Stories for May 2018

Monday, May 28th 2018 - 07:01 UTC
“Institutional crisis” in Italy: the Euro at the heart of the powers dispute

The leader of Italy's biggest political party has called for the president to be impeached after he vetoed a choice for finance minister. Luigi Di Maio of the populist Five Star Party said President Sergio Mattarella had caused an “institutional crisis”.
Monday, May 28th 2018 - 06:46 UTC
Brazilian government yields to demands of truckers week-long strike

Brazil's President Michel Temer announced late on Sunday new measures to reduce operating costs for truckers in a bid to end a week-long protest that has severely hampered the flow of food, fuel and key exports in Latin America's largest economy.
Monday, May 28th 2018 - 06:19 UTC
Colombian election: clear cut right and left candidates will dispute the 17 June runoff

Colombia’s left and right will be holding a runoff to compete for the presidency in June after hard-line conservative Ivan Duque and ex-guerrilla Gustavo Petro scooped most of the votes in the first round of Sunday elections.<br />
The second vote will take place on June 17, which could see Colombia's already fragile peace deal with the FARC guerrillas shaken.
Saturday, May 26th 2018 - 18:23 UTC
'Storms' and arrests among Venezuelan Armed Forces; more tortures and political prisoners

After the presidential election in Venezuela on May 20, in which President Nicolás Maduro was re-elected, a wave of arrests has been reported among Venezuelan military in several parts of the country. As well as releases and new arrests of civilians and soldiers for political reasons.
Saturday, May 26th 2018 - 09:29 UTC
Protectionism the “darkest cloud” for the solid upswing of the global economy

The threat of trade protectionism is the biggest concern looming over a solid upswing in the global economy, IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said. The “darkest cloud” on the economic horizon is the “determination of some to actually rock the system that has actually presided over the trade relationships that we have all undertaken and enjoyed to some extent over the last many decades”, said Lagarde.
Saturday, May 26th 2018 - 09:15 UTC
Colombia's presidential election: another referendum on the peace deal?

On Sunday, Colombians will head to the polls to elect a new president. At play in this year’s election are a range of issues: Venezuelan migration, economic situation, rampant corruption, high levels of inequality, but above all is the country's historic peace accord that ended over half a century of armed conflict.
Saturday, May 26th 2018 - 09:13 UTC
Landslide victory to legalize abortion in Ireland, according to exit polls

Ireland has voted by a landslide margin to change the constitution so that abortion can be legalized, according to an exit poll conducted for The Irish Times by Ipsos/MRBI.
Saturday, May 26th 2018 - 09:11 UTC
IMF/Argentina discussions to stabilize the economy are “progressing well”

“We are really moving ahead and we have committed to President Macri that we will do the best we can in order to move expeditiously and efficiently in order to change the perception about Argentina and the perception that people have about our role,” Ms Lagarde said in Russia.
Saturday, May 26th 2018 - 09:00 UTC
Truckers strike crippling Brazil, despite authorization to use military force to clear highways

A truckers protest over diesel prices that has crippled key sectors of Latin America's biggest economy dragged into Friday night, putting drivers in a standoff with Brazilian President Michel Temer who authorized military force to clear highways. The protest will stretch into its sixth day on Saturday.
Saturday, May 26th 2018 - 08:54 UTC
Argentine church independence message: sigh of relief for embattled Macri

A sigh of relief from Argentine president Mauricio Macri and his administration following on Friday's Tedeum by the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, which marks the Church' message on May 25, the symbolic celebration of the first independence efforts during the 1810 Revolution.