Politics

• Wednesday, October 4th 2017 - 13:20 UTC

  Chancellor Hammond acknowledges private sector needs more clarity on Brexit

  

  Businesses need more clarity on Brexit, the Chancellor, Philip Hammond, has acknowledged. Speaking at the BBC's Today program he said the sooner the government gave businesses more certainty about the process, the sooner the economy would pick up.

• Wednesday, October 4th 2017 - 09:59 UTC

  Bolivian army veterans refuse to attend 50th anniversary of “Che” Guevara's death

  

  A row has broken out in Bolivia between the government and army veterans over the 50th anniversary of the death of the Cuban revolutionary, Ernesto “Che” Guevara. The Bolivian government is planning a series of commemorations next week in the presence of foreign guests.

• Wednesday, October 4th 2017 - 08:22 UTC

  Petrobras controversy: Brazil denies any current plans to privatize the company

  

  A senior official in Brazil said there are no current plans to privatize the national oil company to deal with its massive debt, according to a new report by Reuters. Fernando Coelho Filho, the minister of mines and energy, had suggested that Petrobras could face such a sale in the future, but did not provide a concrete timeline.

• Wednesday, October 4th 2017 - 08:09 UTC

  Good Friday agreement must not be damaged by Brexit, says EU parliament coordinator

  

  European Parliament's Brexit coordinator has said he got a “shock” on his recent visit to Belfast when he saw the city's peace walls. Guy Verhofstadt described Northern Ireland as having a “frozen conflict”, and said the Good Friday Agreement must not be damaged by Brexit.

• Wednesday, October 4th 2017 - 08:02 UTC

  “Working class tantrum towards immigration” spurred the Leave vote and Brexit

  

  One of the reasons for the Brexit vote was working class voters throwing “a bit of a tantrum” over immigration, UK government minister Sir Alan Duncan claimed before an audience in Chicago. He said the campaign had “stirred up a lot of sentiment” about migration among people who do not usually vote.

• Wednesday, October 4th 2017 - 07:40 UTC

  Boris Johnson tells Tories, “let the British lion roar” and praised Theresa May's leadership

  

  Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said it is time to “let the British lion roar” as he called for Brexit to be a moment of national renewal. Addressing Tory activists he said the UK “can win the future” and should stop treating the referendum result as if it were “plague of boils”.

• Wednesday, October 4th 2017 - 07:02 UTC

  Catalonia expected to declare independence in matter of days; King says situation is extremely serious and calls for unity

  

  Catalonia will declare independence from Spain in a matter of days, the leader of the autonomous region has told the BBC. In his first interview since Sunday's referendum, Carles Puigdemont said his government would “act at the end of this week or the beginning of next”.

• Tuesday, October 3rd 2017 - 12:11 UTC

  Falklands appoints Headteacher of Community School

  

  The Falkland Islands Government has announced the appointment of Neil Appleby as the new Headteacher for the Falkland Islands Community School. Neil was born in Basingstoke in the South of England and within eleven years he and his family made their way North to County Durham.

• Tuesday, October 3rd 2017 - 07:43 UTC

  Hammond challenges Labour “dinosaurs” to a great clash of ideas over the future of capitalism

  

  The Conservatives must take on and defeat Labour “dinosaurs” in a great “clash of ideas” over the future of capitalism, Philip Hammond has said, adding that activists must expose Jeremy Corbyn's “back to the future socialist fantasy” which was leading people “down a dangerous path”.

• Tuesday, October 3rd 2017 - 07:33 UTC

  Judge Moro says Petrobras corruption probe is nearing an end

  

  The judge overseeing a sprawling corruption probe into billions of dollars in kickbacks to Brazilian politicians and officials said Monday that the investigation is nearing an end. Judge Sergio Moro didn't set a timeline for when the “Car Wash” probe might wrap up. However, he said he is personally “a bit tired” of the work and believes it is in its final phases.