Stories for April 2018

Monday, April 30th 2018 - 08:09 UTC
UK Home Secretary resigns amid immigration and quotas scandal

Britain's interior minister, Home Secretary, Amber Rudd resigned on Sunday amid claims she misled lawmakers over whether her department held targets for removing illegal immigrants in the country. “The prime minister has tonight accepted the resignation of the home secretary,” said a spokesman for the office of premier Theresa May.
Monday, April 30th 2018 - 07:53 UTC
Temer again suspends Asian tour: a ports' investigation has the president nervous

Brazilian president Michel Temer was again forced to suspend a trip to Asia which was scheduled for next week. The head of state had originally planned to travel last January but had to suspend it following on medical advice.
Monday, April 30th 2018 - 07:34 UTC
Falklands' elected government after a Special Advisor for the coming C24 meeting

The Falkland Islands elected government are interested in recruiting a Special Advisor with a particular interest in global politics. The purpose of the Special Advisor is to support the two elected representatives of the Falklands that will be attending the annual meeting of the Special Committee on Decolonization (C24) scheduled to take place next 22 June at the United Nations.
Monday, April 30th 2018 - 07:23 UTC
Change of Her Majesty’s Ambassador to Chile in June 2018

Mr Jamie Bowden CMG OBE MVO has been appointed Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the Republic of Chile in succession to Ms Fiona Clouder. Mr Bowden will take up his appointment in June 2018.
Sunday, April 29th 2018 - 05:22 UTC
Argentina increases basic rate 300 points to 30.25% to combat inflation

Argentina's central bank surprised markets at the end of the week by jolting its key interest rate up to 30.25% from 27.25%, citing weakness of the local peso against the US dollar and vowing to act again if high inflation persists.
Saturday, April 28th 2018 - 11:17 UTC
MPs want to speak to Facebook's Zuckerberg following frustrating questioning of his chief technology officer

UK Members of Parliament have urged Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to speak to them after evidence given by his chief technology officer was deemed unsatisfactory. A parliamentary committee said Mr Schroepfer had failed to fully answer 40 points put to him as part of an inquiry into fake news.
Saturday, April 28th 2018 - 11:10 UTC
US oil company wins arbitration and Venezuela's PDVSA must pay US$ 2.04bn

An international arbitration court has ordered Venezuela’s oil company PDVSA to pay ConocoPhillips US$ 2.04 billion for early dissolution of two joint ventures for producing oil in the OPEC-member country, the U.S. firm said.
Saturday, April 28th 2018 - 10:22 UTC
Bees victory: EU votes for a near total ban on insecticides

European Union countries voted on Friday for a near-total ban on insecticides blamed for killing off bee populations, in what campaigners called a “beacon of hope” for the winged insects. Bees help pollinate 90 percent of the world’s major crops, but in recent years have been dying off from “colony collapse disorder,” a mysterious scourge blamed on mites, pesticides, virus, fungus, or a combination of these factors.
Saturday, April 28th 2018 - 07:44 UTC
The model of Western democracy is broken: unemployment stats questioned

By Gwynne Dyer - If the model is broken, should you try to fix it, or scrap it and get a new one? In questions of technology, increasingly the answer is: scrap it. Computer repair shops are dying out: if your laptop doesn't work, just buy a new one. What applies to consumer technology, however, does not necessarily apply to politics.
Saturday, April 28th 2018 - 07:30 UTC
Koreas leaders in historic summit agree to rid the peninsula of nuclear weapons

Friday's summit between the leaders of North and South Korea was a “historic meeting” paving the way for the start of a new era, North Korea's media say. North's Kim Jong-un and Moon Jae-in of South Korea agreed to work to rid the peninsula of nuclear weapons.