UK files under Article 50, America embraces coal, Rwandan gov’t wants to be a regulator of electricity markets, not a provider of it
On a reasonably slow news day in Egypt, there are a handful of international stories worth knowing about:
The United Kingdom served notice under Article 50 last night. Or, to be precise, UK Prime Minister Theresa May signed a letter giving official notice under the Treaty of Lisbon provision. Qatar seized the occasion to toady up and pledge to invest GBP 5 bn over the coming three to five years. “Gulf state confident in the long term on British economy,” declared the FT. Reuters has more on the “show of support for the world’s fifth-largest economy.”
Canada is still considering a ban on laptops and tabletsin the cabins of inbound flights. Canadian Transport Minister Marc Garneau said last week the federal government was evaluating intelligence provided by the US, Canada’s CBC News reports. Analysts and experts believe the hesitation suggests that there may be something that is less than compelling about what drove the US and UK to impose the ban. The head of the International Air Transport Association shares those doubts, it seems. Alexandre de Juniac called on governments to work with the transport industry to ensure passengers aren’t separated from their devices. “The current measures are not an acceptable long-term solution to whatever threat they are trying to mitigate,” de Juniac said in a speech picked up by the Associated Press.
China is giving Brazil and South Africa another year to join its infrastructure bank after the two missed a deadline at the end of 2016 to finalize procedures for joining.