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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, May 9th 2024 - 23:11 UTC

Stories for March 2017

  • Friday, March 17th 2017 - 07:26 UTC

    Brazil awards European groups 30 year concession of four airports

    “We have won back international credibility,” Temer said on Twitter, celebrating “success in the airport auction.”

    Brazil awarded three European groups on Thursday the rights to operate four airports, drawing nearly double the minimum bids at an auction that underscored investors' appetite for a new wave of privatizations under President Michel Temer. German airport operator Fraport AG, French group Vinci SA and Zurich Airport bid a combined 1.46 billion reais (US$470 million) for the rights to run airports in Porto Alegre, Salvador, Fortaleza and Florianopolis.

  • Friday, March 17th 2017 - 07:15 UTC

    Bank of England cautiously leaves interest rates at the record low of 0.25%

    Carney has emphasized his rate-setting board's willingness to ignore a certain level of above-target inflation prompted by the sharp plunge in sterling of around 18%

    The Bank of England (BOE) held interest rates at the record low level of 0.25% and maintained asset purchases at £435 billion on Thursday. The decision, which was made by an 8-1 majority, had been almost unanimously anticipated by central bank watchers with many expecting the BOE to choose caution until more clarity emerges on the Brexit process and the U.K. economy's capacity to manage outside of the European Union.

  • Friday, March 17th 2017 - 06:59 UTC

    Falklands' deminer recovering from injuries during a clearance operation accident

    Mr. Unsung said Mr. Mandava who is an experienced deminer, had carried out all of his drills correctly on the day of the accident.

    Deminer Rodgers Mandava working to clear minefields in the Falkland Islands, was injured during an accident in a Moody Valley clearance operation on February 27, has recovered well from his injuries and work has resumed in the area, according to a report published by the Penguin News.

  • Friday, March 17th 2017 - 06:51 UTC

    Brazil reports 424 cases of yellow fever, 127 dead and 900 under investigation

    Much of Brazil is considered at risk for yellow fever, and people in those areas are supposed to be vaccinated.

    Brazil’s Health Ministry says 424 people have been infected with yellow fever in the largest outbreak the country has seen in years. Of those, 137 have died. An update published Thursday said that more than 900 other cases are under investigation.

  • Friday, March 17th 2017 - 06:39 UTC

    Torrential rains and mudslides ravage Peru: thousands left homeless

    Evangelina Chamorro emerged near a bridge, lifting herself from a current of wooden planks and walking toward the shore covered head to toe in mud.

    Muddy water spilled onto streets and into homes on Thursday in a new round of unusually heavy rains that has killed at least a eighteen people in Peru and now threatens flooding in the capital Lima. The intense rains and mudslides over the past three days have wrought havoc around the Andean nation and caught residents in Lima, a desert city of 10 million where it almost never rains, by surprise.

  • Friday, March 17th 2017 - 06:27 UTC

    UK government rejects Scottish independence referendum: “now is not the time”

    The prime minister added: “I think we should be working to get the right deal for Scotland and the UK with our future partnership with the European Union”.

    The UK government is to reject calls for a Scottish independence referendum before Brexit after Theresa May said “now is not the time”. The prime minister said the focus should be on getting the best Brexit deal for the whole of the UK.

  • Thursday, March 16th 2017 - 12:26 UTC

    Falklands' television service to be fully restored this month; new transmitter on Sapper Hill

    The teams are planning to undertake this work on Tuesday 21st March, however the works are very much weather dependent, so this date is still to be confirmed.

    Falklands' television viewers in Stanley will be able by the end of the month, weather permitting, to again have a full service of its former level of transmission. A release from the Falklands government recalls that viewers are well aware of the problems encountered over the last nine month, caused by the TV transmitter falling from the mast on Sapper Hill.

  • Thursday, March 16th 2017 - 12:16 UTC

    Falklands announces new demolitions on Friday, as part of the demining project

    The site for the demolition is 2km to the West of the old Moody Brook Barracks in the Moody Valley.

    Falklands Islands demining project is advancing steadily and demolitions are planned for next Friday in the Moody Valley, west of Stanley. The demolitions are part of the several phases, several years, project to clear the Falklands of the mines planted by the Argentine military during the occupation of the Islands in 1982.

  • Thursday, March 16th 2017 - 12:12 UTC

    Temer coalition determined to pass major pension reform despite street protests

    Political momentum is still in President Temer's favor as he pushes head with the austerity agenda that has drawn opposition into the streets

    Brazil's president Michel Temer and senior lawmakers were unwavering in their support for a major pension reform on Wednesday despite nationwide protests against the proposal and the dramatic expansion of a graft probe threatening the ruling coalition.

  • Thursday, March 16th 2017 - 12:06 UTC

    Fed raises interest rate by a quarter of a point: second time in three months

    “We have seen the economy progress over the last several months in exactly the way we anticipated,” Yellen reaffirming confidence in the path the economy is on

    U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday for the second time in three months, a move spurred by steady economic growth, strong job gains and confidence that inflation is rising to the central bank's target. The decision to lift the target overnight interest rate by 25 basis points to a range of 0.75% to 1.0% marked a convincing step in the Fed's effort to return monetary policy to a more normal footing.