
A ten week Call of Evidence was launched by the UK Government on Friday, to gather knowledge on safeguarding nature in the UK Overseas Territories. Many of the Overseas Territories are globally significant in their ecological richness, containing over 90% of UK’s marine and terrestrial nature. They are hotspots for biodiversity with an estimated 3,300 endemic species, but they are also highly vulnerable to environmental change.

Vikki Berntsen and Farrah Peck of The Falkland Islands Wool Company attended the 88th Congress of the International Wool Textiles Organisation (IWTO) last month, along with Adam Dawes of the Department of Agriculture, and Robert Hall of Falkland Wool Growers.

US President Donald Trump cranked up the heat on Friday in a trade battle with China, ordering a tariff hike on almost all remaining imports from the world's second-biggest economy, putting at risk global growth and the stability of financial markets.

Billionaires linked to Scotland have increased their wealth in the past year, according to the Sunday Times Rich List, to be published on Sunday. The 11 billionaires were worth an estimated combined £17.245bn, an increase of £1.038bn in the past year.

LATAM Airlines Group was named for the second year running as the ‘Best Global Airline in South America’ in the Passenger Experience Association of Airlines (APEX) Passenger Choice Awards in Los Angeles, California. LATAM was also recognized for the ‘Best Seat Comfort’, ‘Best Cabin Service’, ‘Best Entertainment’ and ‘Best Wi-Fi’ in South America.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has announced this week the beaches, ports and sustainable boat tour operators in Europe for 2019. Spain boasts 669 Blue Flag awards including 566 Spanish beaches, 98 marina resorts and 5 sustainable tourist boat operators.

Princess Cruises has announced its largest Australia and New Zealand cruise season ever offered sailing towards some of the world’s most dramatic destinations during the cruise line’s October 2020 to May 2021 season. New for this season, Regal Princess joins sister ship Majestic Princess in Australia, marking the cruise line’s youngest fleet to sail in this region.

Three issues lie in the way of an agreement between China and the United States, which will have to be ironed out in upcoming talks in Beijing, said China’s chief trade negotiator as the US moved to impose higher tariffs on Chinese goods.

The European Union and Mercosur will likely close a trade agreement in the near future, Brazil’s Foreign Trade Secretary Lucas Ferraz said in an interview with Bloomberg. “We’ve never been so close,” Ferraz said adding, “we’ve advanced more in four months than in 20 years”.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he had received a “beautiful letter” from Chinese President Xi Jinping, as negotiations on a trade deal between the two countries continue in Washington.