International

• Friday, September 22nd 2017 - 12:00 UTC

  Theresa May “make Brexit work” speech: a two-year transition period post 2019 and 40bn Pounds

  

  Theresa May will tell EU leaders there is a shared responsibility to make Brexit work “smoothly” as she attempts to break the deadlock in negotiations. In a major speech in Florence on Friday, she will say history will judge Brexit “not for the differences we faced, but for the vision we showed”.

• Friday, September 22nd 2017 - 09:29 UTC

  Catalonia pro independence demonstrators fill streets of Barcelona wrapped in the “estelada” flag

  

  Thousands gathered on Thursday to demand the release of a dozen Catalan officials arrested in connection with a vote on independence that Spanish authorities are challenging as illegal. The demonstrators, who met at the gates of Catalonia’s judicial body in Barcelona, answered a call by pro-independence civic groups to stage long-term street protests against the police surprise crackdown one day earlier.

• Friday, September 22nd 2017 - 08:58 UTC

  Boris Johnson remains as Foreign Secretary; “we are a nest of singing birds”

  

  Theresa May is expecting Boris Johnson to remain in her Cabinet as Foreign Secretary, Downing Street has said. The comment came after Mr. Johnson dismissed reports that he might be on the verge of quitting and denied the Cabinet is split over Brexit, insisting: “We are a nest of singing birds.”

• Friday, September 22nd 2017 - 08:32 UTC

  Sale of tickets for the commercial air service to St Helena came live this Friday

  

  The sale of tickets for the scheduled air service to the British Overseas Territory of St Helena went live on Friday. Airlink will operate a weekly service between St Helena and Johannesburg and St Helena and Cape Town, via the stopover at Windhoek International Airport in Namibia. Flights will commence on Saturday, October 14.

• Thursday, September 21st 2017 - 16:05 UTC

  European Parliament Brexit negotiator visits Ireland to address border issue

  

  The European Parliament's Brexit negotiator, Guy Verhofstadt, has said it is up to the UK to find a way to avoid new controls on the Irish border, which echoes the position already laid out by the EU's chief negotiator, Michel Barnier. Mr. Verhofstadt is in Northern Ireland to meet political leaders at Stormont ahead of a visit to the Irish border.

• Thursday, September 21st 2017 - 15:31 UTC

  Civil disobedience escalates in Catalonia as Madrid stamps on independence referendum logistics

  

  Spain’s prime minister called on Wednesday on Catalan separatist leaders to end their “escalation” as several thousand people took to the streets of Barcelona to protest at Madrid’s attempts to stop a banned referendum on independence.

• Thursday, September 21st 2017 - 08:44 UTC

  Merkel heading for a fourth term running, but an extreme-right party is poised to enter parliament

  

  German Chancellor Angela Merkel looks almost certain to clinch a fourth term in the general election next Sunday while a far-right party is poised to enter parliament for the first time since the end of World War II.

• Thursday, September 21st 2017 - 08:26 UTC

  UK Foreign Secretary warm wishes to the Jewish community on Rosh Hashanah

  

  The British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has sent warm wishes to the Jewish community as they prepare to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Johnson said that every New Year is a time for reflection.

• Thursday, September 21st 2017 - 07:57 UTC

  Secretary of State for Scotland on a three/day visit to Argentina

  

  The Secretary of State for Scotland, David Mundell, will start an official visit to Argentina during which he will hold meetings with national authorities, private sector representatives, and members of the civil society. The purpose of his trip to South America, which started on Tuesday with a visit to Paraguay, is to promote Scottish business interests and build cultural and educational links.

• Thursday, September 21st 2017 - 06:59 UTC

  UK urges UN to be efficient and transparent, “win our trust”... and funding

  

  Theresa May has warned the United Nations that Britain could withhold up to 30% of its £90m core funding each year unless the organization reforms. The PM told delegates at the UN general assembly there was a gap between “the nobility of its purposes and the effectiveness of its delivery”.