Stories for December 28th 2019

Saturday, December 28th 2019 - 09:55 UTC
Argentina will continue to honor its debt, and has cleared all 2019 payments

The Argentine government will continue to honor its debt while it works to reach an agreement with creditors, both the IMF and private bond holders, with the purpose of refinancing commitments and achieve a long term sustainable path for the payments, according to sources from the Economy ministry.
Saturday, December 28th 2019 - 09:53 UTC
Argentine farmers back on the roads protesting export duties

Argentine farmers from the central provinces of Cordoba and Santa Fé are back on the roads to protest the latest raft of export duties on agriculture produce and overall increase in taxes established by the recently sworn in administration of President Alberto Fernandez.
Saturday, December 28th 2019 - 09:52 UTC
UK accused of “crimes against humanity” for not allowing people to return to Chagos islands, their ancestral home

The UK has been accused of committing “crimes against humanity” for refusing to allow people to return to their former homes on the Chagos Islands, despite a ruling earlier this year by the United Nation's highest court.
Saturday, December 28th 2019 - 09:49 UTC
In a surprising move, Argentine members of Congress freeze their salaries and allowances for 180 days

In a surprising decision and probably for the first time in Argentina history, the two chambers of Congress agreed to freeze their salaries for the next 180 days, that is until the end of June.
Saturday, December 28th 2019 - 09:49 UTC
Uruguayan navy seizes record haul of 4.4 tons of cocaine in the port of Montevideo

Uruguayan authorities seized a record haul of 4.4 tons of cocaine at the port of Montevideo in what the navy described on Friday as “the biggest blow to drug trafficking in the country's history.”
Saturday, December 28th 2019 - 09:48 UTC
Argentina's unemployment in the third quarter rose to 9.7%

Argentina’s unemployment rate rose to 9.7% in the third quarter versus 9.0% in the same period last year, marking one of the highest rates recorded in recent years, the official INDEC statistics agency said.
Saturday, December 28th 2019 - 09:40 UTC
Mendoza province up in arms to defend its water resources from the mining industry

The government of the wine-producing province of Mendoza, suspended the rule of the mining law 7.722 that had given the green light for chemicals such as cyanide and sulfuric acid to be used by the industry, but which threaten the water resources of that territory.
Saturday, December 28th 2019 - 09:39 UTC
China's top pig producing province pledges to grow 60 million hogs in 2020

China's top pig producer Sichuan province pledged to produce 60 million hogs in 2020, around levels in previous years, state media reported on Friday, after a deadly pig disease decimated the country's massive pig herd.
Saturday, December 28th 2019 - 09:36 UTC
Fires in Australia threaten the water infrastructure that supplies Sydney

Australian authorities said on Friday that they are focused on protecting water plants, pumping stations, pipes and other infrastructure from intense bushfires surrounding Sydney, the country's largest city. Firefighters battling the blazes for weeks received a reprieve of slightly cooler, damper conditions over Christmas, but the respite is not expected to last long.
Saturday, December 28th 2019 - 09:32 UTC
Defrocked US cardinal paid for silence from Vatican officials, Washington Post reports

A US cardinal gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to powerful Catholic clerics including two popes while facing accusations of sexual harassment, The Washington Post reported on Friday.