Politics

• Friday, January 31st 2020 - 10:59 UTC

  Argentine president meets Pope Francis, and later Italian premier and president

  

  Argentine President Alberto Fernandez is in Italy, the first leg of his tour of Europe, which begins Friday with an official visit to Pope Francis, and Italian leadership, after which he will concentrate on trying to renegotiate the country's burdensome national debt.

• Friday, January 31st 2020 - 10:26 UTC

  Debate triggers in EU as to how the €12-billion hole left by UK will be filled

  

  When Britain leaves the European Union at midnight on Friday (Jan 31) the bloc loses the second-biggest net contributor to its budget, leaving a €12-billion (US$13-billion) hole in its finances.

• Friday, January 31st 2020 - 10:10 UTC

  Bitterly divided Britain abandons European Union; Johnson message calling for unity expected

  

  Britain this Friday, 31 January ends almost half a century of integration with its closest neighbours and leaves the European Union, starting a new - but still uncertain - chapter in its long history.

• Friday, January 31st 2020 - 08:58 UTC

  Brazilian Executive and Congress pledge to pass “administrative reform” bill

  

  Brazil’s government will submit a bill that would reduce public sector costs and benefits and make it easier to fire workers to Congress “in a week or two,” Economy Minister Paulo Guedes said on Thursday.

• Friday, January 31st 2020 - 08:52 UTC

  Coronavirus: US warns its citizens not to travel to China, listed at same level as Afghanistan and Iraq

  

  The U.S. government warned Americans not to travel to China as the death toll from a new coronavirus reached 213 on Friday and the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency.

• Friday, January 31st 2020 - 08:45 UTC

  Petrobras asks Sao Paulo stock exchange to withdraw it from good governance certification

  

  Brazilian state-run oil firm Petrobras said it has asked to withdraw its participation in a program certifying good governance and limited political interference in state companies set up by the Sao Paulo stock exchange.

• Friday, January 31st 2020 - 08:35 UTC

  Mexican economy contracted in 2019, first time in a decade; 2020 prospects weak

  

  Mexico’s economy contracted last year for the first time in a decade, data showed on Thursday, as businesses curbed investment due to concern over the economic management of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and forecasts for 2020 are also weak.

• Friday, January 31st 2020 - 08:02 UTC

  Brazil streamlines trade team to ensure gains in the Chinese market

  

  A Mandarin speaking trade specialist has been appointed by the Brazilian Agriculture ministry to boost exports to China, the world’s largest commodities market. Larissa Wachholz, 36, who holds a masters degree from the Renmin University of China, was tapped in December by the Brazilian agriculture ministry to lead a trade unit dedicated to the Asian country, the first of its kind in Brazil.

• Friday, January 31st 2020 - 07:59 UTC

  Bolsonaro visits emergency ward complaining of abdominal pain

  

  Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro visited the Surgery wing of the Armed Forces hospital in Brasilia on Thursday night, leaving without speaking to reporters, with a source familiar with the matter saying the president had felt discomfort in his abdomen.

• Thursday, January 30th 2020 - 20:14 UTC

  Brexit: Falklands makes public UK's “absolute commitment to BOT's safety and prosperity”

  

  EU funding for British Overseas Territories organisations and the impact of Brexit on business and travel are all subjects covered in a Brexit update from the Minister for the Commonwealth, the UN and South Asia this week, according to the transcript published by the Falkland Islands weekly “Penguin News”.