International

Wednesday, January 9th 2019 - 08:37 UTC
Ireland extends a friendly hand to embattled PM May's government

Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister has said the country will not stand in the way if the British Government asks for an extension to Article 50. Simon Coveney said they want to avoid a no-deal Brexit scenario as “everyone loses”.
Wednesday, January 9th 2019 - 08:31 UTC
20-year old student confesses to hacking data of hundreds of high-profile Germans

A 20-year-old man has made a “comprehensive” confession that he was behind a data breach affecting hundreds of high-profile Germans, police say. Styling himself “G0d”, he published private information about politicians, journalists, and celebrities on Twitter, under the username @_0rbit.
Wednesday, January 9th 2019 - 08:26 UTC
EU claims Trump administration has downgraded the block's diplomatic status

EU says the US government has changed the bloc's diplomatic status in Washington, in practice downgrading it. The Trump administration did not notify the EU about the change. The EU has asked the US to explain the move, EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic says.
Wednesday, January 9th 2019 - 08:09 UTC
Ocean Cruises orders two new Allura class ships: €575 million per ship

Oceania Cruises has announced an order for two new ships from Fincantieri. The ships will be delivered in 2022 and 2025. The two 67,000 gross ton Allura-Class ships will each accommodate approximately 1,200 guests.
Wednesday, January 9th 2019 - 08:07 UTC
London City airport with record of annual passengers last year

London City has published its official passenger figures for 2018, showing the number of travellers passing through the airport last year totalled a record-breaking 4,800,190.
Wednesday, January 9th 2019 - 07:00 UTC
Volatile cruise market: regular lines with rebates of up to 19%, but premiums can be 60% higher

Good news: prices for many cruises in January 2019 are significantly lower than they were a year ago. However, there are major differences by cruise line. While the analysis found that the average cruise price per day actually increased by around 3% – from US$ 397 to US$ 407 per person per night – it also showed substantial price discounts for certain cruise lines.
Tuesday, January 8th 2019 - 10:11 UTC
Financial sector leading firms plan to launch an equities exchange: “Members Exchange”

A group of nine leading retail broker-dealers, banks, financial services firms, and global market makers, have agreed to launch an equities exchange, MEMX, or Members Exchange. The new exchange will be owned entirely by its founding members and will seek to deliver benefits to retail and institutional investors by introducing greater competition to the marketplace. MEMX will file an application with the Securities and Exchange Commission in early 2019 for approval to operate as a national securities exchange.
Tuesday, January 8th 2019 - 09:21 UTC
France plans hooligan-type legislation to crackdown “yellow vest” violent protests

France plans to introduce legislation to toughen sanctions on undeclared protests in response to violent “yellow-vest” demonstrations, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Monday in a hardening of the government’s stance on the unrest.
Tuesday, January 8th 2019 - 08:42 UTC
First Minister Sturgeon: Brexit has strengthened the case for Scottish independence

Brexit has “materially strengthened” the case for Scottish independence, Nicola Sturgeon has said. The First Minister said Scotland’s interests are being “completely ignored and sidelined” and that what has happened in the last two years has reinforced the case for it to leave the UK.
Tuesday, January 8th 2019 - 08:37 UTC
World Bank President steps down; possible differences with Trump's policies

World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim has made the surprise announcement that he is stepping down after six years in the post. His resignation will take effect from 1 February. Mr Kim, 59, was not due to leave until 2022, after he was re-elected for a second five-year term in 2017.