Stories for August 16th 2021

Monday, August 16th 2021 - 19:48 UTC
How a secret meeting in August 1971 transformed the global economy

By Atish Rex Ghosh (*) - History is a confluence of underlying forces and specific triggering events. Think of the start of World War I: economic, imperial, and nationalistic tensions that had simmered for years exploded into open conflict when Archduke Franz Ferdinand’s motorcade took a wrong turn, putting him in the path of an assassin’s bullet.
Monday, August 16th 2021 - 08:51 UTC
Argentine province of Salta holds local elections under sanitary protocols

The Argentine province of Salta Sunday held local elections of provincial and municipal lawmakers through an electronic ballot system and amid special covid-19 protection measures.
Monday, August 16th 2021 - 08:02 UTC
Death toll from Haiti earthquake reaches 1,297 by Sunday evening

Authorities in charge of the relief efforts after Saturday's earthquake in Haiti Sunday announced the death toll had reached 1,297 and counting. After the 7.2 magnitude earthquake in the Richter scale that struck the southwest of the country, there were five aftershocks, including one of magnitude 5.2 17 kilometers from the town of Chantal, also with an epicenter 10 kilometers deep.
Monday, August 16th 2021 - 07:30 UTC
Taliban regain control of Afghanistan after 20 years

Taliban militias have seized Afghanistan's capital Kabul, while President Ashraf Ghani fled the country after swift military actions over the past week. The war in Afghanistan “is over,” a spokesman for the Taliban's political office announced, adding that “soon” it will be clear what kind of government there will be under the Taliban 20 years after a US-led military invasion had ousted them.
Monday, August 16th 2021 - 07:20 UTC
Falklands Islands (Malvinas): Forensic identification of fallen Argentine soldiers begins

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has begun a second phase of forensic work to identify Argentine soldiers buried on the Falklands Islands (Malvinas).
Monday, August 16th 2021 - 06:53 UTC
Embraer shares soar as Brazilian aircraft manufacturer shows profits

Stock of Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer went up as the company showed profits last week worth R $ 438.1 million (US $ 87.9 million) despite the pandemic's impact on the airline industry.
Monday, August 16th 2021 - 06:45 UTC
Afghanistan: Western armies always lose guerilla wars in the “Third World,” but it never really matters.

By Gwynne Dyer - “I will never kneel before such a destructive force (as the Taliban),” declared Ashraf Ghani, the ex-president of Afghanistan before fleeing. “We will either sit knee-to-knee for real negotiations at the table or break their knees on the battlefield.” Good luck with that, Ashraf.
Monday, August 16th 2021 - 06:40 UTC
Departure of foreign companies from Argentina and also from Brazil on the rise and with no end in sight

Foreign companies keep leaving Argentina and claiming those moves are part of global strategies. Local analysts are reluctant to believe these explanations, but perhaps they would reconsider their stance if they see a similar exodus also taking place in Brazil.
Monday, August 16th 2021 - 06:12 UTC
Nicaraguan daily shut down by gov't, manager placed under arrest

In addition to arresting in the past two months almost every opposition politician who might challenge President Daniel Ortega's quest for another term in office in the upcoming November 7 elections, the Nicaraguan regime this weekend raided the La Prensa newsdesk and placed its general manager in detention.
Monday, August 16th 2021 - 05:56 UTC
PAHO Emergency medical teams expected at earthquake bashed Haiti

A team of experts from the Pan American Health Organization’s (PAHO) office in Port au Prince has been deployed to evaluate damage and coordinate an appropriate health response following the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that shook Haiti on the morning of Saturday August 14.