Europe

    The 27 remaining member states want to be able to act against the UK without having to go through a lengthy legal process. Brussels will have the power to punish the UK at will during the Brexit transition period by closing off parts of the single market to British companies, according to a leaked legal document drawn up by the EU. The use of focused sanctions to suspend certain benefits ... of the internal market, would give the EU the freedom to punish the UK without prematurely terminating the transition period and risking damage to its economic interests. The document does not stipulate what acts by the UK would lead to sanctions, but the EU has made it clear it is concerned that the British government could infringe the rights of its nationals living in the UK...

    Donald Trump’s huge tax cuts are a threat to the stability of the global economy, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund has warned. Christine Lagarde singled out Trump’s tax reforms as one of three risks that could destabilise the current economic recovery, especially given the boom in stock markets in the last year. While the US tax reforms certainly will have positive effects in the short term, for the US and other countries around, it might also lead to serious risks, Lagarde told the World Economic Forum in Davos. That has an impact on financial vulnerability, particularly given the high asset prices that we see around the world, and the easy financing that it still available, she added. She was speaking shortly after the US president told D...

    President Trump and Prime Minister Theresa May's joint press appearance in Davos on Thursday. While displays of mutual faith in longstanding alliances aren't unusual at Davos (that's the point of the entire World Economic Forum) this one was ... weird. Trump said he wanted to address the false rumour that he might not respect Britain, or May. And then he added, We are very much joined at the hip when it comes to the military. We have the same ideas, the same ideals, and there is nothing that would happen to you that we won't be there to fight for you, you know that. It was an odd thing to say given that there are no military threats to Britain right now, and the joint defence roles of the US and UK in NATO weren't really in doubt. The only way the meeting staged e...

    A restaurant in Venice that charged four tourists more than €1,100 for lunch has been hit with a fine of €20,000. The fine was imposed on the Osteria Da Luca, near St Mark’s Square, after the four Japanese students made a formal complaint about the sky-high bill they received for a meal of steak, fried fish and mineral water. The restaurant charged them €1,143 (£970) – and omitted to give them a receipt. They were able to prove to police that they had been charged the astronomical sum because they kept a credit card slip. The fine was issued after the restaurant owners were questioned by police and local health authorities. The Japanese tourists made their official complaint in Bologna, where they are studying, after returning from a short break in Venice. Venic...

    Peter Madsen allegedly planned the murder by bringing a saw, screwdrivers and pipes that were used to hit, cut and stab Ms Wall while she was alive. According to an indictment published on Tuesday, the 30-year-old's cause of death is yet to be confirmed but it is believed she was strangled, or her throat was cut. Other Inventor Peter Madsen designed the submarine The freelance journalist was on Madsen's home-built submarine off the coast of Copenhagen in August 2017 to interview him for an article. She was reported missing after failing to return home from the trip on the 18m (60ft) Nautilus submarine, which then sank. Madsen, who was rescued from the sinking vessel, has admitted dismembering Ms Wall on board and dumping her body parts in the sea, but he denies mu...

    The French people would probably vote to leave the EU if presented with a similar choice to the Brexit referendum, Emmanuel Macron has said, arguing that the UK had taken a big risk by asking yes or no on a very complicated subject. In an interview on BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show, the French president also criticised Donald Trump for calling developing countries shies and warned Theresa May her government could not cherry-pick benefits of EU membership. Macron on The Andrew Marr Show: But for sure except if you change your mind you will not be part of the single market. Macron was interviewed during his visit to the UK earlier in the week, during which he had held talks with May. In extracts released before Sunday’s broadcast, Macron said the UK could win a bespok...

    Theresa May is being warned by the head of the CBI that time is running out to make progress on Brexit and remaining in a customs union with Brussels is the best option for British business. Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the business organisation, will stress that urgent progress is needed on agreeing a transitional deal with the EU by the end of March and the framework for the future trading relationship with Brussels must be set out by October. Businesses are deeply apprehensive about the current uncertainty and there has been too much ideology, too little urgency in the negotiations, she will say in a speech on Monday. The Prime Minister has ruled out remaining in the single market and customs union after Brexit and is seeking a bespoke deal to preserve...

    Emmanuel Macron has warned Theresa May the UK will have to pay into the EU's coffers in order to secure a Brexit trade deal on financial services. Speaking alongside the Prime Minister during his first visit to Britain since being elected, the French president insisted he was here neither to punish nor reward over Brexit. But Mr Macron appeared to stick to the stance of the EU's chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier, who has said a post-Brexit deal on financial services is unlikely, unless the UK pays into the Brussels budget and accepts the jurisdiction of EU judges. Outlining a choice for the UK, the French leader claimed Britain will have to opt for a relationship with the EU along the lines of that held by either Norway or Canada. Mr Macron spoke at a joint n...

    New Zealand’s prime minister announced on Friday that she is expecting her first child in June. Jacinda Ardern, 37, took office in October. Speculation swirled around whether she would start a family soon when she took over the leadership of her then opposition Labour Party last year. Ardern took to Twitter to announce that she and her partner Clarke Gayford were expecting a child, and that Gayford would become a stay-at-home dad. ‘We thought 2017 was a big year! This year we’ll join the many parents who wear two hats. I’ll be PM & a mum while Clarke will be ‘first man of fishing’ & stay at home dad,’ she tweeted. She said in a statement that she had asked Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters on Thursday to act as prime minister for six weeks after the bir...

    Britain will pay £44.5m for extra security measures in France to prevent another refugee camp forming in Calais or any other Channel port, Theresa May is to announce. The extra cash will go towards fencing, CCTV and other detection technology in Calais and other ports, possibly including Dunkirk. It will also be used to help relocate migrants from the port towns to other parts of France. To be announced as part of the Anglo-French summit at Sandhurst military academy on Thursday, the money brings total British funding for security and policing in Calais since the “Jungle” camp was bulldozed in 2016 to more than £150m. The measures have included building a 1km-long concrete wall designed to prevent migrants and refugees getting close to the roads used by trucks app...