Stories for February 2017

Tuesday, February 28th 2017 - 18:18 UTC
Brazil manufacturers set up “maquila” assembly plants in neighboring Paraguay

When toymaker Estrela decided to move manufacturing capacity back to Latin America from China, it sank US$ 2 million into a new factory not in its native Brazil - the region's largest economy - but in its tiny southern neighbor Paraguay. The plant, which opened this month in the border town of Hernandarias, stands near a 4,500-hectare industrial park filled with Brazilian companies making everything from auto parts to clothing.
Tuesday, February 28th 2017 - 17:53 UTC
UN says that action to curb climate change is unstoppable, despite Trump

The UN’s new climate chief admits she’s worried about President Donald Trump – but is confident that action to curb climate change is unstoppable. President Trump said he’d withdraw from the UN climate deal and stop funding the UN’s clean energy program. But former Mexican diplomat Patricia Espinosa said that the delay in any firm announcement suggests the issue is still unresolved.
Monday, February 27th 2017 - 10:16 UTC
Oscar for the best blooper: “I wasn't trying to be funny. This is Moonlight for best picture.”

Moonlight has won best picture at the Oscars - but only after Faye Dunaway initially said La La Land had won. Warren Beatty was handed the previous winner's envelope, containing a card saying “Emma Stone, La La Land”, resulting in the error.
Monday, February 27th 2017 - 10:02 UTC
Falklands' delegation visits Vigo with an idea of building a fisheries port in the Islands

Falkland Islands representatives met with port of Vigo authorities to assess the infrastructure, services, development plans and competitiveness of the Galician fisheries terminal, one of the busiest and most efficient in the European Union, reports the Galicia media.
Monday, February 27th 2017 - 08:47 UTC
Torrential rains and mudslides leave 4 million people in Santiago with no drinking water

Just two weeks ago Chile was desperately combating with foreign support thousands of acres of bushfires out of control, but now over the weekend rainstorms and landslides killed four and contaminated a major river, forcing authorities to cut off drinking water to four million people in the capital Santiago, authorities said.
Sunday, February 26th 2017 - 14:25 UTC
EU pledges to keep Ireland and Ulster border “as open as possible”

The EU’s negotiators will work to keep the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland “as open as possible” after Brexit, the President of the bloc, Jean-Claude Juncker, said after meeting Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny.
Sunday, February 26th 2017 - 14:18 UTC
A Latino, ex-Obama Labor secretary elected chairman of the Democrats

Former Labor Secretary Tom Perez on Saturday was elected chairman of the United States Democratic National Committee, defeating top-rival Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, in their respective bids to chart the direction of the national party. Perez was elected after two rounds of balloting in Atlanta at the party’s annual winter meeting. He received 235 votes, crossing the threshold of 218 ballots.
Sunday, February 26th 2017 - 14:04 UTC
“I prefer bridges to walls”, Kuczynski tells Trump at the White House

The first Latin American leader to visit U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House said that he told Trump he prefers bridges to walls and favors the free movement of people across borders. However, Peruvian President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski declined to comment specifically on Trump's proposal to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border to curb illegal immigration and drug trafficking in a press conference following the meeting.
Sunday, February 26th 2017 - 13:50 UTC
Paraguayan guerrillas free abducted teenager after ransom is paid

A Mennonite teenager, Franz Weiber who was abducted last July by Paraguayan Marxist inspired guerrillas in the north of the country was released on Saturday, safe and sound, after the family and friends collected the equivalent of US$ 25.000 in food to distribute among fourteen Indian communities in the area.
Sunday, February 26th 2017 - 11:29 UTC
Argentine economy finally seems to have began a rebound

Argentina's economic activity rose 1.6% in December compared with the previous month, government data showed, a sign the economy likely expanded in the fourth quarter after a long recession. The economy fell 0.1% in December year over year and closed 2016 down 2.3% compared with 2015.