International

• Monday, February 18th 2019 - 10:01 UTC

  MPs demand tough urgent action against Facebook to combat spread of fake news

  

  Facebook needs for stricter regulation, with tough and urgent action necessary to end the spread of disinformation on its platform, MPs have said. A House of Commons committee has concluded that the firm's founder Mark Zuckerberg failed to show “leadership or personal responsibility” over fake news.

• Monday, February 18th 2019 - 09:29 UTC

  Macri and business delegation in India for trade, investment and cooperation promotion

  

  New Delhi and Buenos Aires are expected to sign up to eight agreements during President Mauricio Macri’s three-day state visit to India to promote trade, investment and cooperation in several fields including defense, Argentine ambassador Daniel Chuburu said. Macri is accompanied by several ministers, members of Congress and a hundred business leaders.

• Monday, February 18th 2019 - 09:00 UTC

  Princess Cruises expands her fleet

  

  In an industry-first, events took place at Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, to mark the construction progress for each of the 3,660-guest Sky Princess, Enchanted Princess and a sixth Royal-class ship yet to be named. For Sky Princess, which will launch in October this year, a Madrina ceremony was held.

• Monday, February 18th 2019 - 08:57 UTC

  UK Government guarantees EU funding programs in Gibraltar

  

  In November, the European Union and the United Kingdom concluded the terms of an agreement for the orderly departure of the UK from the European Union. Gibraltar was part of that agreement. The Withdrawal Agreement includes a transitional phase until the end of 2020, which also covers Gibraltar.

• Saturday, February 16th 2019 - 11:30 UTC

  China/US trade talks break down; Washington warns “very difficult issues” remain unresolved

  

  Trade talks between the US and China have broken up without a deal, with the US warning that “very difficult issues” remain unresolved. The talks in China this week were aimed at securing a new deal before further US tariffs are imposed on 1 March. China said negotiations would now continue in the US next week.

• Saturday, February 16th 2019 - 11:12 UTC

  Brexit “has raised tensions again and brought back a lot of the rhetoric of the past” warns ex Irish premier

  

  Brexit has “raised tensions” on the island of Ireland and “complicated” progress towards a lasting peace, one of the authors of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) has told MPs. The former premier of the Republic of Ireland, Bertie Ahern, said people were worried that a no-deal UK withdrawal from the EU would be the start of a “slippery slope” to a hard border, with checkpoints and troops.

• Saturday, February 16th 2019 - 11:10 UTC

  Brexit has cost UK economy some £80 billion since the 2016 vote, says BoE policymaker

  

  Brexit has cost the British economy at least £80 billion since the referendum and the shock of a no-deal divorce could see interest rates slashed, according to a Bank of England policymaker. Gertjan Vlieghe, an external member of the central bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, said that, since the June 2016 vote, 2% has been shaved off GDP.

• Saturday, February 16th 2019 - 11:06 UTC

  UK retired diplomats call on PM May to delay Brexit or a second referendum

  

  A group of retired diplomats have issued a plea to Theresa May to delay Brexit to allow more time to establish a clearer plan or allow for a second referendum. In a statement to The Times, more than 40 former ambassadors and Foreign Office mandarins warned that if the Prime Minister secured agreement on her plan, it would not mark the end of uncertainty but the start of years of negotiations.

• Saturday, February 16th 2019 - 11:04 UTC

  Emiliano Sala’s body back in Argentina for funeral in his hometown

  

  The funeral of Cardiff City striker Emiliano Sala will take place in Argentina on Saturday. The 28-year-old died when the plane he was in with pilot David Ibbotson crashed in the English Channel en route from Nantes to Cardiff on 21 January.

• Saturday, February 16th 2019 - 10:46 UTC

  Theresa May sticks to her Brexit strategy despite Tories row and Commons defeat

  

  British Prime Minister Theresa May is sticking to her Brexit strategy, despite her party rowing in the wake of her latest Commons defeat. MPs rejected a motion endorsing her approach by 303 to 258, with 66 Tory MPs abstaining, leading one minister to accuse Brexiteer rebels of “treachery”.