International

• Friday, March 9th 2018 - 09:41 UTC

  Global shipping rules to cut sulfur pollution anticipate higher volatility in fuel markets

  

  Global hydrocarbons companies and traders are bracing for higher volatility in fuel markets as they expect refiners to process more light crude oil in the lead-up to new rules aimed at slashing the use of dirty high-sulfur fuel oil in global shipping.

• Friday, March 9th 2018 - 09:34 UTC

  Eleven Asia-Pacific countries signed a Trans-Pacific Partnership in Chile

  

  Eleven Asia-Pacific countries have just signed the trade pact formerly known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Although the US pulled out last year, the deal was salvaged by the remaining members, who signed it at a ceremony in the Chilean city of Santiago.

• Friday, March 9th 2018 - 09:22 UTC

  EC demands £2.4bn from HM Customs because of 'undervalued' fraud of Chinese shoes and textiles

  

  European Commission has written to the UK government saying the UK owes €2.7bn (£2.4bn) in customs duties on shoes and textiles imported from China. The UK is accused of doing too little to prevent fraud after it was warned about the problem by the EU's watchdog Olaf in 2017. It begins a legal process which could end at the European Court of Justice.

• Friday, March 9th 2018 - 04:49 UTC

  Falklands' fishing victims of UK Brexit deal, claims Fortuna

  

  “The UK has sold out Falklands fishing for a Brexit era deal,” fishing company Fortuna Ltd Director James Wallace told Penguin News this week. He was replying to much general speculation as to why a Falkland Islands company with a long history of participation in the South Georgia toothfish fishery was refused licenses this season.

• Thursday, March 8th 2018 - 09:43 UTC

  Tusk insists EU does not want to build a wall, but Brexit means “drifting apart”

  

  Donald Tusk has insisted the EU “does not want to build a wall”, but Brexit means “we will be drifting apart”. The EU Council president said Theresa May wanted to “demonstrate at any price that Brexit could be a success”, but that was not the EU's objective. He was unveiling draft guidelines for the EU side of Brexit trade talks.

• Thursday, March 8th 2018 - 09:34 UTC

  Scottish Brexit bill is being sped through Holyrood, ahead of row with London

  

  The Scottish Government’s Brexit bill passed on Wednesday its first parliamentary hurdle after its general principles were approved by MSPs. The UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill is being sped through the Scottish Parliament as emergency legislation amid a row between UK and Scottish ministers over devolved powers returning from Brussels.

• Thursday, March 8th 2018 - 09:28 UTC

  Chinese carmaker acquires US$ 9bn stake in Mercedes Benz, expecting to share auto technology

  

  Li Shufu, chairman of Chinese carmaker Geely, is making waves in the global auto market after buying a US$ 9 billion stake in Germany’s Daimler. Li, 54, the son of a farmer from China’s Zhejiang province, has led a major acquisition push globally since 2010, when he took over Swedish car brand Volvo from Ford Motor, US$ 1.8 billion deal.

• Thursday, March 8th 2018 - 09:25 UTC

  Argentine presentation on the Falklands and the Chagos archipelago

  

  A brief release from the Argentine foreign ministry indicates that on March first, on petition from the International Court of Justice, Argentina presented its Consultive Opinion on the juridical consequences of splitting the Chagos archipelago from the Mauritius Islands which took place in 1965.

• Thursday, March 8th 2018 - 09:23 UTC

  Leaders of far-right group Britain First found guilty of religious aggravated harassment

  

  The leader and deputy leader of far-right group Britain First have been found guilty of religiously aggravated harassment. Paul Golding, 36, and Jayda Fransen, 32, were arrested over the distribution of leaflets and posting of online videos during a gang-rape trial.

• Thursday, March 8th 2018 - 09:17 UTC

  Scottish fishermen want full control of fishing grounds after Brexit

  

  Scottish fishermen have hit out at the EU after the body's guidelines for the next phase of Brexit talks called for continued access to fishing grounds. The EU's draft guidelines for the forthcoming talks aim for “existing” access to waters to be maintained. But Scottish fishing groups call this “arrogant, absurd and nonsensical”.