International

• Tuesday, October 17th 2017 - 18:47 UTC

  Business calls on the Bank of England to delay raising interest rates

  

  Bank of England should hold off from raising interest rates next month, according to a forecasting body. Bank governor Mark Carney has said rates could go up in the “relatively near term”, with many analysts expecting a hike in November. However, the EY Item Club said such a move risked hurting the UK's “fragile economic outlook”.

• Tuesday, October 17th 2017 - 11:59 UTC

  Argentina's Ferreira Rubio elected chair of Transparency International

  

  Delia Matilde Ferreira Rubio was elected chair of Transparency International, the global anti-corruption movement, at its Annual Membership Meeting in Berlin. Rueben Lifuka was elected as vice-chair, along with seven new board members. All will serve a three-year term.

• Tuesday, October 17th 2017 - 11:51 UTC

  May and Juncker agree “Brexit negotiations should accelerate”, but differences remain

  

  Brexit negotiations should “accelerate over the months to come,” says a joint statement from the UK prime minister and the president of the EU Commission. Theresa May and Jean-Claude Juncker met in Brussels on Monday for a dinner they called “constructive and friendly”.

• Tuesday, October 17th 2017 - 11:45 UTC

  Airbus takes a majority stake in Bombardier frustrating Boeing's strategy

  

  Canada's Bombardier Inc. announced on Monday it has sold a majority stake in its CSeries passenger jet business to European aerospace giant Airbus for no cost. The move comes after lackluster sales and after the U.S. Commerce Department imposed harsh duties on Bombardier, charging the Montreal-based company is selling the CSeries planes in the U.S. below cost and receiving government subsidies.

• Tuesday, October 17th 2017 - 11:41 UTC

  Madrid tells Catalonia's leader he has until Thursday to comply with Spanish law

  

  Spain’s deputy prime minister has said that Catalonia’s leader did not give an adequate response in his letter about the region’s independence and has until Thursday to comply with the country’s laws. Carles Puigdemont’s letter, issued two hours before a Monday deadline, did not clarify whether he in fact declared Catalonia’s independence from Spain. He called for talks with Spain’s government.

• Tuesday, October 17th 2017 - 11:35 UTC

  Two Catalan independence leaders remanded and charged with sedition

  

  A Spanish judge has remanded two key members of the Catalan independence movement in jail. Jordi Sánchez, who heads the Catalan National Assembly (ANC), and Jordi Cuixart, leader of Omnium Cultural, are being held without bail while they are under investigation for sedition.

• Tuesday, October 17th 2017 - 11:23 UTC

  Political killing of investigative reporter and government critic in Malta

  

  A prominent blogger in the Republic of Malta, who had accused the island's government of corruption, has died in a car bomb attack, according to police. Daphne Caruana Galizia, 53, was reportedly killed when the car she was driving exploded shortly after she left her home in Bidnija, near Mosta.

• Monday, October 16th 2017 - 11:26 UTC

  Madrid open to dialogue but Catalonia must first reject independence: clock ticking on countdown

  

  The Spanish government will seize control of Catalonia if regional leader Carles Puigdemont gives an ambiguous reply to Madrid’s question about whether he has declared independence from Spain, the interior minister warned Saturday.

• Monday, October 16th 2017 - 11:19 UTC

  Cannabis as medicine: more research is needed says World Medical Association

  

  Legislation to allow the recreational use of cannabis has been strongly opposed on health grounds by the World Medical Association. But in a policy statement this week, the Association says that laws governing research grade cannabis should be reviewed to allow more scientific research on the use of cannabis for medicinal purposes.

• Sunday, October 15th 2017 - 03:47 UTC

  St Helena opens to the world with first commercial air link to South Africa

  

  Saturday 14 October marked an exciting new chapter in St Helena’s history when the first ever commercial flight from South Africa touched down at St Helena Airport at 1.59pm.