Stories for March 2019

Thursday, March 21st 2019 - 08:59 UTC
A 12 sq. km lagoon, one hour's drive from Santiago, goes completely dry

The cows and horses would have come for the last blades of grass. Now their bones are scattered on the cracked earth, victims of drought that wiped Santiago's weekend playground Lake Aculeo from the map.
Thursday, March 21st 2019 - 07:38 UTC
Venezuela: UN human rights report confirms massive abuses and killings by government forces

The U.N. high commissioner for human rights, Michelle Bachelet, warns political divisions in Venezuela are worsening an already critical human right and humanitarian situation in the country. In a report presented to the U.N. Human Rights Council, Bachelet urged the dissenting factions to resolve their political differences.
Thursday, March 21st 2019 - 06:41 UTC
Bolsonaro's aura and approval ratings rapidly fading

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's approval rating plunged in March, a poll showed Wednesday, after a series of political scandals tarnished his anti-corruption image.
Thursday, March 21st 2019 - 06:30 UTC
Mercosur farmers protest Bolsonaro's decision to allow US wheat imports free of tariffs

Farmers in Brazil and Argentina are concerned about Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's agreement to import 750,000 tons of wheat from the United States and other countries outside the Mercosur trade bloc without the 10% tariff that is usually required for such purchases.
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.