Just three weeks before Colombia’s presidential election begins, President Juan Manuel Santos’ re-election campaign has been hit by yet another blow. His chief campaign strategist J.J. Rendón resigned on Monday night amid controversial allegations that he took 12 million dollars from some of Colombia’s top drug lords in exchange for helping to negotiate their surrender with positive terms.
An estimated 12.000 workers from the auto industry and auto-parts manufacturing have been sent home on anticipated vacations or because of lesser working days, according to the mechanics union SMATA, a figure consistent with the level of domestic market sales and exports. However the industry leaders and unions have warned that the situation is set to worsen in coming months.
The Argentine Industrial Union, UIA, the country's manufacturers strongest lobby released the results of a poll on Wednesday warning about the lower level of economic activity expected this year. The poll covered 300 corporations belonging to the organization and forecasts no jobs creation and abundant layoffs.
The Argentine Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Alicia Castro, underlined “the importance of dialogue and the historical and cultural ties that link Argentina with Wales” when she hosted this week a traditional Argentine barbecue at the Ambassador´s residence in London for a delegation of British parliamentarians who visited Argentina in March.
In an article for Penguin News, distinguished political and scientific Bulgarian author Dr Lyubomir Ivanov (*) discusses the Crimean conflict and its parallel with the Falklands.The Argentine President Cristina Kirchner praised the recent Crimean status referendum as, “one of the famous referendums of self-determination.”
Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff said in a statement that her government ensures sustained economic growth, with contained inflation. The announcement followed market estimates saying that Brazil's GDP expansion this year would be down to 1.63%, below official and private recent estimates above 2%.
Brazil's Sports minister Aldo Rebelo minimized the possibility of violence during the coming World Cup and replied to the British media that the Amazon city of Manaos, where England will be playing a match, will not be riskier that war zones.
With just over a month left for the 2014 World Cup kick off in Brazil, the governor of the state of Sao Paulo launched the Regional Reward program which will pay 55.000 Reales (approximately 22.000 dollars) to anyone providing useful information to help to solve crimes and track perpetrators.
Fishing vessels licensed in the Falkland Islands all undergo safety inspections, Director of Natural Resources John Barton confirmed this week, when talking to Penguin News about standards applied to fishing vessels and the working conditions of the crew. He also assured that if a fisherman reports mistreatment an investigation will follow.
The Obama administration released on Tuesday an updated report on how a changing climate has touched every corner of the United States, from oyster growers in Washington State to maple syrup producers in Vermont, and said that urgent action is needed.