Stories for September 2016

Wednesday, September 28th 2016 - 12:26 UTC
Iran-Saudi Arabia can't agree on limiting oil supply: “maybe in November”

Iran rejected on Tuesday an offer from Saudi Arabia to limit its oil output in exchange for Riyadh cutting supply, dashing market hopes the two major OPEC producers would find a compromise this week to help ease a global glut of crude.
Wednesday, September 28th 2016 - 11:29 UTC
North Ireland politicians win right to challenge Brexit based on Good Friday Agreement

A cross party group of politicians in Northern Ireland have won the right to mount a legal challenge over Brexit. They argue the Good Friday Agreement and peace process means there must be a Parliamentary vote if Northern Ireland is to leave the EU.
Wednesday, September 28th 2016 - 10:28 UTC
No end to Petrobras spill: powerful couple (Senator and ex minister) indicted on corruption charges

Brazilian Senator Gleisi Hoffmann and her husband, Paulo Bernardo Silva, who both served in the ousted government of former President Dilma Rousseff, were indicted on Tuesday by the Supreme Court on corruption and money laundering charges in the Petrobras graft investigation.
Wednesday, September 28th 2016 - 10:17 UTC
Trump embroiled in “Miss Piggy” misogynist controversy

Alicia Machado says that when she gained weight after being crowned Miss Universe for 1996, Donald Trump labeled her with a sexist nickname — “Miss Piggy” — that caused her shame and humiliation. Two decades later, Machado’s dealings with Trump, her one-time beauty pageant boss, are reverberating through the 2016 campaign as the Republican businessman and reality TV star seeks the White House.
Wednesday, September 28th 2016 - 10:04 UTC
Global trade set to grow at its slowest pace since 2009 financial crisis warns WTO

The World Trade Organization Tuesday lowered its global trade forecast, warning that anti-globalization rhetoric and Brexit were pushing trade growth to its slowest pace since the financial crisis. The warning comes as talks on a landmark free trade deal between the European Union and the United States faces stiff opposition and Britain’s EU exit causes jitters.
Wednesday, September 28th 2016 - 09:50 UTC
Obama names first ambassador in Cuba in fifty years, but needs Senate confirmation

The United States has tapped Jeffrey DeLaurentis, United States' top diplomat in Havana, to become the first official ambassador to Cuba in five decades. “The appointment of an ambassador is a commonsense step forward toward a more normal and productive relationship between our two countries,” President Barack Obama said in a statement.
Wednesday, September 28th 2016 - 09:33 UTC
Kerry and Maduro meet in Cartagena and agree to continue bilateral discussions

United States Secretary of State John Kerry met Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Monday, the first formal encounter between the two since Kerry became the top U.S. diplomat. The two sat down together after a ceremony in the Colombian city of Cartagena de Indias to mark the signing of a peace agreement to end a 52-year armed conflict.
Wednesday, September 28th 2016 - 08:10 UTC
Argentina lost 12% of national flock to severe drought in north Patagonia

North Patagonia in Argentina is suffering the worst drought is 17 years which has meant the loss of 1.8 million sheep, since 2007, and so far this year rainfall has been 45% below the historic average.
Wednesday, September 28th 2016 - 07:46 UTC
Foreign tourists in Argentina will be refunded VAT on hotel services

Argentine president Mauricio Macri signed an executive order on Tuesday under which foreign tourists will receive a refund of the value-added tax, or VAT, paid on hotel services in an effort to attract more visitors to Argentina and boost tourist businesses.
Tuesday, September 27th 2016 - 10:56 UTC
Palocci, the brainchild behind the successful years of ex president Lula da Silva

A medical doctor by training, Antonio Palocci was Brazilian former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's finance minister and a key player in the 2002 election campaign that put the union and PT (Workers Party) leader in the presidential seat.