Stories for December 16th 2019

Monday, December 16th 2019 - 13:59 UTC
Brazilian president under fire due to the Amazon situation

Brazil’s Amazonian reserve has always been a cause for contention between indigenous activists and the Brazillian government. Covering the majority of northwestern Brazil and extending into Columbia, Peru and a whole host of South American nations, the Amazon is the world’s largest rainforest famed for its biodiversity and natural beauty.
Monday, December 16th 2019 - 09:50 UTC
Brazil's basic interest rate at an all time low of 4.50%

Brazil's central bank cut its benchmark Selic interest rate to an all-time low of 4.50% this week but indicated that with borrowing costs so low and economic growth starting to pick up, it may mark a pause in the easing cycle, if not the end.
Monday, December 16th 2019 - 09:45 UTC
Bolivarian countries call Evo's departure from presidency “a coup d'état”

Dignitaries of several Latin America and Caribbean countries Saturday criticized the uprising that led the resignation of Evo Morales as president of Bolivia in - which was dubbed a “coup d'état” in a joint statement in Havanna on the closing day of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) summit to celebrate the grouping's 17th anniversary.
Monday, December 16th 2019 - 09:44 UTC
Briton killed in Buenos Aires identified, other non-fatal victim was his stepson

The British citizen killed in Buenos Aires Saturday during a robbery has been identified as the 50-year-old millionaire Matthew Charles Gibbard, who was travelling with his wife Suzane, his stepson, Stefan Zone, 28, also shot in the incident and still hospitalized, and other family members.
Monday, December 16th 2019 - 09:40 UTC
Icebreaker “Almirante Irizar” completing a supply round of Argentine Antarctic bases and stations

Argentina's icebreaker ARA Almirante Irizar has completed its round of supplying Antarctic bases, on time and according to planning, reports the Antarctic Joint Command. The bases involved are Esperanza, Marambio and Carlini.
Monday, December 16th 2019 - 09:32 UTC
Brazil opens trade mission in Jerusalem, vows to move embassy there by 2020

Brazil Sunday opened a trade office in Jerusalem, in what was perceived as a step towards finally moving the country's embassy in Israel to the iconic city. The opening ceremony was presided over by Deputy Eduardo Bosonaro, son if President Jair Bolsonaro.
Monday, December 16th 2019 - 09:22 UTC
Antarctica seabed survey identifies the deepest point on earth

A group of glaciologists discovered the deepest point on land under an Antarctic glacier. Among other findings of BedMachine Antarctica, a mapping project for the white continent, glaciologists said one of the most striking ones was finding “the world’s deepest land canyon below Denman Glacier in East Antarctica.”
Monday, December 16th 2019 - 09:15 UTC
HMS Scott joins the search for the missing Chilean C130 Hercules

The Royal Navy vessel HMS Scott arrived on Sunday in the search area, to provide support to the Chilean military in their response to the loss of a C130 that went missing earlier in the week in the Southern Atlantic Ocean.
Monday, December 16th 2019 - 09:13 UTC
Minute of silence in New Zealand for volcano victims; Royal Caribbean potential criminal liability

New Zealanders across the country observed a minute of silence on Monday to honour the victims of last week's fatal volcanic eruption. The official death toll from the surprise eruption on White Island, also known by its Maori name of Whakaari, stands at 16. Two people whose bodies are believed to be in the waters around the island are still officially listed as missing.
Monday, December 16th 2019 - 09:05 UTC
Smoke choked Sydney facing a “public health emergency”

Australia's biggest city is facing a “public health emergency” over the bushfire smoke that has choked Sydney for weeks, leading doctors warned on Monday after hospitals reported a dramatic spike in casualty department visits.