Stories for April 12th 2018

Thursday, April 12th 2018 - 09:08 UTC
Sixty Brazilian members of Congress added Lula to their names

More than 60 Brazilian members of congress from the opposition Worker's Party have formally changed their names. They have added the name 'Lula', after Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was jailed last weekend.
Thursday, April 12th 2018 - 09:04 UTC
WHO and UNICEF issue new guidance to promote breastfeeding in health facilities

WHO and UNICEF today issued new ten-step guidance to increase support for breastfeeding in health facilities that provide maternity and newborn services. Breastfeeding all babies for the first 2 years would save the lives of more than 820 000 children under age 5 annually.
Thursday, April 12th 2018 - 08:59 UTC
Argentina central bank keeps benchmark interest rate at 27.75%

Argentina’s central bank held its benchmark interest rate at 27.25% this week, the monetary authority said in a statement, noting that high-frequency indicators suggested core inflation would remain high in April, but below March’s levels.
Thursday, April 12th 2018 - 08:56 UTC
Moody's raises Brazil's sovereign rating from negative to stable

Credit rating agency Moody's this week raised the outlook of Brazil's sovereign rating from negative to stable.
Thursday, April 12th 2018 - 08:50 UTC
Argentine police dismissed for claiming mice gobbled half a ton of missing maijuana

Eight police officers in Argentina, including a former town police commissioner, have been dismissed from their posts after four of them claimed that more than half a ton of missing marijuana was carried off by mice, Buenos Aires media reported on Wednesday.
Thursday, April 12th 2018 - 08:42 UTC
Global shipping industry discussing in London a cap to emissions

Countries are meeting in an attempt to agree cuts to greenhouse gases from the global shipping industry, amid pressure on the sector to help tackle climate change. Shipping, like aviation, is not directly included in the Paris Agreement, the international deal on global warming which was secured in the French capital in 2015 and commits countries to avoiding “dangerous” climate change.
Thursday, April 12th 2018 - 07:57 UTC
Icebreaker Irizar returns from its first Antarctica campaign in ten years

Argentina's icebreaker Almirante Irizar is back in Buenos Aires at the end of its first Antarctic campaign in ten years, following the fire that almost knocked the Finnish built vessel out of action. She left on 26 December and completed 107 days in the high seas and Antarctica's ice.
Thursday, April 12th 2018 - 07:32 UTC
UK Chief Secretary in Brazil to build relationships and promote investments

UK Chief Secretary Elizabeth Truss is this week visiting Brasilia and Sao Paulo for bilateral meetings with authorities and will follow-up on the second UK-Brazil Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD), particularly on infrastructure. Latest figures show that bilateral trade between UK and Brazil is worth £5.4 billion a year.
Thursday, April 12th 2018 - 07:28 UTC
Brazil confirms austerity policy with the new team economic team

Brazilian President Michel Temer has officially nominated eleven new ministers, the government's official bulletin said, giving continuity to the government's reform program ahead of the general elections in October.
Thursday, April 12th 2018 - 07:20 UTC
EC president furious with Brexit: “only a united Europe can be a sovereign Europe”

European Council President Donald Tusk has said Brexit makes him furious, and called on Europe to unite during a speech in Dublin. The statesman warned it would take very little time to demolish the structures of peace and unity built up in the continent.