Stories for April 2018

Monday, April 16th 2018 - 02:10 UTC
The Economist on Uruguay: some serious shortfalls

The Economist recently published an extremely laudatory article on the performance of the Uruguayan economy in the last fifteen years, much of which can be supported but even more needs to be rectified, quite a surprise coming from a publication known for its research rigor. The piece was titled “Uruguay’s record-setting economic growth streak; How a small country outperforms its neighbors” and was published in the March 28th edition.
Saturday, April 14th 2018 - 13:53 UTC
US coalition: Strikes in Syria increases tension; reactions worldwide

Bombs have fallen. Damascus has been beaten again. The United States, United Kingdom and France coalition launched airstrikes against Syrian targets as Donald Trump sought to punish Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for a suspected chemical attack last weekend near Damascus that killed more than 40 people.
Saturday, April 14th 2018 - 11:22 UTC
Brazilian state asks Supreme Tribunal to “temporarily” close border with Venezuela

The governor of Brazil’s northern state of Roraima on Friday asked the Supreme Federal Tribunal for permission to temporarily close the only land border crossing with neighboring Venezuela to halt the massive and disorderly arrival of refugees. But Brazil’s President Michel Temer, attending the Summit of the Americas in Lima, said closing the border was “unthinkable.”
Saturday, April 14th 2018 - 11:10 UTC
Brazilian Supreme Tribunal: of the eleven Justices, seven were named by Lula and Rousseff

The Brazilian Supreme Federal Tribunal acts primarily as the Constitutional Court of the country, and its rulings cannot be appealed. The court is made up of eleven members, Justices, addressed to as Ministers, and they are appointed by the president and must be approved by the Senate.
Saturday, April 14th 2018 - 11:08 UTC
Brazil's Attorney General charges presidential candidate with racism

One of the front-runners in Brazil's presidential campaign was charged with racism on Friday by the country's top prosecutor. Attorney General Raquel Dodge charged conservative deputy Jair Bolsonaro for statements comparing members of rural settlements founded by the descendants of slaves to animals. Members of the settlements are called “quilombolas” in Brazil.
Saturday, April 14th 2018 - 10:56 UTC
Ecuador and Colombia elite troops after Farc renegades who killed journalists and their driver

Ecuador on Friday confirmed the deaths of two journalists and their driver who had been kidnapped by renegade Colombian rebels -- and quickly launched a retaliatory military operation in the area where they were snatched.
Saturday, April 14th 2018 - 10:49 UTC
Corruption and Venezuela in the agenda of a subdued Summit of the Americas

Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra opened on Friday a subdued Summit of the Americas decrying widespread corruption and urging regional leaders to join forces in increasing transparency and boosting civil society. Addressing Western Hemisphere leaders in an auditorium where a number of seats were left notably empty, Peru's new president said that rather than accept corruption as a deep-seated scourge impossible to eliminate, governments should adopt concrete measures that prevent it from ever taking place.
Saturday, April 14th 2018 - 10:42 UTC
South Georgia fisheries licensing controversy reaches the leading media in UK

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson was accused of betraying by handing lucrative licenses in the South Atlantic to foreign firms. The row erupted after it emerged that £75million worth of licenses in the South Atlantic have been handed to firms from Norway, Chile and New Zealand, according to reports in the UK media.
Friday, April 13th 2018 - 19:02 UTC
UK new rules for package holiday sickness cases to deter false claims

United Kingdom legal costs for package holiday sickness cases will be fixed under new rules aimed at deterring false claims. Similar controls are in place for other personal injury claims, but they will now be extended to cases when holidaymakers seek compensation. The travel industry says claims have mushroomed in recent years despite illness in resorts declining.
Friday, April 13th 2018 - 09:17 UTC
Photo of the year: Venezuelan Ronaldo Schemidt wins the World Press Photo

Venezuelan photographer Ronaldo Schemidt received on Thursday the World Press Photo of the year in Amsterdam, one of the most prestigious in photojournalism, for a photograph shot in May 2017 during the protests in Venezuela while working for Agence France-Presse (AFP) . In the photograph a protester appears in flames, in front of a graffiti in which a weapon appears shooting at the word “peace”.