Politics

Tuesday, December 27th 2016 - 09:26 UTC
Chapecoense team air crash caused by human error: pilot, airline and Bolivian regulators blamed

The plane crash that killed 71 people in Colombia last month, including players from Brazil's Chapecoense football team, was caused by human error, an investigation says. Colombian officials said there was no technical failure and blamed the pilot, the airline and Bolivian regulators. A recording had already indicated the aircraft had run out of fuel.
Tuesday, December 27th 2016 - 09:17 UTC
Petrobras plans to claim part of Odebrecht's payments deal in US and Switzerland

Brazilian oil company Petrobras plans to request part of the record anticorruption settlement that construction company Odebrecht SA signed earlier this week with Brazilian, U.S. and Swiss authorities. Petrobras has said it was the victim of the vast bid-rigging and kickbacks scheme that Odebrecht admitted to helping run.
Tuesday, December 27th 2016 - 09:12 UTC
Brazil's trade balance with a US$ 45bn surplus record

Brazil's trade balance reached a surplus of US$ 45bn by the third week of December. The third week period recorded a US$ 864 million surplus from exports of US$ 3.969bn and imports of US$ 3.105bn. The result is far better than last year when the whole year surplus was US$ 19.69 billion.
Tuesday, December 27th 2016 - 08:41 UTC
Iranian currency on freefall as Trump's inauguration approaches

Iran's monetary unit, the rial, reached a new low against the U.S. dollar on Monday in what was perceived as a sign of doubt about the country's future following the inauguration of US President-elect Donald Trump on January 20. Presidential elections in Iran next year also played a part.
Tuesday, December 27th 2016 - 08:08 UTC
Cartes vetoes 2017 budget to avoid risk of Paraguay's default

President Horacio Cartes Monday vetoed the 2017 budget to avoid the risk of default after the Senate set a ceiling on the amount of debt the government could issue.
Tuesday, December 27th 2016 - 07:53 UTC
Tension mounts as strong Chinese fleet of aircraft carrier and navy vessels spotted south of Taiwan

What China's Defense Ministry deemed as “routine exercises,” was cause for grave concern among Taiwanese authorities as a strong Chinese fleet led by the Soviet-built Liaoning aircraft carrier escorted by five other warships entered the top half of the South China Sea on Monday passing southeast of the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands.
Monday, December 26th 2016 - 23:37 UTC
Macri reshuffles economic team after the promised second half recovery never arrived

Argentine President Mauricio Macri on Monday reshuffled his economic team removing finance minister Alfonso Prat-Gay amid a stubborn recession, soaring budget deficit, a discussion on gradualism to address inflation and public opinion deep disappointment with center-right reforms.
Monday, December 26th 2016 - 14:33 UTC
Falklands government secures environmental planning contract with Aedis

The Falkland Islands Government have secured the services of Tees Valley based building control firm Aedis. The contract will see Aedis delivering a raft of professional consultancy services based upon their building control expertise. This includes providing a remote plan checking service to help the Falkland Islands Environmental Planning Department ensure all new building work complies with the necessary building regulations.
Monday, December 26th 2016 - 14:28 UTC
Argentine bishops warn Macri, and the political leadership, about poverty, jobs and drugs

Argentine Catholic bishops visited president Mauricio Macri for the annual Christmas greeting but again expressed concern about poverty, the drugs trade and called on the political leadership of the country “to create the conditions for the common good.”
Monday, December 26th 2016 - 05:50 UTC
Chileans survive strong Christmas Day earthquake

A 7.6/7.7 degrees earthquake affected five regions in southern Chile on Sunday but left no fatal casualties. “There is no loss of human life,” National Emergency Management Office (ONEMI) Director Ricardo Toro said.