International

• Tuesday, March 22nd 2016 - 01:40 UTC

  Obama and Castro agree to disagree, but determined to advance in “a new day”

  

  Cuban President Raul Castro directly challenged President Obama on the heels of their historic meeting in Havana on Monday to lift more restrictions on the island and return land used for the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay – as the visiting U.S. president, in turn, chided the Cuban government on democracy and human rights

• Tuesday, March 22nd 2016 - 01:35 UTC

  “Give me the name of a political prisoner, he will be released before tonight” Castro challenges US reporter

  

  Cuban President Raúl Castro sparred with US reporters on Monday over Cuba’s human-rights record, saying at one point that it was not fair to ask about prisoners in general and at another point that he would release by the end of the day anyone named as a political prisoner by a reporter.

• Saturday, March 19th 2016 - 06:24 UTC

  Ex FIFA Blatter was paid US$ 3.76 million and Valcke US% 2.2 million in 2015

  

  FIFA peeled back another layer of secrecy this week as football’s governing body revealed for the first time how much money it was paying disgraced former president Sepp Blatter. The former FIFA chief, who was suspended with pay in October 2015 and later banned for unethical conduct, made $3.76 million last year. He did not earn a performance bonus but did pocket almost $450,000 for reaching 40 years of service at FIFA.

• Saturday, March 19th 2016 - 06:09 UTC

  Neymar ordered to pay US$ 52.2 million in back taxes to the Brazilian Treasury

  

  A Brazilian court has found Barcelona striker Neymar guilty of tax fraud and ordered him to pay 188.8 million Reais (US$ 52.2) in back taxes, interest and penalties according to reports on the local media on Friday.

• Saturday, March 19th 2016 - 05:31 UTC

  Evita Peron's 1951 Cadillac official limousine to be auctioned in England

  

  A 1951 Cadillac which was Argentina's charismatic leader Evita Peron official limousine will be auctioned on Sunday 20 March by Bonhams at Chichester, southern England. The going price for the black classic, which was also used by Evita´s husband, three times Argentine president Juan Domingo Peron, is estimated at between 120.000 and 150.000 Euros.

• Friday, March 18th 2016 - 05:55 UTC

  Strong 2016 wheat harvests seen in China and South Asia

  

  FAO's latest Cereal Supply and Demand Brief forecasts a 1.4 percent drop in worldwide wheat output in 2016, due mainly to dry weather leading to reduced winter plantings in the Russian Federation and Ukraine. However, China and Pakistan are expected to sustain near-record wheat harvests, and India's output is anticipated to recover.

• Friday, March 18th 2016 - 03:03 UTC

  It's official: Mercosur and EU will exchange offers for a trade accord on 8 April

  

  Argentina is willing to “make concessions” in order to move forward with a free-trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union (EU), which will likely allow a greater export of agricultural produce, according to Argentina's Trade Secretary Miguel Braun who then reveled that trade offers will be exchanged on April 8.

• Thursday, March 17th 2016 - 22:55 UTC

  Happy St. Patrick's Day

  

  Every year on March 17, the Irish and the Irish-at-heart across the globe observe St. Patrick's Day. What began as a religious feast day for the patron saint of Ireland has become an international festival celebrating Irish culture with parades, dancing, special foods and a whole lot of green. Best wishes for a safe, happy & pleasant day of love, peace and joy.

• Thursday, March 17th 2016 - 07:53 UTC

  Finland's new state of the art icebreaker Polaris will also be the world's greenest

  

  Due for delivery in the second quarter of the year, Finland’s new icebreaker Polaris is the world’s first to feature dual fuel liquefied natural gas (LNG) and diesel propulsion, earning the icebreaking vessel designations as the Finland’s most powerful and the world’s greenest.

• Thursday, March 17th 2016 - 07:42 UTC

  FIFA reclaiming 'millions of dollars' pocketed by former officials; admits votes sold for South Africa in 2010

  

  As it tries to reclaim “tens of millions of dollars” pocketed illegally by corrupt former officials, FIFA has admitted for the first time that ExCo members sold their votes to help South Africa secure the 2010 World Cup.