International

• Wednesday, April 17th 2019 - 09:54 UTC

  Five years to rebuild Notre Dame, says Macron: “people will join to repair the national symbol”

  

  President Emmanuel Macron pledged on Tuesday that France would rebuild the fire-devastated Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, saying he hoped the work would be done in five years and the French people would pull together to repair their national symbol.

• Wednesday, April 17th 2019 - 09:49 UTC

  Dissident Labour and Tory MPs register as “Change UK”, and plan to participate in EU elections

  

  The Electoral Commission has approved The Independent Group's application to register as a political party. The group - made up of 11 former Labor and Tory MPs who their parties in February, will become Change UK. The approval means they can put forward candidates in the European elections due to take place on 23 May - if the UK has not left the EU by then.

• Wednesday, April 17th 2019 - 09:44 UTC

  Far right Vox party banned from the only electoral debate in Spain ahead of 28 April

  

  Spain's election board has banned the far-right Vox party from participating in the only confirmed debate for the April 28 election. The controversial, anti-immigration party achieved a surprise victory in recent regional elections.

• Wednesday, April 17th 2019 - 09:39 UTC

  EU approves rules to protect workers in the “gig economy”

  

  The European Parliament has approved new EU rules to protect workers in the so-called “gig economy”(*). The law sets minimum rights and demands increased transparency for those in “on-demand” jobs, such as at Uber or Deliveroo.

• Wednesday, April 17th 2019 - 09:36 UTC

  EU passes legislation protecting whistleblowers to encourage wrongdoing

  

  Whistleblowers across the European Union have won greater protection under landmark legislation aimed at encouraging reports of wrongdoing. The new law, approved by the European Parliament on Tuesday, shields whistleblowers from retaliation. It also creates “safe channels” to allow them to report breaches of EU law.

• Wednesday, April 17th 2019 - 09:32 UTC

  UK's employment and hiring remains strong in the three months to February

  

  Unemployment in the UK fell by 27,000 in the three months to February to 1.34 million, official Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show. The number of people in work was also virtually unchanged at a record high of 32.7 million, with a jump of 179,000.

• Wednesday, April 17th 2019 - 09:20 UTC

  English farmer becomes winner of top shearing contest in New Zealand, the first since 1991

  

  A late change of plans to fly home in England in mid-March was just the ticket for Dorset farmer's son Henry Mayo on Friday as he became the first overseas shearer in 28 years to win a New Zealand Shears title in Te Kuiti.

• Wednesday, April 17th 2019 - 07:15 UTC

  International conference for peace development held in Romania

  

  In Romania where discussions for peace and security of the international community have been actively operated as the presidency of EU in 2019, a peace conference took place for 2days from April 1st with the presence of the heads of state, governments, civil society, and international NGOs registered under the United Nations.

• Tuesday, April 16th 2019 - 09:20 UTC

  Macron vows to rebuild the 850-year old Gothic Notre Dame cathedral

  

  French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to rebuild the medieval cathedral of Notre-Dame after a major fire partially destroyed the Paris landmark. Firefighters managed to save the 850-year-old Gothic building's main stone structure, including its two towers, but the spire and roof collapsed.

• Tuesday, April 16th 2019 - 09:18 UTC

  EU and US set to begin trade talks, but farm goods remain a contentious issue

  

  President Donald Trump and the head of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, agreed last year that they wanted to reduce trade barriers. The decision by EU ministers gives the Commission authorization to conduct formal talks.