Ireland's Foreign Minister Simon Coveney
Ireland's Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said on Tuesday that more clarity was needed about Britain's stance regarding its planned departure from the European Union.
"I hope that Britain will further develop its positions regarding Brexit," Coveney told an economic conference organised by the German foreign ministry in Berlin.
With little more than seven months to go until it leaves the EU on March 29, Britain has yet to reach an agreement with the bloc on the terms of its departure. Prime Minister Theresa May's plan for a "business-friendly" deal has failed to impress negotiators in Brussels and has been criticised at home.
British Prime Minister Theresa May has said that failing to secure a deal with the European Union before Britain leaves the bloc next year "wouldn't be the end of the world", Sky News reported on Tuesday.May's comment, made to reporters as she headed to Africa to boost Britain's trade ties ahead of Brexit in March 2019, came after her finance minister Philip Hammond said last week that a no-deal departure from the EU would damage public finances.Ahead of her arrival in South Africa, May said the forecasts cited by Hammond were out of date."I think when they came out I was very clear on a previous trip that those figures were a work in progress at that particular time," she said according to Sky.Britain will use aid budget to boost trade in AfricaShe repeated comments from the head of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) that Britain leaving the EU without a deal "would not be a walk in the park" but that "it would not be the end of the world", Sky said.Hammond was criticised by some lawmakers in May's deeply divided Conservative Party for saying last week -- on the day the government published contingency plans for a no-deal Brexit -- that such a scenario could mean borrowing would be about 80 billion pounds ($102.02 billion) a year higher in 15 years' time as the economy grew more slowly.May is hoping to a agree "business-friendly" deal with the bloc on the key issue of trade which has split her party between those who want a definitive break from the EU, and those, like Hammond, who want to keep close ties.However, in her comments to reporters on her way to Africa, May repeated her warning that a no-deal Brexit was better than leaving with a bad deal."I think it's absolutely that the government is preparing for no deal because we don't know what the outcome is going to be," she said. 
UK May says no-deal Brexit not 'the end of the world'
Britain will use its international aid budget to boost its national interest and deepen trade ties with Africa, Prime Minister Theresa May will tell an audience in South Africa on Tuesday.May, battling to unite her divided party over her plan to take Britain out of the European Union, will also visit Nigeria and Kenya as part of a three-day visit to Africa alongside a group of business delegates.She is expected to recommit to maintaining the overall British aid budget at 0.7 percent of economic output but will add that she will be "unashamed" to use it in a way that helps Britain.Macron says Brexit cannot divide EU, criticises Trump's isolationismThe target has previously come under fire from many of May's own lawmakers who say it is a blunt tool that is too high and should be spent elsewhere or in Britain itself.May will say she wants Britain to become the biggest investor in Africa out of the countries in the Group of Seven nations, overtaking the United States, by using the aid budget to help British private sector companies invest on the continent."I am unashamed about the need to ensure that our aid programme works for the UK," May will say in her speech, according to extracts released by her office."Today I am committing that our development spending will not only combat extreme poverty, but at the same time tackle global challenges and support our own national interest. This will ensure that our investment in aid benefits us all, and is fully aligned with our wider national security priorities." Russia calls Britain's Black Sea air force interceptions dangerousRussia says US, UK, France preparing to strike Syria again
Britain will use aid budget to boost trade in Africa