Politics

• Wednesday, November 20th 2019 - 09:55 UTC

  Brazil's Real depreciating against the US dollar, but inflation remains below target

  

  Brazil’s Real is sliding toward an all-time low against the U.S. dollar, but the central bank appears in no rush to intervene to slow or even reverse the fall. Despite the Real’s historical weakness, the market is functioning smoothly: depreciation, so far, has been fairly orderly, volatility is low, liquidity has not dried up, and the Real is not the only emerging market currency under pressure.

• Wednesday, November 20th 2019 - 09:45 UTC

  Bolivian forces take control of major gas plant; crucial political discussions for a new election date

  

  Bolivian police and military forces used armoured vehicles and helicopters to clear access to a major gas plant in the city of El Alto on Tuesday, a show of strength after blockades at the facility had cut off fuel supply to nearby La Paz.

• Wednesday, November 20th 2019 - 09:30 UTC

  Brazilian police seek the arrest of Paraguay ex president Cartes on money laundering

  

  Brazilian police are seeking the arrest of Paraguay’s ex-President Horacio Cartes as part of an investigation into money laundering. On Tuesday, Brazilian authorities alleged Cartes provided US$500,000 to a criminal organization at the request of Dario Messer, a Brazilian associate who was then a fugitive facing corruption charges, prosecutors told reporters.

• Wednesday, November 20th 2019 - 09:29 UTC

  Trump again threatens China with higher tariffs if no deal is reached

  

  The United States would raise tariffs on Chinese imports if no deal is reached with Beijing to end a trade war, US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday, threatening an escalation of the spat that has damaged economic growth worldwide.

• Wednesday, November 20th 2019 - 09:28 UTC

  Begins the recovery of Venice's Saint Mark's Basilica exposed to destructive salt water from the flooding

  

  Venice's historic Saint Mark's Basilica will need millions of Euros of restoration work after it was flooded this week for just the sixth time in 1,200 years, leaving its delicate marble mosaics exposed to destructive salt water, its curator said.

• Wednesday, November 20th 2019 - 09:24 UTC

  Brexit and NHS in Johnson/Corbyn first TV debate ahead of December 12 election

  

  Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn traded blows on Tuesday over Brexit and the health system as they vied for votes during the first-ever head-to-head TV debate.

• Wednesday, November 20th 2019 - 09:20 UTC

  Ferry crew find 25 migrants in refrigerated container bound for UK

  

  A ferry crew found 25 migrants in a refrigerated container on a boat sailing from the Netherlands to Britain on Tuesday, emergency services said. The cargo vessel bound for Felixstowe returned to the Dutch port of Vlaardingen, near Rotterdam, as soon as the stowaways were found, they said in a statement.

• Wednesday, November 20th 2019 - 08:49 UTC

  FBI regrets not having acted more swiftly in the intellectual property dispute with Beijing

  

  The FBI wished it had taken swifter action as Beijing recruited US-based researchers to transfer intellectual property from American laboratories, a senior official at the agency said on Tuesday during Senate testimony.

• Wednesday, November 20th 2019 - 08:42 UTC

  French minister meets northeast Brazil states governors to discuss sustainable development

  

  French minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian, met on Tuesday in Paris with the Brazilian governors of the nine states of the consortium for sustainable development in the northeast of the country.

• Tuesday, November 19th 2019 - 23:41 UTC

  Uruguay presidential elections: Lacalle Pou would widely win, according to polls

  

  After a long election campaign, Uruguayans live the last days before the second round of the presidential elections, which will take place on Sunday, November 24. The latest polls before the ballotage positions the nationalist Luis Lacalle Pou as the next president of the country, breaking the hegemony of the left that the Frente Amplio (Broad Front) imposed in the last 15 years.