International

• Wednesday, May 24th 2017 - 08:36 UTC

  World's second largest economy has its credit rating downgraded by Moody's

  

  China has received a downgrade on its credit score, on worries about the future state of the economy. Moody's Investors Services brought down China's long-term local currency and foreign currency issuer ratings by one notch to Aa3 from A1, a move that could lead to a rise in the cost of borrowing for the Chinese government and state-owned enterprises. The ratings agency also changed its outlook for China to stable from negative.

• Wednesday, May 24th 2017 - 07:10 UTC

  Record number of investments from overseas in Scotland during 2016

  

  Scotland won a record number of investments from overseas in 2016, although growth was substantially lower than the previous year. There were 122 foreign direct investment deals done over the course of last year, up from 119 in 2015.

• Tuesday, May 23rd 2017 - 19:12 UTC

  Experience Latin America expands

  

  Experience Latin America, which takes place from June 12-14, will feature 130 different suppliers from the region – a 10% increase compared with last year.

• Tuesday, May 23rd 2017 - 14:55 UTC

  Global food prices down with expectations of robust supplies in key staples

  

  Global food commodity prices fell in April amid expectations of ongoing robust supplies of many key staples. The FAO Food Prices Index averaged 168 points in April, down 1.8% from March although remaining 10% higher than a year earlier.

• Tuesday, May 23rd 2017 - 13:58 UTC

  WMA leader wars about growing violence against physicians and healthcare

  

  A warning about an increase in violence against physicians and a general disrespect for medical and health institutions in both civil and conflict situations has come from the Chair of the World Medical Association Dr. Ardis Hoven.

• Tuesday, May 23rd 2017 - 08:17 UTC

  Suspected terror attack in Manchester pop concert kills 19 and leaves scores injured; Tuesday campaigning suspended

  

  Nineteen people have been killed and more than 50 injured in a suspected terror attack at Manchester Arena. The blast happened at 22:35 BST on Monday following a pop concert by the US singer Ariana Grande.

• Monday, May 22nd 2017 - 09:04 UTC

  French financial prosecutors investigating submarines' sale to Brazil

  

  French financial prosecutors have launched an investigation into a 6.7 billion euro (US$7.5 billion) 2008 contract between naval supplier DCNS and Brazil that included the sale of five submarines, it was reported on Sunday in Paris.

• Monday, May 22nd 2017 - 08:51 UTC

  TPP 11 committed to go ahead despite the Trump administration dropping out

  

  Asia-Pacific trade ministers agreed to try to revive a massive free trade pact, even though the United States reaffirmed its decision to pull out, as fears grow of a new global era of protectionism. The 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) covered 40% of the global economy before US President Donald Trump abruptly abandoned it in January, to meet a campaign pledge to save American jobs which he says have been sucked up overseas.

• Monday, May 22nd 2017 - 08:13 UTC

  Gibraltar hosting Brexit conference for Commonwealth parliamentarians

  

  Nearly forty Parliamentarians from eleven Commonwealth countries and territories (including Falkland Islands) are meeting in Gibraltar in order to discuss the impact of the decision taken in the United Kingdom to leave the European Union, among other current issues.

• Sunday, May 21st 2017 - 12:08 UTC

  Temer on the cliff fearful of more tapes. Lula and Rousseff accused of receiving US$ 150 million for campaigns

  

  President Michel Temer faced new pressure to resign Friday, after Brazil’s supreme court said prosecutors are investigating him for obstruction of justice and corruption, and a government witness claimed his company paid US$1.5 million to Temer in bribes. A day after the release of surreptitious audio recordings in which Temer seemed to condone a criminal cover up in the “Car Wash” investigation, the court released testimony accusing him of soliciting illegal payments from meatpacking firm JBS.