
Prime Minister Theresa May has suffered another Commons defeat after MPs voted down her approach to Brexit talks. MPs voted by 303 to 258 - a majority of 45 - against a motion endorsing the government's negotiating strategy.

US President Donald Trump is to declare a national emergency to fund his planned border wall with Mexico, the White House has said. He will sign a border security bill to avert a government shutdown - but also act to bypass Congress and use military funds for the wall, a statement said.

Venezuela should honour its debt obligations to Russia despite the political situation in Caracas, Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Thursday. ”Russia hopes that Venezuela, even in case of a change of power in the country, will fulfil its obligations under the debt to Russia, Siluanov told reporters on the sidelines of the Russian Investment Forum in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

The world’s largest airliner has run out of runway after Airbus decided to close A380 production after 12 years in service due to weak sales. The decision to halt production of the A380 superjumbo is the final act in one of Europe’s greatest industrial adventures and reflects a dearth of orders by airline bosses unwilling to back Airbus’s vision of huge jets to combat airport congestion.

The impact of Brexit on the Falkland Islands has been raised in the UK’s House of Lords, with Lib Dem Lord Nigel Jones tabling questions to the Foreign Office. Lord Jones asked the government what assessment they had made of the Falklands’ EU exports, and the impact of World Trade Organization tariffs on Islands fisheries.

Each year, an estimated 215 000 cancers are diagnosed in children younger than 15 years, and about 85 000 cancers in those aged 15–19 years. These estimates are based on data collected by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) from population-based cancer registries around the world.

British Prime Minister Theresa May is hoping parliament will show her some love on Valentine's Day by backing a motion reiterating its support for her Brexit strategy and rejecting amendments that would force her hand. Lawmakers in the UK will vote on May's latest motion on Thursday and could be asked to vote on five other amendments brought forward by MPs.

United States and Chinese negotiators kicked off two days of official trade talks in Beijing on Thursday as the world's top two economies try to patch up their festering economic dispute. Pressure to seal an accord ahead of a March deadline lessened before the talks as US President Donald Trump indicated on Tuesday in Washington he was open to extending a trade truce, depending on progress in Beijing.

Pressure is growing on global commodity trading firms with strong ties to Switzerland for their alleged involvement in the “Car Wash” corruption scandal in Brazil. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating two Vitol executives in the Americas, according to Reuters news agency.

Pope Francis has sent a letter to Nicolas Maduro responding to a recent invitation to mediate in the Venezuelan political crisis, according to an Italian newspaper. Milan daily newspaper Corriere Della Sera published a report saying that previous peace efforts in Venezuela were “interrupted because what had been agreed in the meetings was not followed by concrete gestures to implement the agreements.”