Stories for March 20th 2019

Wednesday, March 20th 2019 - 21:55 UTC
Falklands launches procurement process and issues tender for a new port facility

The Falkland Islands Executive Council on Wednesday approved a formal procurement process to issue an Invitation to Tender (ITT) to the global construction market to select and appoint a preferred development partner for the design, construction and potentially the operation of a new port facility. The tender will also invite bidders to submit funding options.
Wednesday, March 20th 2019 - 21:13 UTC
President of Uruguay criticizes Prosur for “generating another integration with ideological purpose”

Uruguayan President Tabaré Vázquez questioned on Thursday the Colombian-Chilean initiative to create a new integration bloc to replace the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and argued that the region has a number of integration processes that collide and they become inefficient.
Wednesday, March 20th 2019 - 17:13 UTC
Renew political commitment at the South-South Cooperation summit in Buenos Aires

The member states of the South-South Cooperation Plan will meet in Buenos Aires from March 20 to 23 to launch a new strategy with a view to implementing the UN Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 within the framework of the Second High-Level Conference of United Nations on South-South Cooperation, PABA +40. The event will commemorate the 40th anniversary of the approval of the Buenos Aires Action Plan and awaits a “renewed political commitment” from participating States.
Wednesday, March 20th 2019 - 10:30 UTC
Trump and the “Trump of the tropics” exchange conservative praise

United States president Donald Trump and Brazil’s new leader Jair Bolsonaro forged a bond over their shared brand of conservative and populist politics on Tuesday, with Trump pledging to give more U.S. support to Brazil’s global ambitions.
Wednesday, March 20th 2019 - 10:20 UTC
Trump warns GM: “close a plant in China or Mexico and bring jobs home!”

President Donald Trump is escalating his pressure on General Motors, as he calls for the company to reopen an Ohio manufacturing plant.
Wednesday, March 20th 2019 - 10:11 UTC
US jury considers glyphosate “a substantial factor” in causing human cancer

A US jury has found that one of the world's most widely-used weed-killers was a “substantial factor” in causing a man's cancer. Pharmaceutical group Bayer had strongly rejected claims that its glyphosate-based Roundup product was carcinogenic. But the jury in San Francisco ruled unanimously that it contributed to causing non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in California resident Edwin Hardeman.
Wednesday, March 20th 2019 - 10:07 UTC
Angela Merkel to the rescue of an “orderly Brexit”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she will fight for an “orderly Brexit” until “the very last hour”. Mrs Merkel said that current events were in a “state of flux”, adding that European Union leaders would try to react to whatever the UK proposed. The UK is due to leave the EU in 10 days' time, with or without a deal.
Wednesday, March 20th 2019 - 10:04 UTC
Robust action against Islamphobia in the Conservative party, claims chairman Brandon Lewis

The Conservative Party's complaints process is “robust”, the party chairman has said, after a campaign group wrote to him about claims of Islamophobia. Hope Not Hate's Nick Lowles asked for Brandon Lewis to clarify his claim that all complaints of Islamophobia by party members had been dealt with.
Wednesday, March 20th 2019 - 10:01 UTC
Boeing's commercial division makes major reshuffle in top positions; US$ 500bn in 737Max orders on hold

 Boeing Co's commercial airplane division, facing its biggest crisis in years following deadly crashes of its flagship 737Max, has brought in a new vice president of engineering while dedicating another top executive to the aircraft investigations, a company email showed on Tuesday.
Wednesday, March 20th 2019 - 09:57 UTC
Venezuelan opposition makes new offer to the military hoping they will switch sides

Members of the Venezuelan armed forces that abandon President Nicolas Maduro will keep their rank and be reinstated once a new government is in place, the opposition-controlled legislature said on Tuesday. The announcement marked the latest offer from the National Assembly, headed by opposition leader and self-declared interim president Juan Guaido, to try to convince more military personnel to switch sides.