International

• Friday, November 17th 2017 - 06:58 UTC

  Mugabe tarnished the jewel that is Zimbabwe, now is its chance to shine again

  

  By Boris Johnson - The most accurate description of Zimbabwe in the era of Robert Mugabe came from a fellow leader of the struggle against white rule. It was Samora Machel, then president of Mozambique and a fervent enemy of colonialism, who told Mugabe in 1980 that Zimbabwe was the “jewel of Africa”, adding: “Don’t tarnish it!”

• Thursday, November 16th 2017 - 19:09 UTC

  Petrobras shares plunge after disappointing third quarter earnings

  

  Shares of Brazil’s Petrobras plunged 7.8% on Tuesday a day after the state-controlled oil company reported disappointing third-quarter earnings. The company also announced that during October oil production remained stable but gas was down 1.5%

• Thursday, November 16th 2017 - 18:20 UTC

  Falklands 1768 Franciscan chapel blueprint discovered in the Archives of Indies in Seville

  

  The blueprint for a Franciscan chapel built in the Falkland Islands by the Spanish sometime after 1768 and which apparently caught fire and was destroyed in 1811, was found by an Argentine historian and researcher at the General Archive of the Indies in Seville, according to a piece published by Martin Dinatale in the Buenos Aires media.

• Thursday, November 16th 2017 - 17:20 UTC

  Zimbabwe military intervention “not a coup”, but a struggle for Mugabe's succession

  

  Zimbabwe’s 93-year-old president remained in military custody on Thursday, setting off a frantic effort across southern Africa to resolve the simmering political crisis. Robert Mugabe, the world’s oldest ruling head of state, has been under house arrest since Wednesday morning, although military commanders claimed that the detention did not constitute a coup.

• Thursday, November 16th 2017 - 10:00 UTC

  UK supports Mexico in the implementation of the energy sector reform

  

  United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, announced during the visit of the Mexican Minister of Foreign Affairs, Luis Videgaray, that the UK is developing plans for new bilateral Prosperity programming of up to £60 million to support Mexico’s economic development and reform.

• Thursday, November 16th 2017 - 09:54 UTC

  Key ally of Merkel more optimistic about Brexit after meeting Theresa May

  

  Manfred Weber, a leading lawmaker in the European Parliament and head of the European People Party, said on Wednesday he was more confident about Britain and the European Union ironing out difficulties in the Brexit talks.

• Thursday, November 16th 2017 - 09:47 UTC

  PM May to address European parliament leadership on 24 November

  

  British Prime Minister Theresa May will meet the European Parliament’s leadership on November 24, according to senior Parliament officials in Strasbourg. They said May will address the Conference of Presidents, the president of Parliament and the chairs of the political groups, not all MEPs.

• Thursday, November 16th 2017 - 09:18 UTC

  A woman deputy CEO of BATELCO, with telecoms interests in Falklands

  

  Bahrain's leading telecom services operator Batelco Group has appointment Muna Al Hashemi as its new deputy chief executive officer. Having joined Batelco as a trainee graduate in 1994, Al Hashemi held several key roles in Batelco’s various divisions before being appointed as CEO of Batelco Bahrain in August 2015, said a statement from Batelco.

• Thursday, November 16th 2017 - 09:08 UTC

  Russia gives Venezuela a hand and restructures US$ 3.15bn debt over a 10-year period

  

  Russia and Venezuela signed a debt restructuring deal on Wednesday allowing Caracas to make “minimal” payments to Moscow in the next six years to help it meet obligations to other creditors, the Russian Finance Ministry said. Under the deal, Venezuela will pay Russia back a total of US$ 3.15 billion over a 10-year period, the ministry said.

• Thursday, November 16th 2017 - 08:39 UTC

  China and Chile agree to upgrade trade accord to take advantage of new technologies

  

  China and Chile have agreed to upgrade their free trade agreement (FTA), a move that will boost both economies, a former official of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) said.