Stories for February 2016

Friday, February 5th 2016 - 07:35 UTC
Argentina's main opposition force will attempt unity with party elections on May 8

Argentina's main political force, Peronism, under the Justicialista party banner, announced that the party's elections will be held on 8 May, while the members of the electoral board set to oversee the election would be chosen during a meeting in Buenos Aires on February 24.
Friday, February 5th 2016 - 07:31 UTC
TPP Agreement bad for democracy, rights, public services and health, says ITUC

The ITUC has called the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) a major setback for employment and workers’ rights prospects, and signaled the determination of unions in TPP countries to oppose it. After five years of secret negotiations, twelve Asia/Pacific-Rim Ministers signed the agreement today in Auckland, New Zealand, amid strong criticism from trade unions and other civil society organisations.
Friday, February 5th 2016 - 07:17 UTC
Lula da Silva included in criminal investigation involving bribes

Brazil's federal police have included former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in an investigation into the possible use of bribes to influence the passage of legislation benefiting the auto sector, a court document showed on Thursday.
Friday, February 5th 2016 - 06:40 UTC
Argentine government creates registry to weed out hooligans from football

The Argentine government officially unveiled the National Registry for Admission to Football Matches. The measure was announced by the Security Ministry, which released a statement saying they “needed the cooperation from the clubs affiliated with the Argentine Football Association (AFA), who will bring us the names of the people who are not allowed to attend soccer matches.”
Friday, February 5th 2016 - 06:27 UTC
Chilean government condemns vandalism by fans at Malvinas Memorial in Rosario

The Chilean ambassador in Buenos Aires met with Malvinas war veterans and the head of the National Monument to the Flag in the city of Rosario, and delivered an official letter condemning the violent actions and destruction by fans from the University of Chile football team against a Memorial to the Malvinas fallen.
Thursday, February 4th 2016 - 18:19 UTC
Toxic algae bloom in south Chile threatening salmon farms

Chilean aquaculture company Multiexports Food reported that due to the harmful algal bloom (HAB) recorded in various areas of the southern Regions X and XI of Chile, their production centers of Huyar and Lligua have suffered “significant fish mortality,” which has not been quantified yet.
Thursday, February 4th 2016 - 08:17 UTC
Magallanes region in south Chile could hold a treasure of unconventional tight gas

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that the Glauconitica zone of Chile's southernmost Magallanes region holds nearly 8.3 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable, unconventional tight gas, or nearly double Chile's production of that fossil fuel over the past 70 years.
Thursday, February 4th 2016 - 07:59 UTC
Santos at the White House will ask for help to implement Colombia's peace accord

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos has said he will ask President Obama to help implement a peace accord that his government expects to sign with the Farc rebel group next month. The two presidents will meet at the White House on Thursday.
Thursday, February 4th 2016 - 07:45 UTC
Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal signed by 12 member nations in New Zealand

The Trans Pacific Partnership, one of the biggest multinational trade deals ever, has been signed by ministers from its 12 member nations in New Zealand. The ceremony in Auckland brings the huge trade pact, which has been five years in the making, another step towards to becoming a reality. But the TPP continues to face opposition.
Thursday, February 4th 2016 - 07:29 UTC
“Attacks on Islam are attacks on all religions” says Obama at Maryland mosque

President Barack Obama visited an American mosque on Wednesday and declared that attacks on Islam were an attack on all religions, in an effort to counter rhetoric from Donald Trump and other Republican presidential candidates that has alienated Muslims.