International

• Wednesday, April 26th 2017 - 08:48 UTC

  China launches its first native totally designed and built aircraft carrier

  

  China has launched its first domestically designed and built aircraft carrier, state media said on Wednesday, as the country seeks to transform its navy into a force capable of projecting power onto the high seas. Adorned with colorful ribbons, the Type 001A ship “transferred from dry dock into the water at a launch ceremony” in the northeastern port city of Dalian, according to official broadcaster CCTV.

• Wednesday, April 26th 2017 - 08:39 UTC

  Brexit key players: Theresa May, Juncker and Barnier meet at Downing Street

  

  British Prime Minister Theresa May will on Wednesday hold talks with EU Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker and chief negotiator Michel Barnier, ahead of a summit to set the bloc's Brexit “red lines”. In the first such meeting between the three key players, they will discuss the upcoming negotiations on Britain's withdrawal from the European Union over dinner at May's Downing Street residence.

• Wednesday, April 26th 2017 - 08:20 UTC

  EU/Mercosur trade agreement “closer than ever”, says Spanish president Rajoy

  

  The European Union and South American trade bloc Mercosur should intensify talks to reach a trade agreement this year, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said on Tuesday, urging haste after 18 years of negotiations.

• Tuesday, April 25th 2017 - 07:19 UTC

  Marine Le Pen steps down as party leader to reach out to voters of defeated candidates

  

  Far-right French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has announced that she is stepping aside as leader of her National Front (FN) party. The move comes just a day after she reached the second round of the French election, where she will face centrist Emmanuel Macron. Ms Le Pen told French TV she needed to be above partisan considerations.

• Tuesday, April 25th 2017 - 06:43 UTC

  Briefing to US Senate on North Korea, while “armada” approaches the peninsula

  

  US submarine has arrived in South Korea, amid worries of another North Korean missile or nuclear test. The missile-armed USS Michigan is set to join an incoming group of warships led by aircraft carrier Carl Vinson.

• Monday, April 24th 2017 - 15:04 UTC

  World Book and Copyright Day message from Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO

  

  World Book and Copyright Day is an opportunity to highlight the power of books to promote our vision of knowledge societies that are inclusive, pluralistic, equitable, open and participatory for all citizens.

• Monday, April 24th 2017 - 11:26 UTC

  PM May's snap election driven by “political opportunism”, claims EU parliament Brexit negotiator

  

  UK Prime Minister Theresa May's claims that a general election victory will strengthen her hand in Brexit negotiations have been called “nonsensical” by the European Parliament's chief Brexit coordinator. Guy Verhofstadt, a long-standing critic of Brexit, wrote in The Observer that it was “irrelevant” whether the Conservatives increased their majority.

• Monday, April 24th 2017 - 08:25 UTC

  Spain's Rajoy visits Brazil and Uruguay to stress trade and Mercosur

  

  Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy arrived in Brazil on Sunday on an official two-day visit during which he will meet with President Michel Temer and follow a markedly economic agenda, including Mercosur and current ongoing talks with the EU in Brussels. The second leg of the trip will take Rajoy to Uruguay.

• Monday, April 24th 2017 - 07:53 UTC

  Macron is favorite over Le Pen to win the French presidential runoff in May

  

  The independent pro Europe Emmanuel Macron will face far-right leader Marine Le Pen in a run-off for the French presidency on 7 May, near-final results show. With 96% of votes counted from Sunday's first round, Mr. Macron has 23.9% with Ms Le Pen on 21.4%.

• Monday, April 24th 2017 - 07:05 UTC

  Euro jumps to a five-month high as French election results bring relief to investors

  

  The value of the Euro jumped to a five-month high, after the first round of voting in the French presidential election on Sunday. Results indicate that independent pro Europe pro deregulation Emmanuel Macron, and far-right Marine Le Pen are through to the final round.