Politics

Thursday, July 16th 2020 - 09:39 UTC
Riots in Santiago as congress considers bill to allow Chileans to withdraw part of their pension funds

Protesters in Santiago defied a citywide lockdown meant to combat the spread of the coronavirus, barricading roads and looting early into the morning on Wednesday in support of a proposal to allow Chileans to withdraw part of their pensions amid the crisis.
Thursday, July 16th 2020 - 09:33 UTC
Bolivian president and at least seven cabinet ministers and lawmakers tested positive for coronavirus

Bolivia's government has been rocked by the novel coronavirus, with the president and at least seven of her Cabinet ministers testing positive, straining the interim leadership and casting a shadow over a slated election rerun in under two months.
Thursday, July 16th 2020 - 09:29 UTC
Criminal gangs control Venezuelan Amazon mining gold, diamonds, coltan, UN report

Some gold, diamond and bauxite mines in the Venezuelan Amazon are largely controlled by criminal gangs who exploit, beat, and even kill workers, a United Nations investigation has found. Venezuelan security and military forces fail to prevent crimes and have participated in some violence against miners, the UN human rights office said in a report on Wednesday.
Thursday, July 16th 2020 - 09:18 UTC
Eight Overseas Territories, including Falklands, committed to improve corporate transparency

Ministers updated Parliament on Wednesday on a major step forward by the UK’s Overseas Territories to help improve global corporate transparency. The written statement welcomes commitments from eight Overseas Territories to introduce publicly accessible registers detailing who owns the companies in their Territory.
Thursday, July 16th 2020 - 09:00 UTC
UK anticipates sweeping tax cuts and planning ten new “free-ports”, after final divorce with EU

British finance minister Rishi Sunak is preparing to introduce sweeping tax cuts and an overhaul of planning laws in up to 10 new “free-ports” within a year of the UK's becoming fully independent from the European Union in December, the Sunday Telegraph said.
Thursday, July 16th 2020 - 09:00 UTC
Chilean lawmaker celebrates passing of a bill liberating 10% of pension funds

Chilean lawmaker launched hundreds of internet memes on Wednesday when she ran through congress wearing a pink cape and waving matching fans to celebrate passage in the lower house of a coronavirus emergency aid measure.
Thursday, July 16th 2020 - 07:22 UTC
Venezuelan cases of the “Colombian virus”, accelerate at a rate of 30% every week

Coronavirus cases in Venezuela have jumped in recent weeks and two top lieutenants of President Nicolas Maduro have tested positive, triggering warnings from health workers that the pandemic may overwhelm the country's already battered healthcare system.
Thursday, July 16th 2020 - 07:18 UTC
After four months suspension, Peru reopens domestic air travel

Peru reopened domestic air travel on Wednesday in a bid to reignite the economy as it announced a drop of 33% in GDP for May year-on-year. Long queues of passengers formed from dawn at the Jorge Chavez airport in the capital Lima with 17 domestic flights operating during the day.
Thursday, July 16th 2020 - 06:47 UTC
Trump replaces his campaign manager with less than four months to Election Day

President Donald Trump replaced his campaign manager on Wednesday as he faces a gap in the polls against presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden with less than four months to Election Day.
Thursday, July 16th 2020 - 06:43 UTC
Major hack and “take and run” scam with Twitter high-profile accounts

The official Twitter accounts of Apple, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and others were hijacked on Wednesday by scammers trying to dupe people into sending crypto-currency bitcoin, in a massive hack of the social media platform. The list of accounts commandeered simultaneously grew rapidly to include Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Uber, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, reality television show star Kim Kardashian and rapper Kanye West, among many others.