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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, December 22nd 2024 - 11:55 UTC

Stories for February 17th 2018

  • Saturday, February 17th 2018 - 19:49 UTC

    Chinese New Year marks start of the Year of the Dog (honest, just and loyal)

    On the night before the first day of the Lunar New Year (New Year's Eve), Chinese families gather together for a big reunion dinner.

    February 16 is Chinese New Year and marks the start of the Year of the Dog - one of the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac. Unlike Western astrology, each sign lasts for a whole year and each year takes the name of an animal whose characteristics color and influence everything that happens for the next 12 months.

  • Saturday, February 17th 2018 - 09:59 UTC

    Argentina moves closer to the US in security and crime-fighting policies

    Argentina’s security relationship with the US has been growing closer since late 2015 when Macri took office promising to take a harder line against crime

    Argentina is taking new steps to solidify its security relationship with the United States, a move that may be aimed at generating support — both political and material — for a shift toward more hard-line domestic crime-fighting policies. In a trip to the United States last week, Argentine Security Minister Patricia Bullrich met with several top US officials to discuss security issues.

  • Saturday, February 17th 2018 - 09:55 UTC

    Argentine January inflation 1.8%; minister admits it is a slower pace than expected

    Last year, the annual inflation reached 24.8%, well above the central bank's target for 2017, of between 12% and 17%.

    Argentina's Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 1.8% in January 2018, after increasing 3.1% in December 2017, said the country's statistics office Indec. Despite the deceleration, the reading was higher than market expectations for the monthly consumer price inflation (+1.5%). The result was primarily influenced by higher costs for entertainment and culture (+3.5%).

  • Saturday, February 17th 2018 - 09:42 UTC

    Temer has Rio do Janeiro under full military control to combat gang violence

    The army will now have primacy over the state police, a situation unheard of since the country's return to democracy in 1985 after two decades of military rule.

    Brazil's President Michel Temer on Friday handed the military full control of security in Rio de Janeiro in an increasingly desperate fight to tame runaway gang violence. Army patrols are already used in Rio's gang-ruled favelas, but a decree signed by Temer will now give the military full control of security operations in Rio state, which the president said had virtually been seized by organized crime gangs.

  • Saturday, February 17th 2018 - 09:33 UTC

    European farm lobbies want no further agriculture concessions to Mercosur

    “Trade concessions must be minimized for our more sensitive sectors, namely beef, sugar, poultry, ethanol, rice and orange juice imports to the EU.”

    European farm lobbies Copa and Cogeca sent a letter to EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker opposing the EU move to give further concessions on agriculture in return for gains in other economic sectors to Mercosur.

  • Saturday, February 17th 2018 - 09:29 UTC

    Canada will begin free trade talks with Mercosur in Paraguay on 9 March

    Trade Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne is set to arrive in Paraguay on March 9 to launch talks with Mercosur

    The Canadian government plans to open free trade talks with the four-nation Mercosur trading bloc in South America at a time when the future of NAFTA is facing increasing uncertainty. Canada sends around 75% of its goods exports to the United States and is looking for new markets to reduce the reliance on its southern neighbor.

  • Saturday, February 17th 2018 - 09:22 UTC

    Merkel “curious” about UK lack of clarity with Brexit; PM May speech in Munich

    PM Theresa May said the UK government would set out further details on its Brexit negotiating position in the “coming weeks”

    Angela Merkel has said that she is not “frustrated” by Britain's lack of clarity in Brexit, but is still “curious” about what the UK government actually wants to achieve in negotiations.

  • Saturday, February 17th 2018 - 09:15 UTC

    Valentine Day carnage: Florida governor calls for resignation of FBI director

    “An apology will never bring these 17 Floridians back to life or comfort the families who are in pain”, said governor Rick Scott.

    Florida Governor Rick Scott called on Friday for FBI Director Christopher Wray to resign in the wake of revelations the bureau ignored a January 5 tip about Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz, who killed 17 when he opened fire on Valentine's Day. The agency said earlier Thursday in a statement that it received a call in January from a person close to Cruz through its Public Access Line tip-line to express concerns about Cruz's erratic behavior and disturbing social media posts.

  • Saturday, February 17th 2018 - 02:06 UTC

    Falklands' second weekly commercial air link talks take off, and should crystallize by next October

    MLA Dr Barry Elsby said it was a very positive step forward for the Falklands, since “the additional flight will help us to improve our links with the world at large”

    The United Kingdom and Argentina, following on the September 2016 joint communiqué to establish additional air links with the Falkland Islands, jointly announced on Friday that third country airlines interested in such operations will be contacted. It is expected that by the end of February the commercial process will be initiated, led by the Falkland Islands, and sometime next October the new weekly air link, with a monthly call in Argentina, will become operational.