Stories for February 18th 2019

Monday, February 18th 2019 - 10:08 UTC
Russian bank freezes Venezuela's oil company accounts, fearing US sanctions

Russian lender Gazprombank has frozen the accounts of Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA and halted transactions with the firm to reduce the risk of the bank falling under US sanctions, according to Reuters.
Monday, February 18th 2019 - 10:05 UTC
PM Theresa May writes to 317 Tory MPs urging to unite behind a Brexit deal

Theresa May has written to all 317 Tory MPs, urging them to unite behind a Brexit deal while warning them “history will judge us all” over the process. Efforts will resume this Monday to persuade the EU to agree changes to the “backstop” plan to prevent the return of customs checks on the Irish border.
Monday, February 18th 2019 - 10:01 UTC
MPs demand tough urgent action against Facebook to combat spread of fake news

Facebook needs for stricter regulation, with tough and urgent action necessary to end the spread of disinformation on its platform, MPs have said. A House of Commons committee has concluded that the firm's founder Mark Zuckerberg failed to show “leadership or personal responsibility” over fake news.
Monday, February 18th 2019 - 09:57 UTC
Bolsonaro learning the hard way: family and politics don't mix

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, one of his politician sons and his ultraconservative party were embroiled in a crisis on Sunday over a campaign finance scandal threatening the leader's anti-corruption image. The 63-year-old far-right president, who is just six weeks into his mandate, spoke with top officials in his government on Friday and Saturday to try to draw a line under the affair, after key allies turned on him.
Monday, February 18th 2019 - 09:45 UTC
Seventeen Filipino crew members rescued from a jigger on fire in Falklands' waters arrived in Montevideo

Seventeen Filipino crew members have arrived safe and sound to Montevideo, following the 11 February fire and loss of their Taiwanese flagged jigger in Falkland Islands waters last week. “Jun Rong” had a total crew of 69, and 64 were rescued and taken to the capital of Uruguay where they underwent medical attention, and are waiting to fly back to their homes.
Monday, February 18th 2019 - 09:44 UTC
Argentine Security minister making headlines with her tough on crime policy

Argentina's government, with one eye on elections later in the year, is getting tough on crime, and one figure is taking centre stage: the country's security tsar. Patricia Bullrich, 62, the security minister, is pushing a series of new tough-on-crime measures, including dropping the age for juvenile convictions, equipping cops with stun guns and trialling facial recognition at train stations.
Monday, February 18th 2019 - 09:29 UTC
Macri and business delegation in India for trade, investment and cooperation promotion

New Delhi and Buenos Aires are expected to sign up to eight agreements during President Mauricio Macri’s three-day state visit to India to promote trade, investment and cooperation in several fields including defense, Argentine ambassador Daniel Chuburu said. Macri is accompanied by several ministers, members of Congress and a hundred business leaders.
Monday, February 18th 2019 - 09:26 UTC
Petrobras settling financial disputes: agrees to pay petroleum regulator US$ 940m

Brazil state-run oil firm Petrobras said it had concluded a long-running dispute with the country’s ANP petroleum regulator, agreeing to pay 3.5 billion reais (US$ 940 million) to end an oil-royalty spat.
Monday, February 18th 2019 - 09:18 UTC
Brazilian soy crop estimate suffers small cut but corn is booming

Brazilian agribusiness consultancy Safras & Mercado announced a small cut in its projection for the country’s 2018/2019 soybean crop in a statement on Friday, as weather stopped worsening in key growing regions. Safras cut its projection to 115.402 million tons from a 115.718 million-toe forecast in January, as the effects of a drought that has stressed fields subsided.
Monday, February 18th 2019 - 09:00 UTC
Princess Cruises expands her fleet

In an industry-first, events took place at Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy, to mark the construction progress for each of the 3,660-guest Sky Princess, Enchanted Princess and a sixth Royal-class ship yet to be named. For Sky Princess, which will launch in October this year, a Madrina ceremony was held.