Stories for September 29th 2016

Thursday, September 29th 2016 - 20:08 UTC
London dismisses bilateral dialogue over Gibraltar; “UK's position on sovereignty remains unchanged”

Britain has dismissed a formal Spanish request for bilateral dialogue over Gibraltar, the Gibraltar Chronicle has published. A letter from acting Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel García-Margallo was handed to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office by a senior official from the Spanish embassy in London on September 20.
Thursday, September 29th 2016 - 19:40 UTC
A Falklands' annual event: Chilean Independence Day celebrations

Chilean Independence Day celebrations were again held in the Falkland Islands this year, with the main event being hosted at Government House in Stanley, demonstrating the strong relationship that has formed between Chile and the Falklands in recent decades.
Thursday, September 29th 2016 - 18:14 UTC
Overriding Saudi Arabia bill veto, “a mistake and dangerous precedent”, warns Obama

President Obama has said Congress made a “mistake” by overriding his veto and pushing through a bill that allows legal action against Saudi Arabia over the 9/11 attacks. He added that the bill would set a “dangerous precedent” for individuals around the world to sue the US government. Wednesday's vote was the first time Obama's veto power was overruled.
Thursday, September 29th 2016 - 12:33 UTC
Catalonia challenges Madrid and will hold an independence referendum next year

Catalonia is to hold a referendum on independence in a year’s time in a move that will infuriate Madrid but which should also return power to the pro-indy campaign in the regional assembly. President Carles Puigdemont told the Catalan Parliament yesterday: “We will look for an agreement (with central government) until the very end, we will at every moment work with the will to hold a referendum in agreement with the state.
Thursday, September 29th 2016 - 12:18 UTC
Labour fully backs Gibraltar's self determination, says shadow foreign secretary

Britain's Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry has said the Labour Party fully backs the Self Determination of the People of Gibraltar, and the Rock must continue to enjoy the benefits from its membership of the EU.
Thursday, September 29th 2016 - 11:30 UTC
Scientists trying to determine the increase of whales' beaching all along Chile's coastline

Several huge whales have washed up dead over recent months on beaches in northern Chile, where scientists suspect they are moving in increasing numbers due to climate change. After the beaching of hundreds of dead whales in the south last year, the trend has now shifted to areas where the phenomenon was previously rare.
Thursday, September 29th 2016 - 11:23 UTC
Brazil central bank sees annual inflation targets within arm's reach

Brazil's central bank expects annual inflation to ease below the government's 4.5% target in 2017 after years of hovering well above that goal, leaving the door open for cutting some of the world's highest interest rates as early as October. The bank also held its estimate for an economic contraction of 3.1% in 2016, but it expects the economy to grow 1.3% in 2017.
Thursday, September 29th 2016 - 11:01 UTC
Region of the Americas is declared free of measles by World Health Organization

The Region of the Americas is the first in the world to have eliminated measles, a viral disease that can cause severe health problems, including pneumonia, blindness, brain swelling and even death. This achievement culminates a 22-year effort involving mass vaccination against measles, mumps and rubella throughout the Americas.
Thursday, September 29th 2016 - 10:35 UTC
One in three Argentines, 8.8 million live in poverty and 1.7 million are indigent

Nearly one-third of Argentina’s population lives in poverty, the government said on Wednesday in the first official poverty data published in three years, underscoring the difficulty of reaching President Mauricio Macri’s stated “zero poverty” goal. The ranks of the poor surveyed in Argentina totaled 8.8 million people, or 32.2% of the population in 31 urban areas surveyed.
Thursday, September 29th 2016 - 10:31 UTC
Falklands' sovereignty talks, end objective of non binding joint statement, Argentine congress is told

The 13th September joint statement between Argentina and the UK is a new bilateral convergence of common interests and the possibility, in the framework of a new dialogue and cooperation, of sovereignty discussions resumption on the Malvinas, South Georgia, South Sandwich islands and adjoining maritime spaces question, Argentine Deputy foreign minister Carlos Foradori told the Lower House Foreign Affairs committee during a summons on Wednesday.