Stories for 2017

Thursday, February 16th 2017 - 12:30 UTC
China admits cooking stats numbers; pledges to punish data fraud

China must fight against data fraud and improve the quality of the country’s economic data, the head of the National Bureau of Statistics said, the second central government official over the past week to comment on the accuracy of economic data.
Thursday, February 16th 2017 - 11:54 UTC
Trump calls for the immediate liberation of Venezuela's Leopoldo López

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday called on Venezuela to free jailed opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez “immediately,” posting a picture of himself and Vice President Mike Pence with Lopez's wife at the White House.
Thursday, February 16th 2017 - 11:42 UTC
Venezuela pulls CNN Spanish off the air; channel accused officials of selling passports to Arab terrorists

Venezuela pulled CNN's Spanish-language television channel off the air on Wednesday, accusing it of spreading “propaganda” about an alleged visa racket at the country's embassy in Iraq. The state National Telecommunications Commission ordered “the immediate suspension of broadcasts by the news channel CNN in Spanish” in Venezuela, a government statement said.
Thursday, February 16th 2017 - 11:31 UTC
Trump on the phone with Macri; invitation to the White House

United States president Donald Trump was on the phone on Wednesday afternoon to speak with his Argentine peer Mauricio Macri. The five minute talk, according to Argentine sources, addressed the bilateral agenda, the Venezuela situation and an invitation for Macri to visit US sometime in April/June.
Thursday, February 16th 2017 - 10:59 UTC
Brexit Minister admits some parliamentary “ping pong”, but March timetable stands

British ministers are braced for a parliamentary battle and are prepared for the Article 50 legislation to be rewritten by the House of Lords, David Davis has indicated. The Brexit Secretary said he expected some parliamentary “ping pong”, with the Bill being sent back and forth between the Commons and the Lords, suggesting he expected peers to defeat the Government and make changes to the tightly-worded legislation.
Thursday, February 16th 2017 - 10:43 UTC
Thirty tons of Venezuelan currency are seized in Paraguay; smuggled from Brazil

Central Bank employees will count about 30 tons of Venezuelan currency seized in a private house in Paraguay, while officials try to figure out why the vast quantity of 50- and 100-bolivar bills was brought into the country. The cash was discovered in Salto del Guaira, a city about 370 kilometers northeast of the capital of Asuncion, on the border with Brazil in a region known for the contraband trade.
Thursday, February 16th 2017 - 10:27 UTC
Yellow fever vaccination recommendations for international travellers to Brazil

As of 13 February 2017, yellow fever virus transmission continues to expand towards the Atlantic coast of Brazil in areas not deemed to be at risk for yellow fever transmission prior to the revised risk assessment published by WHO in the Disease Outbreak News of 27 January 2017, and supported by the scientific and technical advisory group on geographical yellow fever risk mapping (GRYF).
Thursday, February 16th 2017 - 10:13 UTC
Red Cross completes Phase 1 of mission to identify Argentine soldiers in Darwin cemetery

Laurent Corbaz of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said on leaving the Falklands that Phase 1 of the mission to identify Argentine soldiers buried at the Darwin Cemetery had taken place during the week spent in the Islands with his team mate Patrick Sherry.
Wednesday, February 15th 2017 - 09:44 UTC
Comodoro/Falklands air link awarded by Argentina to Neuquen airline

Argentina's Air Transport Advisory Agency has approved the flights' program of an airline from the Patagonia province of Neuquén which includes an air link between Comodoro Rivadavia and the Falkland/Malvinas Islands, reports this week the local Neuquen media.
Wednesday, February 15th 2017 - 09:34 UTC
Brazilian Judge reinstates top ally of President Temer to a ministerial post

A Brazilian judge reinstated the nomination of a top ally of President Michel Temer to a ministerial post, but ruled he could not receive the legal protections other high-ranking politicians enjoy.