International

• Monday, January 30th 2017 - 11:29 UTC

  Social Democrats chose Schultz, president of European Parliament to unseat Merkel

  

  Leaders of Germany's Social Democrats have chosen Martin Schulz, for many years president of the European Parliament, as their candidate to unseat Chancellor Angela Merkel. Schulz promised supporters his campaign for September's elections would focus on “hard-working people”.

• Monday, January 30th 2017 - 11:06 UTC

  Trudeau sidetracks Trump, “Welcome to Canada all those fleeing persecution, terror and war”

  

  Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has taken a stand on social media against the temporary US ban on refugees and immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries. PM Trudeau underscored his government's commitment to bringing in “those fleeing persecution, terror & war”.

• Monday, January 30th 2017 - 10:34 UTC

  Chaos and mass protests in US airports; Trump stands by immigration ban

  

  The Trump administration is standing firm over its ban on immigration from seven countries despite court rulings and mass protests against it. In a statement, President Trump said visas would once again be issued once “the most secure policies” were in place, and denied it was a Muslim ban. The move has been widely condemned.

• Monday, January 30th 2017 - 10:00 UTC

  Iraq furious with the Trump ban: Bagdad recalls that they are in the front line combating the IS

  

  Iraq will lobby against new travel limits to the United States by Iraqis, arguing both countries need to uphold their fight against Islamic State (IS), Iraqi parliamentarians said on Sunday. The Iraqi government has so far declined comment on an executive order signed by new U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday that suspends the entry of travelers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for at least 90 days.

• Monday, January 30th 2017 - 09:55 UTC

  New Antarctica record for a cruise vessel

  

  The residential ship, The World, has broken the record for the most southerly navigation reaching 78°43•997´S and 163°41•421´W at the Bay of Whales in Antarctica’s Ross Sea. The World recorded this polar record at 10:41hrs ship’s time on Saturday. Commanded by Captain Dag H. Saevik this is the furthest south any vessel has ever sailed.

• Saturday, January 28th 2017 - 12:00 UTC

  Consumer spending helps UK economy surprise and grows faster than expected in 2016

  

  Strong consumer spending helped the UK's economy to grow faster than expected at the end of last year. The economy grew by 0.6% in the October-to-December period, the same rate as in the previous two quarters, according to an initial estimate from the Office for National Statistics.

• Saturday, January 28th 2017 - 10:42 UTC

  Argentine lawmakers invited to Britain to meet peers in London and Scotland

  

  A delegation of Argentine lawmakers will be visiting UK beginning Monday invited by the Inter Parliamentary Union, IPU, British chapter, with the purpose of establishing closer links at legislative level with their peers.

• Friday, January 27th 2017 - 11:12 UTC

  UK and US must drop failed military interventions “to remake the world in our image”

  

  Prime Minister Theresa May has told US Republicans the UK and America cannot return to “failed” military interventions “to remake the world in our own image”. Suggesting a UK foreign policy shift, she said those days were over but added that the US and UK should not “stand idly by when the threat is real”. However the two countries must “renew the special relationship for this new age” and “lead together, again”.

• Friday, January 27th 2017 - 10:59 UTC

  Spain will not put Gibraltar at the centre of Brexit negotiations

  

  Spain will not put Gibraltar at the centre of Brexit negotiations, the country’s Foreign Minister, Alfonso Dastis Quecedo, said in an interview with the Financial Times. Dastis Quecedo told the newspaper that the EU should start trade talks with Britain relatively soon and had no plan to impose a “punitive” Brexit deal that would weaken London as a financial centre.

• Thursday, January 26th 2017 - 20:39 UTC

  UK publishes draft legislation to trigger Brexit: parliament debate begins next week

  

  The British government published on Thursday draft legislation that will allow the UK to start the process of leaving the EU. The European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill has been produced after the Supreme Court ruled legislation would be necessary.