The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) reported its visitor numbers for the 2017-2018 Antarctic season at the start of its annual meeting in Newport, Rhode Island, USA. IAATO has been monitoring, analyzing and reporting trends since 1991 as part of its commitment to ‘leave only footprints’ through the effective self-management of its activities.
The Falklands Islands Government have just recently finalized a review process of their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Falklands Conservation, a local environmental NGO. This is an important partnership for the Government and has been in place 2006 on a formal basis.
Argentina has created the Antarctica Joint Command, which will operate under the orbit of the Ministry of Defense and be responsible for conducting operations in Antarctica, and areas of interest, in a continuous and permanent way.
A magistrate in Australia has ordered Cardinal George Pell, one of the Vatican's senior-most officials, to stand trial on sexual abuse charges involving allegations from multiple individuals dating back decades.
Brazilian former president Dilma Rousseff will be joining May first Labor Day activities in Argentina, and participate of a special ceremony at the Argentine unions federation umbrella organization, CGT.
WhatsApp chief executive Jan Koum is to quit the popular messaging service he co-founded. In a post on Facebook, he said he was “taking some time off to do things I enjoy outside of technology”. However, according to a Washington Post report earlier on Monday, Mr Koum had clashed with parent company Facebook over Whatsapp's strategy.
Imprisoned former Brazilian President Lula da Silva, along with the current leader of the Workers Party he founded, was hit on Monday with fresh corruption charges by federal prosecutors.
President Donald Trump will delay imposing steel and aluminum tariffs on the European Union, Mexico and Canada until June 1 as he finalizes deals with them, the White House said in a statement. The administration has reached agreements-in-principle with Argentina, Australia and Brazil, according to the statement, which the White House released late Monday night.
Sajid Javid has promised to “do whatever it takes” to put right problems faced by the Windrush generation after he succeeded Amber Rudd as United Kingdom's home secretary. Mr Javid said as a second generation migrant he was “angry” at the treatment of those caught up in the saga. He also disowned the “hostile environment” tag attached to the government's migration policy.
Lords have voted to give Parliament a potentially decisive say over the outcome of Brexit talks. An amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill giving MPs the power to stop the UK from leaving without a deal or to make Theresa May return to negotiations was approved by 335 votes to 244. Its supporters said Parliament, not ministers, must “determine the future of the country”.