International

• Tuesday, August 8th 2017 - 15:02 UTC

  Italy and France clash on control of Europe's cruise shipbuilding industry

  

  France said it was ready to seek other buyers for its biggest shipyard should Italy refuse a 50-50 ownership split, before both countries pledged to find a solution next month. French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, told the Corriere della Sera daily that a deal with Fincantieri might not be thrashed out.

• Tuesday, August 8th 2017 - 08:54 UTC

  Royal Mint will supply Argentina with 150 million Peso coin blanks

  

  UK’s Royal Mint will supply Argentina with 150 million peso coins, after the institution won a contract to assist with the minting of a new coin series. Announced on social media by UK chancellor Philip Hammond, the mint will work closely with its Argentine counterpart – Sociedad del Estado Casa de Moneda – to produce blanks for the new coin series.

• Tuesday, August 8th 2017 - 08:14 UTC

  Corbyn condemns “violence by all sides”, but avoids criticizing Maduro

  

  Jeremy Corbyn has condemned the “violence done by all sides” in the Venezuela conflict but stopped short of criticising president, Nicolas Maduro.

• Tuesday, August 8th 2017 - 01:29 UTC

  Israel follows hard line Sunni Arab states and plans to ban Al Jazeera

  

  Israel is seeking to close Qatar-based broadcaster Al Jazeera's offices in the country and revoke its journalists' media credentials. Communications Minister Ayoub Kara alleged that the channel supported terrorism, and said both its Arabic and English-language channels would be taken off air. Al Jazeera has condemned the decision.

• Tuesday, August 8th 2017 - 01:14 UTC

  Spain will not condition a Brexit deal to Gibraltar, but remains firm in its sovereignty claim of the Rock

  

  Spain will not risk a Brexit deal by making Gibraltar’s sovereignty a condition in the talks, the country’s Foreign Minister said in an interview on Sunday. Speaking to the conservative newspaper ABC, Alfonso Dastis said Spain would not accept any agreement that undermined its position on Gibraltar, but would not use the Brexit talks to push its sovereignty aspirations over the Rock.

• Monday, August 7th 2017 - 22:17 UTC

  Cable lashes out at Brexit “martyrs” and accuses them of “masochism” and nostalgic of an imperial past

  

  Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable has lashed out at hard line Brexit “martyrs” who view economic pain as a price worth paying to break away from Brussels. Cable accused them of “masochism” and claimed older Brexit voters with views “colored by nostalgia from an imperial past” had imposed their will on a younger generation more comfortable with the European Union.

• Monday, August 7th 2017 - 07:21 UTC

  Lord King calls for a “credible fallback”, in case no EU trade deal is reached

  

  The UK needs a “credible fallback” in case no EU trade deal is reached during Brexit negotiations, former Bank of England governor Mervyn King has said. Lord King said British negotiators needed to show Brussels the country has an alternative over a bad trade deal post-Brexit.

• Monday, August 7th 2017 - 07:13 UTC

  UK top ex diplomat says cabinet divided on Brexit and government has still to put forward a clear position

  

  The UK's Brexit negotiations have not begun well amid “differences” inside the cabinet, a former head of the diplomatic service has said. Sir Simon Fraser, chief mandarin at the Foreign Office until 2015, said the UK side had been “a bit absent” from formal negotiations in Brussels.

• Monday, August 7th 2017 - 06:20 UTC

  Banks leaving The City is serious, but “we should be concerned with investors leaving UK”

  

  Investors pulling money out of The City pose a greater risk to London’s financial dominance than banks exiting the UK because of Brexit, according to Square Mile official, Sherry Madera, the City of London Corporation’s special adviser for Asia.

• Sunday, August 6th 2017 - 22:38 UTC

  Bumper crops anticipate tough corn battle between leading exporters US and Brazil

  

  Brazilian farmers are in the midst of collecting their biggest corn harvest ever, and American supplies are also plentiful -- setting the stage for a stiff battle to win world buyers in the second half of the year.