
Britain's position as a top hub for maritime services is being eroded by competition, a loss of shipping finance business and the removal of tycoon-friendly tax breaks, a report said, deepening uncertainty for its financial sector as Brexit nears.

China's exports fell by 1.0 per cent on-year in August, official data showed Sunday amid a bruising trade war with the US that has roiled markets in the world's top two economies. The drop comes after a surprise 3.3% rebound in July despite the yearlong battle with Washington and weakening global demand.

A dozen international media organizations have signed up to a new initiative launched by the BBC to fight misinformation. The French news agency AFP said in a statement it has joined the BBC initiative, alongside organizations such as the European Broadcasting Union, the Financial Times, First Draft, The Hindu, the Wall Street Journal, CBC/Radio Canada, Reuters and the Reuters Institute, as well as partners Facebook, Google and Microsoft.

Australian firefighters battled more than 100 bushfires across two eastern states on Sunday as authorities warned that parts of the country could expected a severe bushfire season this summer.

Argentine foreign minister Jorge Faurie described the authorization for a regular weekly flight between Sao Paulo, Brazil and the Falkland Islands, with a monthly stopover in Cordoba, as “something very positive”, which has the purpose of “building bridges and creating trust for sovereignty negotiations”

Venezuelan prosecutors said Friday they would charge opposition leader Juan Guaido with “high treason” for planning to renounce the country's claim to a disputed border area controlled by Guyana.

Argentina's likely next president, opposition front-runner Alberto Fernandez, laid out his populist credentials during a visit to Madrid on Thursday, saying local Argentine interests would trump those of creditors and energy investors.

Major oil companies have approved US$50 billion of projects since last year that will not be economically viable if governments implement the Paris Agreement on climate change, think-tank Carbon Tracker said in a report published on Friday.

A Brazilian government minister said French first lady Brigitte Macron was “truly ugly” on Thursday, only days after the country's president appeared to endorse an attack on her appearance. Brazil's economy minister Paulo Guedes said he agreed with President Jair Bolsonaro's comments about Macron's looks.

Trade policy uncertainty driven by the Trump administration's escalating dispute with China means hundreds of billions of dollars in lost U.S. output and as much as US$850 billion lost globally through early next year, research published this week by the Federal Reserve suggests.