Stories for April 22nd 2016

Friday, April 22nd 2016 - 15:51 UTC
Carnival cruise to Havana triggers controversy with Cuban/Americans who allege discrimination

A federal lawsuit is claiming that Carnival Corporation is discriminating against Cuban-Americans who weren’t allowed to book tickets on a cruise to the Castro brothers dominated country. CNN reports that when Carnival announced plans for a cruise ship from its Fathom line to sail from Miami to Havana in May, Francisco Marty jumped at the opportunity to surprise his children with a trip back to their native land.
Friday, April 22nd 2016 - 08:16 UTC
Draghi defends ECB easy money policy despite sharp criticism from Germany

European Central Bank President Mario Draghi brushed off German criticism of his ultra-loose monetary policy on Thursday and vowed to use all the tools at his disposal for “as long as needed.” He said the ECB's policy was working, which helped boost the Euro.
Friday, April 22nd 2016 - 08:07 UTC
Venezuela imposes daily four/hours blackout to save power; brewery out of barley will stop beer production

Recession-hit Venezuela will turn off the electricity supply in its 10 most populous states for four hours a day for 40 days to deal with a severe power shortage, the government said Thursday.
Friday, April 22nd 2016 - 08:00 UTC
Sentenced ex FIFA vice-president in home arrest following surgery in Uruguay

FIFA's former vice-president and ex president of Uruguay's football association Eugenio Figueredo is under home arrest following prostate surgery. Judge Adriana de los Santos authorized the 'temporary' measure while the former official recovers. He was in hospital several days given his age, 84 and heart problems.
Friday, April 22nd 2016 - 07:55 UTC
Lan's CEO agrees to pay fine in the US to settle charges involving operations in Argentina

Chile's LAN Airlines CEO will pay a US$75,000 fine to settle charges that he authorized improper payments to Argentina union officials to persuade them to ease their demands in a labor dispute, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Friday, April 22nd 2016 - 07:48 UTC
Singer praises Macri and calls him a great 'reformist' in a Time weekly column

United States hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer is a big fan of Argentina’s new president. For one thing, Mauricio Macri doesn’t call him a “vulture lord” or a “bloodsucker,” as his predecessor Cristina Fernández did. More important, the newly elected Macri recently paid Singer’s firm US$2.28 billion in debt.
Friday, April 22nd 2016 - 07:25 UTC
Queen Elizabeth II 90th birthday celebrations illuminate UK and Commonwealth

Queen Elizabeth II lit on Thursday the first of more than 900 beacons lighting up across the UK and overseas as part of her 90th birthday celebrations. Prince Philip, the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall then joined the monarch at a private dinner in Windsor Castle. Earlier, cheering crowds lined the streets in Windsor as the Queen took part in a walkabout.
Friday, April 22nd 2016 - 07:14 UTC
Floods in Uruguay have 10.000 people displaced and losses are estimated in a billion dollars

Uruguay's emergency committee reported on Thursday another death and over 10.000 people displaced because of widespread floods that followed a tornado and several days pouring rain. The ninth victim is a farmhand who fell off his horse while trying to cross an overflowed canal. A few hours before the body of a missing farmer was found kilometers down a river that sucked him while he was trying to save cattle.
Friday, April 22nd 2016 - 06:37 UTC
Cueto group takes major loss because of Latam Airlines performance problems

Latam Airlines Group, made up of Chilean and Brazilian investors, ended last year with losses of 219 million dollars. However during the same period the Cueto family investment group, identified as Costa Verde Aeronautica, CVA, suffered even higher losses, 414 million dollars, mostly because of the performance problem of the largest Latin American airline.