International

• Saturday, February 17th 2018 - 19:49 UTC

  Chinese New Year marks start of the Year of the Dog (honest, just and loyal)

  

  February 16 is Chinese New Year and marks the start of the Year of the Dog - one of the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac. Unlike Western astrology, each sign lasts for a whole year and each year takes the name of an animal whose characteristics color and influence everything that happens for the next 12 months.

• Saturday, February 17th 2018 - 09:29 UTC

  Canada will begin free trade talks with Mercosur in Paraguay on 9 March

  

  The Canadian government plans to open free trade talks with the four-nation Mercosur trading bloc in South America at a time when the future of NAFTA is facing increasing uncertainty. Canada sends around 75% of its goods exports to the United States and is looking for new markets to reduce the reliance on its southern neighbor.

• Saturday, February 17th 2018 - 09:22 UTC

  Merkel “curious” about UK lack of clarity with Brexit; PM May speech in Munich

  

  Angela Merkel has said that she is not “frustrated” by Britain's lack of clarity in Brexit, but is still “curious” about what the UK government actually wants to achieve in negotiations.

• Friday, February 16th 2018 - 10:36 UTC

  Berlusconi and conservative block ahead in Italy opinion polls for March 4

  

  Italy's election race includes a dark horse. Opinion polls suggest a national vote on March 4 will produce either a conservative government or a broad coalition that will not threaten the status quo. But new electoral rules make predictions harder than usual. A post-election alliance of anti-EU parties is improbable - but not impossible.

• Friday, February 16th 2018 - 10:26 UTC

  US rejects merger between Chicago Stock Exchange and Chinese investor group

  

  The US has rejected a proposed merger between the Chicago Stock Exchange and a Chinese-linked investor group. The decision comes after more than two years of reviews by officials. The tie-up was initially approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, pending further approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

• Friday, February 16th 2018 - 10:07 UTC

  Theresa May flies to Berlin to meet Merkel, ahead of crucial speech on Saturday

  

  Theresa May is due to hold talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel as she seeks to make progress on negotiating Brexit. The PM will travel on Friday to Berlin for the meeting at the Chancellery. It comes a day ahead of a speech on Saturday in which she is expected to set out the “security partnership” she wants to maintain with the EU.

• Friday, February 16th 2018 - 09:53 UTC

  Proposal to give £10,000 per year to every UK citizen under 55

  

  The United Kingdom government should give £10,000 per year to every citizen under 55, a report suggests. The Royal Society for the encouragement of the Arts, Manufactrurers and Commerce (RSA) says it could pave the way to everyone getting a basic state wage. The Labour Party has also said it is looking into similar arguments for a Universal Basic Income (UBI).

• Friday, February 16th 2018 - 09:48 UTC

  South Africa's Zuma steps down: ignominious end for a clepto president

  

  President Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s fourth democratic head of state, resigned on Wednesday amid an acrimonious battle for control of the nation and the governing party, the African National Congress. He told South Africans during a late-night televised address that, although he disagreed with the decision by the ANC to remove him, he would leave “with immediate effect.”

• Friday, February 16th 2018 - 09:32 UTC

  Wartime bomb found in Thames River successfully removed and detonated

  

  The Royal Navy bomb disposal experts detonated on Wednesday a 500kg Second World War bomb found in the River Thames. The historic ordnance was found in the George V Dock during pre-planned construction work near London City Airport on Sunday morning.

• Friday, February 16th 2018 - 02:52 UTC

  Porn star “Stormy” was paid US$ 130.000 for lust and silence with Trump

  

  A private lawyer for President Donald Trump says he paid US$130,000 of his own money to adult film star Stormy Daniels who once claimed she had an affair with Trump more than a decade ago. The payment to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was made during the 2016 presidential election campaign but the lawyer, Michael Cohen, said he was working alone and that it was not a campaign expense.