International

• Wednesday, March 20th 2019 - 08:54 UTC

  “Fall armyworms” have reached Asia and are munching crops; FAO meeting to address the challenge

  

  Farming in several Asian countries is under threat from a type of crop-damaging insect that has munched its way from the Americas and across Africa, the United Nations' food agency said on Wednesday as global experts commence a three-day meeting to discuss ways to limit the damage.

• Wednesday, March 20th 2019 - 08:17 UTC

  Costa Smeralda launched in Finland; first Costa cruise powered by Lng

  

  Costa Crociere celebrated the technical launch of the new flagship Costa Smeralda at the Meyer shipyard in Turku, Finland. During the ceremony, the ship officially touched the sea for the first time. The celebration, which saw the participation of the top management of Costa Cruises and the Meyer shipyards, followed the protocol established by the maritime tradition, with the flooding of the basin where the ship has taken shape in recent months.

• Tuesday, March 19th 2019 - 08:30 UTC

  Danish Royals visit Argentina with a delegation to promete business and trade

  

  Denmark's Queen Margrethe II and Crown Prince Frederik are spearheading an official state visit to Argentina which started this Monday ahead of a larger business delegation which seeks to make inroads in the country. 

• Tuesday, March 19th 2019 - 08:08 UTC

  Spanish and Swiss companies win rights to operate key Brazilian airport groups

  

  Spain’s Aena SME SA and Switzerland’s Flughafen Zuerich AG last Friday won the right to operate two key Brazilian airport groups, in one of the first tests of President Jair Bolsonaro’s ability to draw foreign investment.

• Tuesday, March 19th 2019 - 06:36 UTC

  Singapore, Hong Kong and Paris, world's most expensive cities according to EIU

  

  Singapore, Hong Kong and Paris have been named the world’s most expensive cities for expatriates to live in, according to a survey of 133 cities released on Tuesday by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

• Tuesday, March 19th 2019 - 06:16 UTC

  IMF commends Argentina's stabilization efforts, releases next US$ 10.8bn, but also demands more austerity

  

  An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Mr. Roberto Cardarelli visited Argentina during February 11–22, 2019 to conduct discussions on the Third Review of Argentina’s IMF-supported program under the Stand-By Arrangement (SBA). Talks continued in Washington DC after the end of the mission.

• Tuesday, March 19th 2019 - 05:44 UTC

  Brexit turmoil: Speaker rules out third vote unless Mrs. May's deal is re-submitted in fundamentally different form

  

  Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit plans were thrown into further turmoil on Monday when the speaker of parliament ruled that she could not put her divorce deal to a new vote unless it was re-submitted in a fundamentally different form.

• Monday, March 18th 2019 - 08:39 UTC

  Germany's two leading banks considering a merger: government supports

  

  Germany's two biggest lenders, Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, will hold formal talks about a merger. The announcement caps months of speculation that the two struggling banks would attempt to combine.

• Monday, March 18th 2019 - 08:36 UTC

  Chinese president Xi on state visits to Italy , Monaco and France

  

  Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to Italy, Monaco and France this week, the foreign ministry said on Monday, with Rome expected to join his global trade infrastructure program despite reservations in other European countries.

• Monday, March 18th 2019 - 08:28 UTC

  “Clear similarities” between Boeing 737 crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia

  

  Black box data recovered from an Ethiopian Airlines plane that crashed last week shows “clear similarities” with a recent crash in Indonesia of the same type of aircraft, Ethiopia's transport minister said on Sunday.