Politics

• Monday, September 25th 2017 - 10:40 UTC

  Madrid and Barcelona clash over control of the Catalonia police force

  

  Spain’s central government and regional Catalan authorities argued this weekend over who controls the regional police force that is considered key to the success of a planned independence vote for the north-eastern region. The exchanges came as thousands of Catalan separatists rallied in public squares in Barcelona and other towns on Sunday in support of a disputed referendum on independence of from Spain.

• Monday, September 25th 2017 - 07:16 UTC

  Merkel wins fourth mandate, but only the hard right and small parties celebrate

  

  Chancellor Angela Merkel clinched a fourth term in Germany’s election Sunday, but her victory was clouded by the entry into parliament of the hard-right AfD in the best showing for a nationalist force since World War II. Merkel, who after 12 years in power held a double-digit lead for most of the campaign, scored around 33% of the vote with her conservative Christian Union (CDU/CSU) bloc, according to preliminary results.

• Monday, September 25th 2017 - 06:36 UTC

  Scottish lawmakers ask Madrid to allow Catalonia to decide its future democratically

  

  A cross-party group of Scottish politicians has asked the Spanish government to allow people in Catalonia to decide their future democratically. The move comes amid rising tensions in Spain, after the devolved Catalan administration decided to call an independence referendum next Sunday, which Madrid has described the move as illegal.

• Monday, September 25th 2017 - 05:39 UTC

  Moody's downgrades UK credit rating on concerns about public finances and Brexit

  

  UK's credit rating has been cut over concerns about the country's public finances and fears Brexit could damage the country's economic growth. Moody's, one of the major ratings agencies, downgraded the UK to an Aa2 rating from Aa1.

• Saturday, September 23rd 2017 - 10:36 UTC

  Brazil elections in 2018, for the first time will be observed by OAS

  

  The Organization of American States (OAS) will deploy an Electoral Observation Mission to Brazil’s general elections scheduled for October 2018. It will be the first time the hemispheric organization observes elections in Brazil.

• Saturday, September 23rd 2017 - 10:01 UTC

  Brazilian central bank optimistic about next year; growth 2,2% and inflation 4.3%

  

  Brazil’s central bank trimmed its inflation forecast on Thursday and said it expected economic growth to pick up into next year, painting a rosier picture for Latin America’s largest economy as interest rates approach record lows.

• Friday, September 22nd 2017 - 20:16 UTC

  Falklands celebrates Chilean Independence Day at Government House

  

  Chileans in the Falkland Islands celebrated their country's Independence Day with a reception at Government House in Stanley on Monday and on the weekend a traditionally lively gathering at The Narrows Bar.

• Friday, September 22nd 2017 - 12:16 UTC

  London mayor Khan will address the Labour party conference, after all

  

  London mayor Sadiq Khan is to address the Labour Party conference after initially being told he would not get a slot. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn told BBC London: “Sadiq is speaking. I'm delighted to say he is and I'm looking forward to listening to him.”

• Friday, September 22nd 2017 - 12:00 UTC

  Theresa May “make Brexit work” speech: a two-year transition period post 2019 and 40bn Pounds

  

  Theresa May will tell EU leaders there is a shared responsibility to make Brexit work “smoothly” as she attempts to break the deadlock in negotiations. In a major speech in Florence on Friday, she will say history will judge Brexit “not for the differences we faced, but for the vision we showed”.

• Friday, September 22nd 2017 - 09:29 UTC

  Catalonia pro independence demonstrators fill streets of Barcelona wrapped in the “estelada” flag

  

  Thousands gathered on Thursday to demand the release of a dozen Catalan officials arrested in connection with a vote on independence that Spanish authorities are challenging as illegal. The demonstrators, who met at the gates of Catalonia’s judicial body in Barcelona, answered a call by pro-independence civic groups to stage long-term street protests against the police surprise crackdown one day earlier.