Stories for December 2018

Thursday, December 27th 2018 - 05:27 UTC
Cuba and Venezuela default on Brazilian development loans

After defaults in Mozambique, Venezuela, and Cuba the Brazilian government froze credit lines for new exports, a measure that will affect mostly small and medium-sized businesses. The Brazilian Treasury Department will spend US$ 6 million to reimburse BNDES (National Bank For Economic and Social Development) for Cuba's default
Thursday, December 27th 2018 - 05:19 UTC
Natanyahu will not be attending Bolsonaro's inauguration, reports O'Globo

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will cut a visit to Brazil short, skipping incoming President Jair Bolsonaro’s inauguration.
Thursday, December 27th 2018 - 05:11 UTC
“Harmony of the Seas” crew member lost in the Atlantic; US Coast Guard on the search

The U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday it was searching for a British crew member who went overboard from a Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean. Arron Hough, 20, went overboard 430 km off the northwest of Puerto Rico on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Coast Guard 7th District revealed in a telephone interview.
Thursday, December 27th 2018 - 04:58 UTC
Venezuela calls US “interventionist” for backing Guyana's offshore oil exploration

Venezuela’s foreign ministry on Tuesday described as “interventionist and disrespectful” U.S. comments on a weekend incident in which the country’s navy stopped two ships exploring for oil for Exxon Mobil off Guyana’s coast.
Thursday, December 27th 2018 - 04:22 UTC
Sea Shepherd celebrates Japan will cease whaling around Antarctica

Marine conservationists Sea Shepherd are claiming Japan's decision to abandon whaling around Antarctica as a victory, though their battle will go on with the Asian nation moving to resume hunting elsewhere. On Boxing Day, Japan announced it was leaving the International Whaling Commission so it could resume commercial hunting of the marine mammals in their territorial waters.
Wednesday, December 26th 2018 - 22:44 UTC
Chile: Piñera needs constitutional reforms to change procedure for removal of Carabineros chief

Chilean President Sebastián Piñera Wednesday morning announced he would seek a constitutional reform before Congress to bring to an end the “founded decree” mechanism to remove Carabineros' director generals after last week's dismussal of General Hermes Soto.
Wednesday, December 26th 2018 - 12:30 UTC
Pro-choice groups will try again in 2019 to legalize abortion in Argentina

Supporters of the voluntary interruption of pregnancy (IVE) bill have announced they will make yet another try in March 2019 to get the Argentine Congress to allow women to legally seek an abortion if they so desire, it was reported.
Wednesday, December 26th 2018 - 09:11 UTC
Seven-year old girl tells president Trump she still believes in Santa Claus

The seven-year-old girl whose phone call with President Donald Trump on Christmas Eve went viral has said she still believes in Santa Claus. Mr Trump threw doubt on the existence of Santa in the call with Collman Lloyd from Lexington in South Carolina.
Wednesday, December 26th 2018 - 09:09 UTC
Argentine woman freed after being abducted 32 years ago

An Argentine woman seized in the 1980s by people traffickers has been reunited with her family in a joint operation by Argentine and Bolivian police. The whereabouts of the woman, who is now 45, had been unknown until earlier this year when police received a tip-off she was in Bermejo, south Bolivia.
Wednesday, December 26th 2018 - 09:06 UTC
Abdicating Emperor Akihito underlines his reign has seen “Japan free of war”

Japan’s Emperor Akihito, marking his 85th birthday — his last before his upcoming abdication — said he feels relieved that his reign is coming to an end without having seen his country at war and that it is important to keep telling younger people about his nation’s wartime history.