Politics

• Wednesday, January 9th 2019 - 08:37 UTC

  Ireland extends a friendly hand to embattled PM May's government

  

  Ireland’s Foreign Affairs Minister has said the country will not stand in the way if the British Government asks for an extension to Article 50. Simon Coveney said they want to avoid a no-deal Brexit scenario as “everyone loses”.

• Wednesday, January 9th 2019 - 08:31 UTC

  20-year old student confesses to hacking data of hundreds of high-profile Germans

  

  A 20-year-old man has made a “comprehensive” confession that he was behind a data breach affecting hundreds of high-profile Germans, police say. Styling himself “G0d”, he published private information about politicians, journalists, and celebrities on Twitter, under the username @_0rbit.

• Wednesday, January 9th 2019 - 08:30 UTC

  Government shutdown persists as Trump and Democrats clash over US/Mexican border wall funding

  

  United States president Donald Trump has demanded funding for his long-promised US-Mexico border wall to halt “a growing humanitarian and security crisis”. But in his first TV address to the nation from the Oval Office, Mr Trump did not declare a national emergency to bypass Congress and build the barrier.

• Wednesday, January 9th 2019 - 08:26 UTC

  EU claims Trump administration has downgraded the block's diplomatic status

  

  EU says the US government has changed the bloc's diplomatic status in Washington, in practice downgrading it. The Trump administration did not notify the EU about the change. The EU has asked the US to explain the move, EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic says.

• Tuesday, January 8th 2019 - 09:28 UTC

  Brazilian government and Petrobras in dispute over billions of dollars

  

  Brazil’s Economy Ministry denied that the government would pay US$ 14 billion to state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA to settle a dispute over an oil-producing zone off the Brazilian coast known as the transfer-of-rights area.

• Tuesday, January 8th 2019 - 09:25 UTC

  US taxpayers will receive refunds, pledges Trump despite government shutdown

  

  Millions of US taxpayers will still receive refunds despite an ongoing partial government shutdown, the White House has said. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has previously delayed tax refunds during a government shutdown.

• Tuesday, January 8th 2019 - 09:21 UTC

  France plans hooligan-type legislation to crackdown “yellow vest” violent protests

  

  France plans to introduce legislation to toughen sanctions on undeclared protests in response to violent “yellow-vest” demonstrations, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Monday in a hardening of the government’s stance on the unrest.

• Tuesday, January 8th 2019 - 08:46 UTC

  Sao Paulo Shimbun, Japanese community voice in Brazil, printed its last edition

  

  The Sao Paulo Shimbun newspaper has printed its final edition, ending a 72-year run as a vital reference point and voice for Brazil’s several million Japanese community — the largest in the world outside of Japan.

• Tuesday, January 8th 2019 - 08:42 UTC

  First Minister Sturgeon: Brexit has strengthened the case for Scottish independence

  

  Brexit has “materially strengthened” the case for Scottish independence, Nicola Sturgeon has said. The First Minister said Scotland’s interests are being “completely ignored and sidelined” and that what has happened in the last two years has reinforced the case for it to leave the UK.

• Tuesday, January 8th 2019 - 08:37 UTC

  World Bank President steps down; possible differences with Trump's policies

  

  World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim has made the surprise announcement that he is stepping down after six years in the post. His resignation will take effect from 1 February. Mr Kim, 59, was not due to leave until 2022, after he was re-elected for a second five-year term in 2017.