International

• Tuesday, March 16th 2021 - 08:40 UTC

  Britain's Johnson to announce review of defense and foreign policy: more nukes and military presence worldwide

  

  Britain is to announce an increase to its nuclear weapons stockpile as part of a wide-ranging review of security, defense, and foreign policy, two newspapers anticipated on Monday. The Guardian and The Sun said in their online editions that the UK would look to raise the number of warheads from 180 to 260 by the middle of the decade.

• Tuesday, March 16th 2021 - 08:37 UTC

  German doctors call for an “immediate return” to lockdown to avoid third wave of Covid-19

  

  Intensive care doctors in Germany warned on Monday that the country would need to make an “immediate return” to partial lockdown if it is to avoid stumbling into a dangerous third wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

• Tuesday, March 16th 2021 - 08:25 UTC

  Saudi US$ 100 million “gift” to Spain's Juan Carlos I investigated by Swiss prosecutor

  

  Swiss prosecutor is probing whether the late Saudi king broke any laws when he transferred US$100 million to a fund controlled by fellow royal Juan Carlos I of Spain in 2008.

• Tuesday, March 16th 2021 - 08:20 UTC

  United States accounted for 37% of global arms sales in 2016/20, SIPRI

  

  The United States accounted for 37% of global arms sales during the 2016-2020 period and sold arms to 96 countries. Almost half of its sales went to the Middle East, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in a report on Monday. US exports increased 15% compared to the 2011-2015 period.

• Tuesday, March 16th 2021 - 08:19 UTC

  Roman Catholic Church blunt reply: no blessing for same sex unions

  

  The Vatican's orthodoxy office announced on Monday that the Roman Catholic Church could not bless same-sex relationships, in a statement approved by Pope Francis. The statement came from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) in response to a question about the church's power to bless same-sex unions.

• Monday, March 15th 2021 - 09:24 UTC

  A no deal of Argentina with IMF this year, not so bad after all according to Morgan Stanley

  

  International Investment Bank Morgan Stanley has shifted its long-held view on Argentina sovereign credit to “like,” as risks were flexed upside after a lot of bad news had been priced into bonds, including, increasingly, a delay to an IMF program and a further complication with the Club of Paris payment.

• Monday, March 15th 2021 - 08:53 UTC

  UK, Gibraltar/Spain international agreement of Taxation has entered into force

  

  The UK has ratified the International Agreement on Taxation and the Protection of Financial Interests between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Kingdom of Spain regarding Gibraltar.

• Saturday, March 13th 2021 - 09:40 UTC

  IDB initiative to help Latin America better compete for Covid-19 vaccines

  

  The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced a first-of-its kind initiative that would help Latin American and Caribbean countries better compete to obtain lifesaving COVID-19 vaccines. The instrument would help both countries and vaccine makers resolve indemnity obligations, thereby removing a key obstacle to vaccine contract negotiations.

• Saturday, March 13th 2021 - 09:19 UTC

  Interpol leads investigators to arrest 13 of the most wanted Latin American fugitives

  

  An Interpol coordinated ‘EL PAcCTO’ operation (20 November– 5 March) has seen a team of investigators from across Latin America locate and arrest 13 of their most wanted fugitives.

• Saturday, March 13th 2021 - 08:59 UTC

  UK/EU post Brexit first month trade figures are not encouraging

  

  UK/European Union trade contracted in the first month of their new post-Brexit relationship, with record falls in British exports and imports of goods as COVID-19 restrictions continued on both sides.