Stories for 2015

Sunday, November 29th 2015 - 09:51 UTC
Brazil plans to sue mining companies US$ 7.2bn on toxic mud spill

Brazil's federal and state governments plan to sue the owners of the Samarco iron ore-miner for 20 billion Reais ($7.2 billion) in damages caused by the burst of a tailings dam, Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira told reporters on Friday.
Sunday, November 29th 2015 - 09:10 UTC
South American football association revolving door at full steam

The head of Brazilian football, Marco Polo del Nero, has finally bowed to the pressure and agreed to resign from FIFA's Executive Committee after being a no-show for the last six months amid fears he could be caught up in the burgeoning corruption scandal.
Sunday, November 29th 2015 - 08:58 UTC
FIFA ethics committee recovers 48 of 65 watches handed at Brazil's World Cup

FIFA’s ethics committee has recovered 48 of 65 watches handed out to football officials last summer in a breach of the federation’s rules. Parmigiani watches worth $26,600 each were left in gift bags for the 28 FIFA ExCo members by the Brazilian football federation (CBF) during the World Cup.
Saturday, November 28th 2015 - 08:10 UTC
Unasur calls on Maduro to launch thorough investigation into the killing of opposition politician

An electoral mission of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur), the body in charge of monitoring Venezuela’s upcoming elections on December 6, called on the authorities in Caracas to immediately launch a thorough investigation into the death of an opposition politician at a rally, barely two weeks before crucial parliamentary elections.
Saturday, November 28th 2015 - 07:17 UTC
Commonwealth summit opens in Malta; counter extremism top of the agenda

Britain's Queen opened on Friday a two-day summit of leaders of the 53 Commonwealth nations in Malta. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm), held every two years, will focus on climate change, with talks on security issues also expected.
Saturday, November 28th 2015 - 06:45 UTC
“Tsunami support” re-elects Gibraltar Chief minister Fabian Picardo

Gibraltar's incumbent Chief Minister Fabian Picardo thanked his supporters for their “tsunami of support” on Friday after he won a landslide victory in a general election.
Saturday, November 28th 2015 - 06:17 UTC
Falklands' right to self determination reaffirmed in UK's defense and security review

The British government reaffirmed its support for the Falkland Islands and its right to self determination as part of the recently announced Strategic Defense and Security review 2015, which pledges an extra increase £12bn of spending on defense equipment - part of London's £178bn overall defense equipment and support budget during the next decade.
Saturday, November 28th 2015 - 05:32 UTC
Falklands/Malvinas link of future Argentine foreign minister

A Falklands/Malvinas link has emerged from the naming of Susana Malcorra as Argentine president-elect Mauricio Macri Foreign minister. According to reports in the Buenos Aires media, UN's Ban Ki-moon Secretary General cabinet chief is not the only outstanding Argentine national working for the UN in particularly sensitive issues such as Disarmament Affairs.
Friday, November 27th 2015 - 15:22 UTC
Oil jobs lost: 250.000 and counting, Texas likely to see massive layoffs soon

Crude oil just capped off a third straight week of declines, as WTI nears the $40 per barrel threshold. Goldman Sachs is once again raising the possibility of oil dipping into the $20s per barrel. That spells more pain for the energy sector. Many companies have already slashed spending and culled their payrolls, but the total number of job losses continues to climb.
Friday, November 27th 2015 - 12:04 UTC
Paris attacks: The terrorist strategy

By Gwynne Dyer - As always after a major terrorist attack on the West, the right question to ask after the slaughter in Paris is: what were the strategic aims behind the attack? This requires getting your head around the concept that terrorists have rational strategies, but once you have done that the motives behind the attacks are easy to figure out. It also becomes clear that the motives have changed.