International

• Tuesday, March 12th 2019 - 19:31 UTC

  Bachelet “concerned” about the arrest of Venezuelan journalist and activist Luis Carlos Díaz

  

  Luis Carlos Diaz, a Venezuelan journalist who is an expert in networks and critical of the Nicolás Maduro regime, was arrested on Monday, without capture order, by the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN) after leaving his radio program, denounced his wife and colleague Naky Soto. On Tuesday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, referred to the arrest and asked the authorities for “urgent access” for her technical mission in Venezuela to Díaz.

• Tuesday, March 12th 2019 - 11:33 UTC

  FAA says Boeing 737MAX8 model is airworthy but US Transport Secretary calls for “appropriate action”

  

  The US Federal Aviation Administration has told airlines it believes Boeing's 737 Max 8 model to be airworthy, after two fatal crashes inside six months. An Ethiopian Airlines plane en route from Addis Ababa to Nairobi crashed six minutes after take-off on Sunday, killing all 157 people on board. The incident followed Lion Air 737 Max 8 crash in October that killed 189.

• Tuesday, March 12th 2019 - 09:37 UTC

  PM May faces “meaningful vote” with reviewed Brexit deal; Juncker warns there “is no third chance”

  

  Theresa May says she has secured “legally binding” changes to her Brexit deal, a day ahead of MPs voting on it. But European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker warned if the deal was voted down there was “no third chance”. They spoke at a joint press conference in Strasbourg after a late meeting.

• Tuesday, March 12th 2019 - 09:24 UTC

  Spanish election poll forecasts a hung parliament

  

  Spain’s ruling Socialists would win 134 seats in the upcoming election due April 28, though would fall short of a majority in the 350-seat parliament forcing it to seek allies to pass legislation, a poll showed on Monday.

• Tuesday, March 12th 2019 - 09:11 UTC

  Royal Marine rows across the Atlantic, Portugal to Cayenne, in sixty days

  

  A Royal Marine who lost a leg in an accident has completed the fastest unsupported solo row across the Atlantic, sending a powerful message that no person should be defined by their disability. Lee Spencer, 49, finished the epic voyage in 60 days, breaking the able-bodied crossing record by 36 days. In doing so he became the first physically disabled person to row from continent to continent.

• Tuesday, March 12th 2019 - 09:02 UTC

  Brexit impact has moved some £900bn in financial firms' assets out of the UK

  

  A report into the impact of Brexit on banking and finance firms says some £900bn in financial firms' assets have been moved out of the UK. It adds this has cost £3bn-4bn and involves 5,000 expected staff moves or local hires, and that figure will rise.

• Tuesday, March 12th 2019 - 08:58 UTC

  Internet inventor says the web is “plunging downwards to a dysfunctional future”

  

  Global action is required to tackle the web's “downward plunge to a dysfunctional future”, its inventor Sir Tim Berners-Lee has told the BBC. He made the comments in an exclusive interview to mark 30 years since he submitted his proposal for the web. Sir Tim said people had realized how their data could be “manipulated” after the Cambridge Analytica scandal

• Tuesday, March 12th 2019 - 08:24 UTC

  Chinese tourists did 150 million outbound trips in 2018

  

  A total of 149.72 million outbound trips were made by Chinese tourists in 2018, up 14.7% from the previous year, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism announced, Trend reported citing Xinhua.

• Tuesday, March 12th 2019 - 08:14 UTC

  FAO, OIE, and WHO launch One Health approach guide to addressing zoonotic diseases


  

  Zoonotic diseases continue to be a threat to global health, causing millions of deaths and economic losses every year. To support countries to control these diseases, the Tripartite organizations (FAO, OIE and WHO) launched a guide entitled ‘Taking a Multisectoral, One Health Approach: A Tripartite Guide to Addressing Zoonotic Diseases in Countries’.

• Tuesday, March 12th 2019 - 08:10 UTC

  South African diver experiences “a whale of a time” but survives

  

   A diver who ended up trapped in the mouth of a massive whale joked that he didn't have “a whale of a time” but called the unique encounter “a very special event.” 

Rainer Schimpf, 51, was diving off the coast of South Africa with a documentary crew in February when the breaching whale reached the surface, its mouth wide open.