Stories for August 2015

Saturday, August 29th 2015 - 05:41 UTC
MP Rosindell: Time for Spain to back off, time for Britain to back up Gibraltar

Britain cannot allow Spain to continue to ignore international law and bully Gibraltar, said MP Andrew Rosindell following the latest incursion in Gibraltar waters, this time a Spanish Customs crew that actually fired shots to a British-Gibraltarian fishing cruise.
Saturday, August 29th 2015 - 05:36 UTC
Brazilian Senate confirms Petrobras investigation case Prosecutor

Brazil's Senate confirmed the reappointment of Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot, who is leading a massive corruption investigation that has put dozens of politicians under scrutiny for allegedly receiving kickbacks.
Saturday, August 29th 2015 - 05:25 UTC
'If necessary', Lula da Silva will be in the 2018 president election

Former two-term President Lula da Silva acknowledged Friday that he is weighing the possibility of seeking to return to Brazil's highest office in the 2018 elections. ”I can't say that I am or that I'm not (a candidate),” Lula said during an interview with Radio Itatiaia.
Saturday, August 29th 2015 - 05:13 UTC
Guatemalan president summoned to appear before Congress

A congressional commission considering whether to remove Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina's immunity from prosecution called on him Friday to appear before the body as a corruption scandal swirls around his government.
Saturday, August 29th 2015 - 04:51 UTC
Maduro escalates conflict with Colombia as he looks to December's election

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro escalated his country's conflict with Colombia Friday by expanding the partial closure of their shared border to four new frontier towns. However most political analysts believe there is a huge premeditated interest in arising strong nationalistic feelings ahead of the December legislative elections.
Friday, August 28th 2015 - 07:22 UTC
Brazil/EU summit next year following exchange of proposals with Mercosur

Brazil and the European Union agreed to hold their annual summit during the first half of 2016, following the exchange of proposals for a wide ranging and cooperation trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur.
Friday, August 28th 2015 - 07:06 UTC
US economy 2Q performance changes the mood of markets

Shares rise and oil prices jumped 9% after revised figures showed the US economy grew by far more than had been thought between April and June. The economy grew by an annualized rate of 3.7%, up from the first estimate of 2.3%. Growth of 0.6% in the first three months of the year was not revised.
Friday, August 28th 2015 - 06:50 UTC
US Treasury sanctions Farc members operating from Switzerland

The US has announced sanctions against four alleged members of Colombia's Farc rebel group, accusing them of drug trafficking and money laundering. The four men used a shop in Switzerland as a front for their activities, the US treasury department said. It says the Farc still use drugs to fund their “ruthless operation”.
Friday, August 28th 2015 - 06:17 UTC
Argentine Catholic Church in the dock over snatching of babies during military dictatorship

High-ranking officials of the Argentine Catholic Church were implicated in the appropriation of babies from detainees who were held in Cordoba province’s La Perla clandestine concentration camp during the last military dictatorship, journalist and writer Horacio Verbitsky, the head of the CELS human rights group, testified.
Friday, August 28th 2015 - 06:01 UTC
Infancy poverty in Argentina extensive to 40% of children living in urban areas

Infancy poverty in Argentina includes 40% of all children in urban areas, while 9.5% are considered to be living in indigent conditions, according to the latest Social Debt Barometer, from the Argentina Catholic University, UCA.