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Montevideo, March 29th 2024 - 15:05 UTC

Stories for April 2018

  • Tuesday, April 24th 2018 - 07:49 UTC

    Gas leak explosion in Clínica Alemana at Concepción kills three, injures fifty

    The hospital was completely evacuated and patients were transferred to other health centers in the city.

    At least three people have died and around 50 injured in a gas explosion at a hospital in the Chilean city of Concepción, the local chief of police told media on Friday.

  • Tuesday, April 24th 2018 - 07:33 UTC

    Toronto: Driver of rental van runs down pedestrians killing ten and injuring 16

    Alek Minassian, 25, was arrested by Toronto police at 1:52 p.m. — 26 minutes after the first 911 call came in alerting police to the horror unfolding

    The driver of a white rental van who is alleged to have “deliberately” run down pedestrians along a northern stretch of Yonge St. in the Canadian city of Toronto on Monday, killing 10 and injuring 16, has been identified as a 25-year-old man from Richmond Hill, a small town close to the metropolis.

  • Tuesday, April 24th 2018 - 07:22 UTC

    IMF forecasts Argentina will grow 2% this year because of the drought and fiscal shortcomings

    Central Bank Governor Federico Sturzenegger has indicated that if the inflation rate stays high, interest rates will be going back up in order to meet the 15% target.

    The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) World Economic Outlook update for April 2018 has reduced its expectations of growth for Argentina this year, and its projected annual inflation rate largely exceeds the 15% goal set by president Mauricio the Macri administration in December 2017.

  • Monday, April 23rd 2018 - 09:52 UTC

    Ruling party wins election in Paraguay, but with surprise performance of the opposition

    Mario Abdo Benitez won slightly more than 46% of the vote, with his centrist opponent Efrain Alegre taking almost 43% in a race that was far closer than expected.(Pic AFP)

    Paraguay's Mario Abdo Benitez, “Marito”, who represents the country's long-dominant Colorado Party, was elected as president on Sunday, landing the top job in the country with the smallest economy in Mercosur. The US-educated son of a senior aide to the country's late dictator, Abdo Benitez won slightly more than 46% of the vote, with his centrist opponent Efrain Alegre taking almost 43% in a race that was far closer than expected.

  • Monday, April 23rd 2018 - 09:49 UTC

    Nicaragua's Ortega cancels social security reform following riots and death of 26 killed by police

    Human rights groups said at least 26 people were killed in several days of clashes. Dozens of shops in the Nicaraguan capital of Managua were looted

    Nicaragua's president on Sunday withdrew changes to the social security system that had triggered several days of deadly protests and looting. President Daniel Ortega said in a message to the nation late Sunday that the National Social Security Institute's board of directors had canceled the changes that were implemented April 16.

  • Monday, April 23rd 2018 - 09:35 UTC

    “Involuntary exodus” is forcing 10% of Venezuelan population to abandon their country

    UNHCR already estimates that this year the figure could more than double, even surpassing 3 million people, 10 percent of the total Venezuelan population.

    The Organization of American States Secretary General Luis Almagro has sent a message to the Venezuelan people that are experiencing an involuntary exodus, forced upon them by the growing economic and institutional degradation of the country. By the end of this year it is estimated that over 10% of the Venezuela population will have left the country.

  • Monday, April 23rd 2018 - 09:25 UTC

    British Academics delivered counterterrorism course in Uruguay

    Personnel from the Uruguayan, Brazilian, Chilean and Paraguayan armed forces, as well as the Argentine Gendarmerie attended the regional course.

    Two instructors from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst gave a course on counterterrorism from 9-13 April at the Uruguayan Naval War College in Montevideo. The purpose of the course was to provide an introduction to the key principles of the fight against terorrism and its practical application through the British approach and the study of a wide range of contemporary cases.

  • Monday, April 23rd 2018 - 09:22 UTC

    China and South Korea seek trade agreements with Mercosur

    South Korean PM Lee Nak-yon in March agreed with Brazilian President Michel Temer to start formal negotiations for a SK/Mercosur free trade deal by June

    China and South Korea are seeking to establish free trade agreements with Mercosur in a strategic response to Washington's increasingly protectionist stance. The East Asian initiatives have resonated well in a region where Washington is keeping its distance. U.S. President Donald Trump has not visited a single Latin American country since taking office in January 2017, and chose not to attend the Summit of the Americas, which recently concluded in Peru.

  • Monday, April 23rd 2018 - 09:10 UTC

    English Language Days at the UN

    The date traditionally observed as both the birthday and date of death of William Shakespeare

    English Language Day at the UN is celebrated on 23 April, the date traditionally observed as both the birthday and date of death of William Shakespeare. The Day is the result of a 2010 initiative by the Department of Public Information, establishing language days for each of the Organization's six official languages. The purpose of the UN's language days is to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to promote equal use of all six official languages throughout the Organization.

  • Monday, April 23rd 2018 - 09:08 UTC

    EU and Mexico reach new trade agreement: tariff cuts for European cheese and pork

    “Mexico joins Canada, Japan and Singapore as partners willing to work with EU in defending open, fair and rules-based trade,” said EC Jean-Claude Juncker.

    The European Union and Mexico reached an agreement on Saturday on a new free trade deal, a coup for both parties in the face of increased protectionism from the United States under President Donald Trump. Since its plans for a trade alliance with the United States were frozen after Trump's election victory, the EU has focused instead on trying to champion open markets and seal accords with other like-minded countries.