International

• Sunday, December 31st 2017 - 10:18 UTC

  Margaret Thatcher's panda-phobia: “the history of pandas...is unlucky”

  

  Ex prime minister Margaret Thatcher spurned the photo opportunity of sharing a transatlantic, Concorde flight to Washington with a giant panda, newly released files from the National Archives have revealed, according to an article from The Guardian..

• Sunday, December 31st 2017 - 06:09 UTC

  PM May New Year message: more Brexit, and promises of focus on schools, police and the NHS

  

  Britons will feel “renewed confidence and pride” in 2018, Prime Minister Theresa May has said in her New Year message. The prime minister said that while Brexit will be “crucial” in the coming year, it is “not the limit” of the government's ambitions, and it will focus on schools, the police and NHS to change people's daily lives.

• Sunday, December 31st 2017 - 06:00 UTC

  Corbyn said the “new Britain was closer than ever”, and Labour “is a government in waiting”

  

  Labour is “staking out the centre ground in British politics”, British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn has said in a New Year message. Mr. Corbyn said the prospect of a “new Britain” was “closer than ever” and he was leading a “government in waiting”.

• Friday, December 29th 2017 - 14:32 UTC

  Falkland Islands debates the landing fee for cruise visitors

  

  The Falkland Islands Environment Committee, held a lively debate on the cost of the landing fee for cruise visitors which is scheduled to be increased to £25 per passenger, and which was described as “the highest in the region” by the head of the Islands Tourist Board.

• Friday, December 29th 2017 - 10:30 UTC

  Gibraltarian woman has been appointed deputy mayor of Jerusalem

  

  The daughter of Sir Joshua Hassan, a very outstanding political figure from Gibraltar, Fleur Hassan-Nahoum, has been appointed deputy mayor of Jerusalem. Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo congratulated Fleur on Twitter, highlighting that her appointment was “a living demonstration of the strong links between Gibraltar and Israel”.

• Friday, December 29th 2017 - 10:14 UTC

  UN human rights experts condemn pardon of ex president Alberto Fujimori

  

  Condemning the pardoning of former President of Peru, Alberto Fujimori, a group of United Nations independent human rights experts have said that the move undermines the work of the judiciary and the international community to achieve justice.

• Thursday, December 28th 2017 - 10:07 UTC

  Thousands of government papers “vanished” from UK's National Archives

  

  Thousands of government papers detailing some of the most controversial episodes in 20th-century British history have vanished after civil servants removed them from the country’s National Archives and then reported them as lost. Documents concerning the Falklands war, Northern Ireland’s Troubles and the infamous Zinoviev letter – in which MI6 officers plotted to bring about the downfall of the first Labour government - are all said to have been misplaced.

• Thursday, December 28th 2017 - 09:59 UTC

  Parliament demands release of studies on potential impact of Brexit on the economy

  

  The United Kingdom government is facing new calls to release confidential studies drawn up by officials looking at the potential impact of Brexit on the economy. Twenty-five Labour MPs have written to Chancellor Philip Hammond calling on him to release the material after he disclosed the work was being carried out during a recent session of the Commons Treasury Committee.

• Thursday, December 28th 2017 - 09:49 UTC

  Brazil supports Guyana's boundaries which are challenged by Venezuela

  

  Brazil maintains that the settlement of the Guyana/Venezuela Border is final and must be respected, according to the country's Foreign Minister Carl Greenidge. Following his attendance at the recently concluded Mercosur Summit held in Brazil, Greenidge said Brasilia has been updated on Venezuela’s contention that the 1899 Award is null and void, and remains resolute to its original position.

• Thursday, December 28th 2017 - 09:44 UTC

  Latin America has started to look seriously at Indian economy and opportunities By R. Viswanathan  

  

  Latin America's GDP growth is projected to increase to 2.2% in 2018 from 1.3% in 2017. The Pink Tide  has receded for the moment, giving rise to more centre right governments in the region. In 2018, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Paraguay and Venezuela will have presidential elections. Venezuela’s political and economic tragedy could get worse.