Politics

• Wednesday, January 18th 2017 - 10:20 UTC

  Scotland “undoubtedly” closer to an independence referendum

  

  First minister Nicola Sturgeon said that plans to take the UK out of the EU's single market brought a second Scottish independence referendum “undoubtedly” closer. She was speaking after Prime Minister Theresa May outlined her government's thinking on Brexit.

• Tuesday, January 17th 2017 - 17:32 UTC

  Xi emphatic tells Davos “we say no to protectionism”; migration crisis caused by war and conflict

  

  China's president Xi told the World Economic Forum in Davos on Monday that the “migrant crisis had been caused by war, conflict and regional turbulence,” not globalization. Similarly, the 2007/8 financial crisis was caused by “the excessive pursuit of profits and a lack of economic regulations,” he said.

• Tuesday, January 17th 2017 - 17:08 UTC

  Hard Brexit: UK to leave the single market and Parliament will vote on the final deal, pledges PM May

  

  Prime Minister Theresa May has said the UK “cannot possibly” remain within the European single market, as staying in it would mean “not leaving the EU at all”, but at the same time promised to push for the “greatest possible” access to the single market following Brexit.

• Tuesday, January 17th 2017 - 10:19 UTC

  Eight of the richest people on earth own as much combined wealth as half the human race

  

  Just eight of the richest people on earth own as much combined wealth as half the human race. The charity Oxfam does the math each year and publishes its results just in time for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where many of the spectacularly wealthy are often among the attendees, along with diplomats, political figures, and business and cultural leaders.

• Tuesday, January 17th 2017 - 10:06 UTC

  IMF downgrades Latin America prospects because of lesser growth in Brazil and Mexico

  

  The International Monetary Fund has become more pessimistic about Latin America in the January economic outlook update. IMF is now forecasting regional GDP growth of just 1.2% in 2017, down from the 1.6% projection it made in October. It also lowered its 2018 estimate for Latin America by 0.1% to a revised projection of 2.1% expansion.

• Tuesday, January 17th 2017 - 09:45 UTC

  Trump barking at the wrong tree: Automation revolution is taking the jobs, not evil foreigners

  

  By Gwynne Dyer - The main message of 2016 was that we are entering a period of economic and political upheaval comparable to the Industrial Revolution of 1780-1850, and nothing expressed that message more clearly than Donald Trump's appointment of Andrew Puzder as Secretary of Labour. Even though it's clear that neither man understands the message.

• Tuesday, January 17th 2017 - 09:29 UTC

  Falklands under no pressure from the UK: “final decision on flights will be ours, and ours alone”

  

  The Falkland Islands Government is under no pressure from the UK government to agree to something that we feel is not in our best interests, and ”the final decision on (additional) flights will be ours, and ours alone”. The statement belongs to the elected Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands' chair of the month, Barry Elsby.

• Tuesday, January 17th 2017 - 09:08 UTC

  Falklands: spectacular display of helicopter capability

  

  Falkland Islanders were able to enjoy a first class display of chopper capability when a military Chinook transported from Mount Pleasant to Stanley Airport the decommissioned Sea King Search and Rescue (SAR) helicopter donated to the Falkland Islands Museum and National Trust by the UK Ministry of Defense.

• Monday, January 16th 2017 - 17:46 UTC

  Airbags maker Takata agrees to pay US$ 1bn in penalties for concealing defects

  

  The Japanese car parts maker Takata has agreed to pay US$1bn in penalties in the US for concealing dangerous defects in its exploding airbags. The firm, which also has assembly plants in Brazil and Uruguay, also pleaded guilty to a single criminal charge, the company and the US Department of Justice said..

• Monday, January 16th 2017 - 17:40 UTC

  Sterling drops ahead of Theresa May's Tuesday Brexit speech

  

  The British pound has fallen against the dollar to below US$1.20 ahead of a key speech from Theresa May on Brexit this week. Sterling fell 1.5% against the US currency on Sunday to its lowest level since the flash crash in October.