an important partnership for the Government and has been in place 2006 on a formal basis.
Argentina has created the Antarctica Joint Command, which will operate under the orbit of the Ministry of Defense and be responsible for conducting operations in Antarctica, and areas of interest, in a continuous and permanent way.
A magistrate in Australia has ordered Cardinal George Pell, one of the Vatican's senior-most officials, to stand trial on sexual abuse charges involving allegations from multiple individuals dating back decades.
Brazilian former president Dilma Rousseff will be joining May first Labor Day activities in Argentina, and participate of a special ceremony at the Argentine unions federation umbrella organization, CGT.
WhatsApp chief executive Jan Koum is to quit the popular messaging service he co-founded. In a post on Facebook, he said he was “taking some time off to do things I enjoy outside of technology”. However, according to a Washington Post report earlier on Monday, Mr Koum had clashed with parent company Facebook over Whatsapp's strategy.
Imprisoned former Brazilian President Lula da Silva, along with the current leader of the Workers Party he founded, was hit on Monday with fresh corruption charges by federal prosecutors.