International

• Sunday, April 2nd 2023 - 10:09 UTC

  UK strikes deal to join major free trade bloc in Asia-Pacific, including Chile, Peru and Mexico

  

  The UK announced on 31 March the conclusion of trade talks with member countries of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a vast free trade area spanning the Asia-Pacific, after 21 months of negotiations. The bloc is home to over 500 million people and will have a total GDP of £11 trillion once the UK joins.

• Saturday, April 1st 2023 - 10:39 UTC

  IMF okays US$ 5.4 bn disbursement for Argentina

  

  The International Monetary Fund (IMF)'s Executive Board Friday approved the fourth review of last year's Extended Facilities Program with Argentina, after which a US$ 5.4 billion disbursement for the South American country was cleared to proceed, it was reported in Washington DC.

• Saturday, April 1st 2023 - 10:25 UTC

  Lukashenko fears nuclear war, calls for a truce in Ukraine

  

  Belarusian President Alexandr Lukashenko Friday called for a truce in Ukraine “without preconditions” during which time neither Moscow nor Kyiv would be allowed to regroup troops or move equipment.

• Saturday, April 1st 2023 - 09:36 UTC

  Brazilian President's trip to China rescheduled for April 11

  

  After Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva canceled his trip to China last weekend due to health issues, the South American country's authorities confirmed Friday that a new date had been set: April 11, Agencia Brasil reported. Also in April, Lula will travel to Portugal.

• Thursday, March 30th 2023 - 16:24 UTC

  France denies blocking EU-Mercosur agreement but reiterates demands

  

  France denies blocking the EU-Mercosur agreement, which it vetoed since it was signed in 2019. However, it reiterates its demands to correct it and says it is waiting for the outcome of the negotiations being conducted by the European Commission with its South American partners.

• Thursday, March 30th 2023 - 15:39 UTC

  Gibraltar Airport Tunnel Opens

  

  Jim Watt - Gibraltar. The tunnel for traffic to access the frontier with Spain without having to cross the runway has been an ongoing project beset with delays.

• Thursday, March 30th 2023 - 15:17 UTC

  What can you do to prepare for a personal Financial Crisis?

  

  Let's face it. No one likes the thought of a job loss, an automobile accident, an illness, or any other major event that could negatively impact their finances.

• Thursday, March 30th 2023 - 10:45 UTC

  Massa and Gopinath discuss IMF flexibilization and disbursement

  

  Argentina's Economy Minister Sergio Massa Wednesday met with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath to discuss the flexibilization of the reserve's goals in addition to a US$ 5.3 billion disbursement to be announced early next week, it was reported in Washington.

• Wednesday, March 29th 2023 - 14:09 UTC

  Pause AI development: Open letter from world's tech leaders urges labs to stop

  

  Elon Musk and many other experts around the world have recently signed a petition requesting a six-month pause on research into artificial intelligence (AI) that is more powerful than ChatGPT 4, the OpenAI model that was launched this month.

• Wednesday, March 29th 2023 - 11:06 UTC

  Fire at migrant detention center in Mexico leaves 38 dead and 28 injured

  

  At least 38 people were killed and 28 injured in a fire at a migrant detention center in the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez, on the border with the United States, according to the Mexican government. The fire broke out on Monday night in the facilities of the National Migration Institute (INM) in the state of Chihuahua.