
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned Prime Minister Theresa May that she is not bluffing on the promise of a second independence referendum if Scotland is driven off a hard Brexit cliff. In an interview with BBC's Andrew Marr she felt the prime minister had no plan in terms of her strategy for the UK leaving the EU.

Negotiations for an ample trade and cooperation agreement between the European Union and Mercosur are strategic, essential and must be urgently concluded, said Ramon Jauregui, head of the Euro-chamber for Latin America delegation, following on the recent accords signed by the EU with Ecuador and Cuba.

UK foreign secretary has held positive but frank talks with some of Donald Trump's key advisers during a visit to New York, officials have said. Boris Johnson met Mr Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kuchner, and Steve Bannon, the US president-elect's strategist.

The jazz-infused, Popsicle-colored “La La Land” dominated the 74th Golden Globes on Sunday, receiving a promotional boost in the form of a lavish tribute that kicked off the awards telecast and collecting a record seven prizes, including one for best comedy or musical. No film has won more than four Globes since 1979, when the crime drama “Midnight Express” received six, the previous record-holding number.

A cold wave stretching across Europe has left at least two dozen people dead in the past two days, including several migrants and homeless people, with the frigid temperatures expected to continue. Four Portuguese tourists were killed and about 20 others were injured Sunday when their bus crashed off an icy highway in central France before dawn on what is locally known as “the road of death.”

British Prime Minister Theresa May seemingly reiterated her desire for a hard Brexit during an interview on Sky News on Sunday. She said that Britain is focusing on immigration control and that leaving the EU doesn't mean retaining bits of membership.

The Argentine media has published details of the Red Cross humanitarian mission in the Falkland Islands to identify the remains of the 123 unknown Argentine soldiers buried at the Darwin cemetery, and a single word stands out, confidentiality, from the beginning to end, including a final assessment to decide what will effectively be released to the media.

China launched its first freight service to the United Kingdom on New Year's day, according to the China Railway Corporation. The service runs from the Chinese city of Yiwu, in the country's eastern Zhejiang province, to Barking in London. The journey lasts for an average of 18 days and more than 12,000 kilometers, according to a Chinese government website.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth has given an honor to a member of her staff in a private ceremony, resuming official duties as she continued to recover from a heavy cold that forced her to miss Christmas and New Year church services, a spokeswoman said.

Prime Minister Theresa May appointed a senior career diplomat as envoy to the European Union on Wednesday to replace an ambassador who quit with a scathing resignation letter that exposed frustration among officials over her strategy. . Tim Barrow, political director at the Foreign Office, will take up the post next week following the abrupt departure of Ivan Rogers, who told staff in his resignation letter they should speak the truth to those in power.