Stories for January 31st 2018

Wednesday, January 31st 2018 - 22:51 UTC
Venezuela will hold pre-sale of the new “petro” cryptocurrenty on February 20

A “pre-sale” of Venezuela’s new ‘petro’ cryptocurrency will begin on February 20, President Nicolas Maduro said on Tuesday, a move that the government hopes will help pull the country out of a dire economic crisis.
Wednesday, January 31st 2018 - 20:06 UTC
Lunar trifecta: supermoon, blood moon and blue moon; NASA livestreaming

It’s a once in a ‘blue moon’ occurrence and time for the moon to take the spotlight. Following the great solar eclipse last August, serendipity will strike on Wednesday 31 January, when a total lunar eclipse is set to occur at the same time as a supermoon and blue moon.
Wednesday, January 31st 2018 - 20:00 UTC
Gibraltar cannot be the whipping boy of Brexit Garcia tells EU

In an address to a Brussels think tank, the (Germany's Liberal Party) Friedrich Naumann Foundation, the Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia has declared that it would be manifestly unfair to use Gibraltar as a whipping boy who was made to suffer the consequences of Europe‘s wider disagreements with the United Kingdom.
Wednesday, January 31st 2018 - 19:51 UTC
Falklands holds consultation on Premier Oil environmental impact statement

An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has been submitted to the Falkland Islands Government by Premier Oil Exploration and Production Limited. The EIS covers the proposed development activity for Phase 1 of the offshore Sea Lion oilfield, located in the North Falklands Basin approximately 120 miles to the north of the Falkland Islands.
Wednesday, January 31st 2018 - 16:04 UTC
Falklands ecosystem documented in National Geographic February

The National Geographic February 2018 will document the Falkland Islands' diverse ecosystem by wildlife photographer Paul Nicklen. The piece points out that for every permanent resident in the Falklands there are 167 sheep, but also the Islands have 65 species of birds, along marine mammals in the surrounding ecosystem.
Wednesday, January 31st 2018 - 09:33 UTC
Unicef and Caritas confirm growing and extended malnutrition in Venezuela

The U.N. children's agency UNICEF said it was seeing clear signs of a growing malnutrition crisis in Venezuela, but it lacked data to give precise information and to tackle the problem effectively.
Wednesday, January 31st 2018 - 09:29 UTC
NASA satellite keeps track of wildfires in Argentina

Roughly 12,000 wildfires burn each year in Argentina, charring more than 1.3 million hectares (5,000 square miles) of forest and grasslands. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite captured an image of one of them on January 29, 2018.
Wednesday, January 31st 2018 - 09:22 UTC
Theresa May three-day visit to Beijing to prop post-Brexit trade and her leadership

British Prime Minister Theresa May was starting a crucial trade visit to China on Wednesday as she admitted the two countries will not always see eye-to-eye in sensitive areas like steel over-capacity and intellectual property rights.
Wednesday, January 31st 2018 - 09:14 UTC
Top Beijing official warns of risks facing China's “messy” financial system

The level of risk facing China’s financial system could be higher than was seen in the United States before the global crash, according to a former Chinese finance minister. Speaking at a forum in Beijing over the weekend, Lou Jiwei, now chairman of the National Social Security Fund Council, also described the state of China’s financial sector as “messy”.
Wednesday, January 31st 2018 - 09:06 UTC
Pension reform dispute between Brazil's Executive and Congress

Brazilian Finance Minister Henrique Meirelles said on Monday that although there may be differences in strategy between president Michel Temer and the speaker of the House of Representatives, Rodrigo Maia, everyone's goal is to ensure the approval of the pension reform.