International

• Wednesday, March 20th 2019 - 10:07 UTC

  Angela Merkel to the rescue of an “orderly Brexit”

  

  German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she will fight for an “orderly Brexit” until “the very last hour”. Mrs Merkel said that current events were in a “state of flux”, adding that European Union leaders would try to react to whatever the UK proposed. The UK is due to leave the EU in 10 days' time, with or without a deal.

• Wednesday, March 20th 2019 - 10:04 UTC

  Robust action against Islamphobia in the Conservative party, claims chairman Brandon Lewis

  

  The Conservative Party's complaints process is “robust”, the party chairman has said, after a campaign group wrote to him about claims of Islamophobia. Hope Not Hate's Nick Lowles asked for Brandon Lewis to clarify his claim that all complaints of Islamophobia by party members had been dealt with.

• Wednesday, March 20th 2019 - 10:01 UTC

  Boeing's commercial division makes major reshuffle in top positions; US$ 500bn in 737Max orders on hold

  

  
Boeing Co's commercial airplane division, facing its biggest crisis in years following deadly crashes of its flagship 737Max, has brought in a new vice president of engineering while dedicating another top executive to the aircraft investigations, a company email showed on Tuesday.

• Wednesday, March 20th 2019 - 09:53 UTC

  Hundreds killed by cyclone Idai in Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi

  

  Cyclone Idai has triggered a “massive disaster” in southern Africa affecting hundreds of thousands if not millions of people, the UN says. The region has been hit by widespread flooding and devastation affecting Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi.

• Wednesday, March 20th 2019 - 09:49 UTC

  Mrs. May, with a divided cabinet, writes to EU requesting postponing Brexit; she flies to Brussels on Thursday

  

  Prime Minister Theresa May is writing to the EU to formally ask for Brexit to be postponed. One ministerial source told the BBC the longer delay could be up to two years, amid reports of a cabinet row, but No 10 said no decision had been made.

• Wednesday, March 20th 2019 - 09:47 UTC

  Bolivia will host the World Travel Awards Latin American ceremony in June

  

  World Travel Awards (WTA) has revealed that its Latin American Ceremony 2019 will be hosted in La Paz, Bolivia on 13th July 2019. The leading figureheads, decision-makers and influencers of Latin America’s travel and tourism industry are scheduled to attend the ceremony, which will mark WTA’s first visit to Bolivia.

• Wednesday, March 20th 2019 - 09:35 UTC

  Dead whale with 40 kilos of plastic in its stomach found off the Philippines coast

  

  A dead whale with 40 kilograms of plastic in its stomach has been discovered off the coast of the Philippines. Marine biologist Darrell Blatchley was called to recover the 4.7m Cuvier’s beaked whale, which was trapped in the shores of the Mabini Compostela Valley.

• 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.