International

• Wednesday, December 20th 2017 - 09:30 UTC

  EU support for Falklands at the UN in doubt, warns ex UK ambassador

  

  The European Union will refuse to back Britain in United Nations votes over the Falkland Islands after Brexit, a former ambassador has suggested. Other countries regarded the UK’s loss of influence since the Leave vote “as a shark would regard blood in the water”, Lord Hannay told a parliamentary inquiry.

• Wednesday, December 20th 2017 - 08:48 UTC

  Protecting UK (and Falklands) fisheries in a post Brexit scenario

  

  In the midst of the Brexit debate in the UK, and its expected consequences, Environment Secretary Michael Gove has anticipated EU fishing quotas referred to UK will be scrapped and if things go as planned by the cabinet member, French, Spanish, Danish and other nations fishing fleets will be chased form illegally fishing in UK waters.

• Tuesday, December 19th 2017 - 12:48 UTC

  May admits that during the Brexit transition period, UK would still be bound by EU rules

  

  Theresa May has acknowledged that Britain will be unable to implement any new trade deals during a Brexit transition phase, telling MPs that although the country would have left the customs union it would still be bound by its rules.

• Tuesday, December 19th 2017 - 12:28 UTC

  Hard Brexit, soft Brexit, and the Irish question

  

  By Gwynne Dyer - Politicians never lie. Well, hardly ever. They're not into full disclosure, as a rule, but they know that if you lie, sooner or later you will be caught out, and then you are in deep trouble. So just change the subject, or answer a different question than the one you were asked, or just keep talking but saying nothing until everybody gets bored and moves on.

• Tuesday, December 19th 2017 - 12:06 UTC

  Any UK/EU trade agreement will not include financial services, warns Barnier

  

  The European Union has dashed the British government's hopes of carving out a special arrangement to allow City firms to trade freely in the EU if Britain leaves the single market. Michel Barnier, the European Commission's chief Brexit negotiator, said he was not open to a free trade agreement including financial services.

• Tuesday, December 19th 2017 - 11:48 UTC

  Royal Navy's largest ever vessel leaks: some 200 liters of water per hour

  

  The Royal Navy's new multi-billion pound aircraft carrier has a leak so big that hundreds of liters of seawater pour into it each hour which could cost millions to fix. HMS Queen Elizabeth reportedly has a major defect with the stern seal which surrounds its huge propeller shafts.

• Monday, December 18th 2017 - 13:47 UTC

  Half of the world population without health services, says WHO/World Bank report

  

  At least half of the world’s population cannot obtain essential health services, according to a new report from the World Bank and WHO. And each year, large numbers of households are being pushed into poverty because they must pay for health care out of their own pockets.

• Monday, December 18th 2017 - 13:35 UTC

  Russia again becomes main supplier of oil for Cuban refinery

  

  Venezuela has pulled out of a partnership with Cuba in its Cienfuegos oil refinery and the Caribbean island has taken full ownership of the plant, Cuban state media said. Venezuela is grappling with an economic crisis that already forced it to slash cheap oil shipments to Cuba, which has had a knock-on effect on the island’s ailing economy.

• Monday, December 18th 2017 - 11:39 UTC

  Morales insists in involving the Pope in the ongoing sea outlet dispute between Bolivia and Chile

  

  Bolivian President Evo Morales implied in a Tweet that he and Pope Francis had discussed Bolivia’s territorial dispute with Chile during a meeting at the Vatican on December 15. According to the Vatican, the 30-minute private meeting “took place in a cordial atmosphere.”

• Monday, December 18th 2017 - 10:33 UTC

  Vigo launches “Fresco y Salvaje”, a registered brand to promote fresh and wild fish consumption

  

  The Organization of Products of Fresh Fishing of the Port of Vigo (OPPF-4), in collaboration with the Galician company specialized in fishing issues Sinerxia Plus, has begun to present the new fish brand ”Fresco y Salvaje” (Fresh and Wild), which it intends to start up among the ship owners forming part of the organization.