International

• Monday, August 21st 2017 - 08:22 UTC

  Terrorists in Barcelona were planning major attacks: they had 120 gas canisters ready to use in vehicles

  

  The twelve strong terror cell that carried out two attacks in Spain this week had collected 120 gas canisters and was planning to use them in vehicle attacks, Spanish police say. Canisters were found at a house, said to be used by the cell, that blew up in the town of Alcanar on Wednesday night.

• Sunday, August 20th 2017 - 13:47 UTC

  Indian Navy all women team in global tour scheduled to call in Falklands

  

  A six-member women’s team of the Indian Navy will set sail in early September to circumnavigate the globe on the sailing vessel, INSV Tarini. This is the first-ever circumnavigation of the globe by an all-woman crew from India, and one of the calls will take place in the Falkland Islands.

• Saturday, August 19th 2017 - 10:25 UTC

  Baton’s subpolar stopover in Falklands before Europe

  

  The Commonwealth Games Queens Baton visits all 71 Commonwealth countries and territories on its journey from Buckingham Palace to the host city. In 2018 that is Gold Coast in Australia; one territory is missing from the relay, because it has not been possible to schedule St Helena this year. However several Saints saw and carried the baton in the Falkland Islands, so we have helped a little bit.

• Saturday, August 19th 2017 - 08:31 UTC

  UK envoy in Brazil promotes trade and scientific cooperation

  

  Mark Prisk, the UK’s trade envoy to Brazil makes his first visit to Recife this year with the purpose of increasing dialogue between the region and United Kingdom. He will discuss topics such as trade, smart cities and the UK government’s international awards scheme, Chevening in bilaterals with Porto Digital and Fiepe. The Trade Envoy was previously in São Paulo in where he held meetings with government and private sector representatives.

• Saturday, August 19th 2017 - 08:18 UTC

  Applications for Chevening scholarships open in Argentina

  

  The British Embassy in Buenos Aires has announced that the call for applications for Chevening scholarships will be open until 7 November. The scholarships are awarded to applicants with proven leadership skills and a strong professional and academic background.

• Saturday, August 19th 2017 - 07:46 UTC

  Weaker sterling helps boost the number of visitors to UK, up 7% in June

  

  The number of visitors to the UK rose to 3.5 million in June, up 7% from the same month last year, according to official figures. The number of visitors from North America shot up by 34%, and visitors overall spent £2.2bn, a rise of 2%, the UK Office of National Statistics, ONS, said.

• Saturday, August 19th 2017 - 06:42 UTC

  Lord Hague: Brexit, “the most complex task”, any government has faced since the WW2

  

  Lord Hague has compared Brexit to taking control of a gun, saying it is possible to find a solution without using it to “shoot your foot off”. The former Conservative leader said he believes there is sufficient common ground among the different political parties to negotiate with the EU.

• Saturday, August 19th 2017 - 06:32 UTC

  Number of students accepted at UK university drops: demographics, funding and Brexit

  

  The number of students accepted on to UK degree courses has fallen this year, early UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service) figures show. In total, 416,310 people have taken up places, down 2% compared with the same point last year.

• Friday, August 18th 2017 - 09:50 UTC

  Falklands' Museum incorporates naval journal with accounts of Port Egmont 250 year ago

  

  Two hundred and fifty years on, the story of a bold Falklands naval adventure has been purchased for the local museum in Stanley. Friends of the Falkland Islands Museum and Jane Cameron National Archives (FIMA Friends) executive committee member Alexandra ‘Zaz’ Shackleton was browsing at the regular antiquarian travel book fair at the Royal Geographical Society in London, when she came across a volume that she immediately knew belonged in the Falklands.

• Friday, August 18th 2017 - 08:37 UTC

  Catalonia foils a second terrorist attack: “five alleged perpetrators killed”

  

  Following a deadly vehicle-ramming attack in Barcelona on Thursday afternoon -- which left at least 13 people killed -- a police operation was carried out 90 minutes south of the city in Cambrils, during which five “terrorists” were killed, officials said.