Stories for May 2017

Monday, May 8th 2017 - 06:30 UTC
M/V Reefer Uruguay in emergency heading for Falklands, was abandoned heavily trimmed by the bow

The “M/V Reefer Uruguay” which last Friday suffered a serious intake of water while sailing in the south west Atlantic and decided in emergency to head for the Falkland Islands, on Sunday it was abandoned following the rescue of its crew, and currently is being monitored by a second vessel, according to a press release from Baltmed Reefer Services Ltd.
Monday, May 8th 2017 - 06:11 UTC
Labour “faces a huge challenge”, and “must come out fighting after terrible results”

The Labour Party faces “a huge challenge” over the remainder of the general election campaign, Jeremy Corbyn said. The Labour leader told supporters May 5 local elections were “disappointing” and regretted “too many fantastic councilors” had not been re-elected as the party lost 382 seats nationwide.
Monday, May 8th 2017 - 05:53 UTC
“Malvinas March” becomes the official ceremonial music in Tierra del Fuego

The province of Tierra del Fuego in Argentina has made playing the “Malvinas March” mandatory at the end of all institutional, official and military ceremonies organized by any of the three branches of the provincial institutional structure.
Monday, May 8th 2017 - 05:45 UTC
Strong reaction from the Euro; sigh of relief from investors

The Euro has risen after pro-EU Emmanuel Macron won France's presidential vote by a large margin. The single currency strengthened 0.2% against the dollar as investors were reassured over the future stability of the European project. Macron has proposed cutting corporation tax and changes to the labour market.
Monday, May 8th 2017 - 05:25 UTC
Landslide wins for Macron, 66% to 34%; France's elected president managed to create a wave of optimism

Emmanuel Macron, the independent candidate who has been elected as France's next president following his Sunday runoff 66% to 34% victory over Marine Le Pen, has triggered a political earthquake in his country's politics, and his performance will be closely monitored by other EU members, particularly Germany and Italy, facing similarly challenging elections.
Monday, May 8th 2017 - 05:15 UTC
Tories advance in council elections forecasts a strong result for Theresa May on 8 June

British Prime Minister Theresa May said she was “taking nothing for granted” following her Conservative party's good showing in local election results reported on 5 May. The party gained control of 11 councils for a total of 28 and added 559 new councilors across England, Scotland and Wales.
Sunday, May 7th 2017 - 14:54 UTC
German Swiss spat over spying to catch tax dodgers

German investigators suspect that a mole spied for Swiss intelligence from inside a government office which was trying to catch German tax dodgers. The allegations are part of the case against an alleged Swiss spy arrested in a Frankfurt hotel on Friday, 29 April, German media report. He is suspected of monitoring German tax investigators.
Sunday, May 7th 2017 - 14:09 UTC
Falklands' CEO Barry Rowland named Acting Governor

The Falkland Islands Government Chief Executive Barry Rowland has been appointed as Acting Governor of the Falkland Islands and Acting Commissioner of South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands for the period 3-14 May 2017.
Sunday, May 7th 2017 - 12:34 UTC
US economy created more jobs in April and is technically in full employment

US jobs growth staged a bigger recovery than expected in April as businesses added 211,000 posts. Figures from the US Department of Labour also showed the unemployment rate dropped slightly to 4.4%, compared with 4.5% in March.
Saturday, May 6th 2017 - 12:27 UTC
Macron should be next French president; En Marche could become largest party in June's legislative elections

Independent French presidential candidate Emmanuel Macron extended his lead in the polls over his far-right rival Marine Le Pen on Friday, the final day of campaigning in a tumultuous election race. Sunday's election is seen as the most important in France for decades, with two diametrically opposed views of Europe and France's place in the world at stake.