Stories for February 2019

Monday, February 11th 2019 - 09:31 UTC
Conflict leads nowhere, “we must look at real challenges: protecting fisheries in the South Atlantic”

In a long interview published this weekend in Clarin, UK ambassador Mark Kent emphasized on the coincidences of UK and Argentina, admitted his appeal in Twitter, a form of soft power, which has made him one of the most popular foreign diplomats in Buenos Aires.
Monday, February 11th 2019 - 08:51 UTC
Institute for Fiscal Studies says more billions needed to end Hammond's austerity

Philip Hammond must spend billions extra to end austerity, says think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). To maintain per capita spending across government departments which don't have ring-fenced budgets, he must find an extra £5bn a year by 2023, it adds. And maintaining spending on unprotected services as a share of national income would require £11bn on top of spending plans set out in the 2018 Budget.
Monday, February 11th 2019 - 08:46 UTC
Hundreds attend funeral of Flamengo 15 year old footballer killed in a fire at the training ground

Hundreds of grief-stricken people on Sunday attended the funeral of 15-year-old Christian Esmerio Candido, one of the ten young soccer players killed in a fire at the training ground of Brazilian soccer club Flamengo.
Monday, February 11th 2019 - 08:40 UTC
PDVSA telling customers to deposit oil sales in an account of Russia's Gazprombank

Venezuela's state-run oil company PDVSA is telling customers of its joint ventures to deposit oil sales proceeds in an account recently opened at Russia's Gazprombank AO, according to sources and an internal document, reported Reuters on Saturday.
Monday, February 11th 2019 - 08:33 UTC
Guaidó warns Venezuelan military that blocking humanitarian aid is a “crime against humanity”

Opposition leader Juan Guaido, recognized by some 50 countries as Venezuela's interim president, warned the military on Sunday that blocking humanitarian aid from entering the country is a “crime against humanity.”
Monday, February 11th 2019 - 07:34 UTC
Bolsonaro recovering from pneumonia, thanks Brazilians for their prayers and ministers for helping lead the country

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has beaten fever caused by pneumonia after his abdominal surgery two weeks ago, his hospital said on Saturday. The president, 63, “has no fever and has made good clinical and post-operative progress,” Albert Einstein Jewish Hospital in Sao Paulo said in its daily update.
Monday, February 11th 2019 - 07:27 UTC
Twelve French submarines for Australia: US$ 50bn contract

Australia formally signed a US$50 billion contract with France to build 12 states of the art submarines on Monday, a signal of the country's willingness to project power across the Pacific.
Monday, February 11th 2019 - 07:16 UTC
Epistolary exchange between PM Mrs. May and Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn

Theresa May has responded to Jeremy Corbyn's letter setting out his five demands for a Brexit deal. The prime minister queried his call for the UK to stay in a customs union with the EU - but welcomed more talks with Labour on a Brexit agreement.
Saturday, February 9th 2019 - 09:15 UTC
Maduro's protection in the hands of the Cuban security and intelligence services

Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro is increasingly leaning on the protection and support of his Cuban backers, amid mounting global pressures to leave office, according to several senior U.S. officials. Adm. Craig Faller, head of U.S. Southern Command, told U.S. senators on Thursday that Havana “owns the security around Maduro and is deeply entrenched in the intelligence service.”
Saturday, February 9th 2019 - 09:10 UTC
A good one for Theresa May: Dublin believes an orderly Brexit deal “can be done”

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar on Friday said he believed “a deal can be done” to avoid a disorderly British exit from the EU, after a meeting with a key ally of British Prime Minister Theresa May that he said went very well.