Stories for August 2018

Friday, August 17th 2018 - 09:44 UTC
Pope Francis sides with victims of 300 “predators” and wants “to root out this tragic horror”

Pope Francis is on the side of victims of more than 300 “predator” priests in the US accused of abusing children in one state, the Vatican says. In a statement, it said the Church wanted to listen to the victims to “root out this tragic horror”.
Friday, August 17th 2018 - 09:25 UTC
Tribal chief of the “Guardians of the Amazon” murdered by illegal loggers in Brazil

An indigenous leader has been found murdered in Brazil, exposing the growing threat to tribes fighting illegal logging in the Amazon, campaigners and authorities said. Jorginho Guajajara was found dead in the northern state of Maranhao with his neck broken, rights group Survival International said. Police in Maranhao confirmed on Thursday they were investigating the case.
Friday, August 17th 2018 - 08:58 UTC
Argentina struggling to tame markets and inflation; talks for a currency swap with China

Argentina’s central bank said on Thursday it hiked reserve requirements by 3 percentage points for the country’s largest banks, as it tries to keep its plan for reducing short-term debt from adding to already high inflation.
Friday, August 17th 2018 - 08:43 UTC
Lula's ban to run for president expected to be confirmed before August 31

Brazil’s top electoral court must decide whether the country’s most popular politician can run in upcoming elections despite being jailed for corruption. The court is expected to declare former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ineligible in the coming weeks, ahead of the Oct. 7 vote, but that may not stop his Workers Party (PT) winning anyway.
Friday, August 17th 2018 - 08:39 UTC
Temer endorsing two candidates for October's presidential election

Brazilian President Michel Temer is endorsing another party’s candidate as well as his own in October’s presidential election. On the day the campaign took off, Temer said in an interview published on Thursday by the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper that he sees former Sao Paulo Gov. Geraldo Alckmin of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party as a candidate who would carry on with his work.
Friday, August 17th 2018 - 08:16 UTC
“The press is not the enemy of the people”, says unanimous resolution by the Republican-led US Senate

The Republican-led Senate passed a resolution affirming its commitment to protecting freedom of speech and condemned recent attacks on journalists and members of the media. In a resolution brought forth by Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz, a Democrat, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, lawmakers affirmed “that the press is not the enemy of the people,” which passed by unanimous consent.
Friday, August 17th 2018 - 07:45 UTC
US newspapers coordinately challenge Donald Trump's attacks on the media

More than 300 U.S. newspapers run editorials on Thursday that promote press freedom to counter Donald Trump's attacks on the media, in a move coordinated by The Boston Globe. President Trump has often attacked some media reports as “fake news” and called journalists the “enemy of the people,” and “very dangerous and sick,” in a tweet earlier this month.
Thursday, August 16th 2018 - 22:42 UTC
Brazil corn production next season could reach a first time 100m tons

Brazilian farmers are expected to plant a record amount of soybean acres this coming season, encouraged by strong demand from China, and yield a record harvest next year, consultancy Céleres said in its first forecast for the new cycle. The next crop cycle in Brazil, the world's No. 1 soybean exporter, begins in September.
Thursday, August 16th 2018 - 22:12 UTC
Mercosur reliance on China and industrial protectionism, challenges for a deal with EU

Mercosur excessive reliance on exports to China and industrial protectionism in chemicals are core stumbling blocks to reaching a free trade agreement (FTA) with the EU, a policy paper published by the 28-country bloc released on Monday.
Thursday, August 16th 2018 - 21:52 UTC
Pennsylvania releases list of 300 plus clergymen accused of sex abuse: thousands of victims in 70 years

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has released a grand jury report detailing sex abuse in the Catholic Church, naming over 300 accused clergymen. The landmark grand jury investigation found more than 1,000 children had been abused by members of six dioceses in the state for the last 70 years.