Politics

• Friday, December 9th 2016 - 17:04 UTC

  ‘Ladies and Gentlemen’ too gender-biased for London's public transport

  

  London Mayor Sadiq Khan looks to scrap the traditional “Ladies and Gentlemen” announcement on trains and buses and replace it with a gender neutral phrasing following complaints from a transgender woman who was mocked as she ‘didn't sound like a Miss’.

• Friday, December 9th 2016 - 15:25 UTC

  UK faces threat of “unprecedented” proportions, says British chief spy

  

  MI6 Director Alex Younger said on Thursday that the unprecedented terrorist threat his country is going through would not abate until the end of the civil war in Syria. Ha added that 12 plots to commit an attack have been dismantled since June 2013 and warned that “the efficiently murderous” Islamic state continues to plan attacks from Syria, despite recent military setbacks.

• Friday, December 9th 2016 - 15:14 UTC

  Maduro calls for “anti-coup” test as dialogue with opposition dies

  

  During a “commemorative assembly” marking the fourth anniversary of the day the late Hugo Chavez picked him as his successor, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro called for a powerful civilian and military mobilization next December 17 to make a “anti-coup” test in view of the alleged threats from “imperialism” and “national oligarchy.”

• Friday, December 9th 2016 - 10:53 UTC

  Argentina and Chile alternate in Antarctic Combined Naval Patrolling

  

  Argentina and Chile are already alternatively operating the Antarctica Combined Naval Patrolling, (PANC), which is responsible for maritime control and safety, including search and rescue missions, in the Southern Ocean particularly significant in summer months because of the increase in tourism traffic.

• Friday, December 9th 2016 - 10:01 UTC

  Brazil and Argentina agree to open Mercosur to the world and expand trade horizons

  

  Brazil and Argentina foreign ministers agreed on Thursday in Brasilia that Mercosur must open to the world and expand its trade horizons, but it will have to be done without Venezuela which has been currently “ceased” from the block. Jose Serra and Susana Malcorra coincided that Mercosur must speed the trade agreement with the European Union taking advantage of the fact US elected-president Donald Trump has pledged to limit such treaties.

• Friday, December 9th 2016 - 09:47 UTC

  UK and Brazil underline significance of bilateral cooperation and initiatives in strategic areas

  

  British Secretary of State for International Trade, Dr Liam Fox, and the Brazilian Minister for Industry, Foreign Trade and Services, Marcos Pereira, emphasized the importance of current bilateral cooperation and agreed initiatives on strategic areas to support mutual economic development, during the 9th UK-Brazil Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) meeting held in Brasília this week.

• Friday, December 9th 2016 - 04:41 UTC

  Falklands/Malvinas: Red Cross hosting talks on identifying Argentine soldiers buried in Darwin

  

  The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in an official release announced that on Friday, (9 December), in Geneva, it will be hosting talks with delegations from Argentina and the United Kingdom to discuss next steps relating to the identification of the unidentified Argentine soldiers buried in Darwin cemetery in the Falkland/Malvinas Islands.

• Thursday, December 8th 2016 - 19:25 UTC

  City if Buenos Aires criminalises street harassment

  

  The Buenos Aires City Hall Wednesday passed a bill establishing fines of up to 1,000 pesos (around US$ 60) for those who commit sexual harassment in public places. Prevention campaigns have also been announced.

• Thursday, December 8th 2016 - 17:18 UTC

  Falklands War carrier HMS Illustrious headed for scrapping in Turkey

  

  Replacements are years away and still Britain’s last aircraft carrier, ‘HMS Illustrious,’ has set sail to be scrapped in Turkey. The vessel, known as 'Lusty,' came into service in 1982 and was rushed into service to catch the lattermost stages of the Falklands War. She also served in the Gulf Wars and Sierra Leone conflict. It was one of three Invincible-class ships commissioned in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

• Thursday, December 8th 2016 - 11:53 UTC

  Temer submits pension reform bill: retirement age raised to 65

  

  Brazil's President Michel Temer submitted a crucial bill to Congress that would raise the retirement age to 65. The draft bill, part of a pension reform plan, would apply to all men under 50 and women under 45, following 25 years of contributing to social security.