Stories for December 2018

Monday, December 24th 2018 - 08:49 UTC
Thousands of sailors and Royal Marines on duty during Xmas and New Year

Thousands of British sailors and Royal Marines stand ready to respond to events at home and abroad this festive season. While many enjoy a well-earned break over Christmas and New Year, nearly 2,000 men and women of the Naval Service are on active duty, while over 2,500 personnel are on standby at home in the UK.
Monday, December 24th 2018 - 08:41 UTC
Xmas messages: Mrs. May praises the Armed Forces; Corbyn pays tribute to the Good Samaritans

Theresa May has used her Christmas message to praise the work of the Armed Forces, particularly in Syria and after the nerve agent attack in Salisbury. The PM said UK forces had “continued to demonstrate why you are the finest in the world”.
Monday, December 24th 2018 - 08:37 UTC
Putin calls on Mrs. May not to succumb to calls for a second Brexit referendum

Vladimir Putin has urged Theresa May not to succumb to calls for a second referendum on Brexit. Speaking at his annual question and answer session with journalists, the Russian president questioned whether re-running a vote could be construed as democratic.
Sunday, December 23rd 2018 - 14:18 UTC
Volcano erupts, tsunami kills at least 222 in Indonesia - more tremors not ruled out

A tsunami in Indonesia after the eruption of the Anak Krakatau Volcano killed at keast 222 people, while hundrerds more were reported either injured or missing, local authorities explained Sunday. They were cautious, though, since these are just preliminary figures.
Sunday, December 23rd 2018 - 04:08 UTC
Funds have been allocated to Argentina's Forensic Anthropology Team

Last Thursday December 20, the Argentine ministry of Justice and Human Rights confirmed the transfer and payment order of the first of two outlays planned for the fiscal year, to the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team, EAFF, which had complained a cut in funds.
Saturday, December 22nd 2018 - 15:39 UTC
General Rozas becomes new director of Carabineros as Hermes Soto is sacked

Chile's President Sebastián Piñera Friday appointed General Mario Rozas as the new director of Carabineros following the dismissal of General Hermes Soto on Thursday after three vídeos of the force's unproper handling of the Catrillanca case were released.
Saturday, December 22nd 2018 - 15:31 UTC
Ex FARC still active guerrilla leader Guacho shot dead by Colombian forces

Walter Patricio Arizala, a.k.a. “Guacho,” the FARC dissident behind the kidnapping and murder of three journalists from Quito's El Comercio newspaper, died Friday during an operation of the Colombian security forces in the jungle of Llorente, in the Tumaco municipality of the south-western department of Nariño, near the border with Ecuador, President Iván Duque announced.
Saturday, December 22nd 2018 - 09:24 UTC
Mapuche rebel Jones-Huala gets 9 years in Chilean prison

Argentine Mapuche leader Facundo Jones Huala was sentenced Friday to nine years and one day in jail by a Chilean court in Valdivia. Jones-Huala received a six-year sentence for arson plus three years and one day for illegal possession of a firearm in the context of the 2013 attack at the Pisu Pisué farm in Río Bueno.
Saturday, December 22nd 2018 - 09:00 UTC
A builder drove his van for six weeks with the winning ticket of a £76m jackpot

A builder found the winning ticket for a £76m EuroMillions jackpot tucked in the visor of his van six weeks after the draw. Andrew Clark, 51, had a stockpile of lottery tickets in his Peugeot van.
Saturday, December 22nd 2018 - 07:32 UTC
Argentina launches the Antarctica Summer Campaign with icebreaker ARA Irizar

With the departure of icebreaker ARA Almirante Irizar, Argentina launched this week its Antarctica Summer Campaign 2018/19. The re furbished icebreaker is scheduled to develop an intense scientific activity, supply Argentina's bases and stations and replace the teams that will be spending a whole season in Antarctica.