Stories for March 8th 2018

Thursday, March 8th 2018 - 18:51 UTC
Venezuela: close to fraudulent elections

Venezuela's National Assembly, with opposition majority, denounced on Wednesday the “undue” use of electoral material, noting that official papers that belongs to the National Electoral Council (CNE) was found in gambling centers to print bet vouchers and presented its final report about the investigation into the case of the ex-rebel agent, Oscar Pérez.
Thursday, March 8th 2018 - 10:11 UTC
Bignone, Argentina's last military dictator died; he was serving life sentence under house arrest

Reynaldo Bignone, the last military president from Argentina's 1976-1983 dictatorship, died on Wednesday at age 90, the country's state news agency said. Bignone had been serving life sentence under house arrest for multiple human rights crimes.
Thursday, March 8th 2018 - 09:43 UTC
Tusk insists EU does not want to build a wall, but Brexit means “drifting apart”

Donald Tusk has insisted the EU “does not want to build a wall”, but Brexit means “we will be drifting apart”. The EU Council president said Theresa May wanted to “demonstrate at any price that Brexit could be a success”, but that was not the EU's objective. He was unveiling draft guidelines for the EU side of Brexit trade talks.
Thursday, March 8th 2018 - 09:39 UTC
Trump ready to sign metals' tariffs on Thursday; Mexico and Canada could be spared; Republicans object

Some countries are now likely to be spared from planned tariffs on metals advocated by U.S. President Donald Trump. White House sources said Trump's controversial tariff plan could be put into action at a signing ceremony on Thursday afternoon.
Thursday, March 8th 2018 - 09:35 UTC
Argentine central bank anticipates volatility in the money exchange market

Argentines will have to get used to the volatility of the money exchange rate, advised Central Bank president Federico Sturzenegger on Wednesday when the US dollar (a sacred reference for Argentines) reached a new historic high above the 20 Pesos. (Actually 20,69 for retail sales and 20,69 for wholesale operations at the end of trading).
Thursday, March 8th 2018 - 09:34 UTC
Scottish Brexit bill is being sped through Holyrood, ahead of row with London

The Scottish Government’s Brexit bill passed on Wednesday its first parliamentary hurdle after its general principles were approved by MSPs. The UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill is being sped through the Scottish Parliament as emergency legislation amid a row between UK and Scottish ministers over devolved powers returning from Brussels.
Thursday, March 8th 2018 - 09:28 UTC
Chinese carmaker acquires US$ 9bn stake in Mercedes Benz, expecting to share auto technology

Li Shufu, chairman of Chinese carmaker Geely, is making waves in the global auto market after buying a US$ 9 billion stake in Germany’s Daimler. Li, 54, the son of a farmer from China’s Zhejiang province, has led a major acquisition push globally since 2010, when he took over Swedish car brand Volvo from Ford Motor, US$ 1.8 billion deal.
Thursday, March 8th 2018 - 09:25 UTC
Argentine presentation on the Falklands and the Chagos archipelago

A brief release from the Argentine foreign ministry indicates that on March first, on petition from the International Court of Justice, Argentina presented its Consultive Opinion on the juridical consequences of splitting the Chagos archipelago from the Mauritius Islands which took place in 1965.
Thursday, March 8th 2018 - 09:23 UTC
Leaders of far-right group Britain First found guilty of religious aggravated harassment

The leader and deputy leader of far-right group Britain First have been found guilty of religiously aggravated harassment. Paul Golding, 36, and Jayda Fransen, 32, were arrested over the distribution of leaflets and posting of online videos during a gang-rape trial.
Thursday, March 8th 2018 - 09:19 UTC
Falklands' Darwin cemetery identified combatants are 89

The Argentine government reported on Wednesday that is had concluded the relatives notification round of the recently identified combatants buried at the Darwin cemetery in the Falkland Islands, and which apparently total 89, one more than originally announced.