Politics

• Thursday, August 23rd 2018 - 09:06 UTC

  Opinion polls confirm Lula's popularity and rattles markets

  

  The popularity of imprisoned former Brazilian president Lula da Silva has grown strongly despite his corruption conviction, an election poll on Wednesday showed, a result that rattled markets and raised the possibility that Lula’s running mate could ultimately become the next occupant of the country’s presidential palace.

• Thursday, August 23rd 2018 - 09:02 UTC

  Labour leader Corbyn to propose tax on tech giants to pay for public interest journalism

  

  A windfall tax could be levied on tech giants such as Google, Amazon and Facebook to pay for public interest journalism, Jeremy Corbyn is expected to announce. The Labour leader will call for radical reform of the media landscape in a speech at the Edinburgh TV Festival.

• Thursday, August 23rd 2018 - 08:40 UTC

  Scotland urges London to rule out a “deeply damaging and disruptive” no deal Brexit

  

  Scotland's Brexit secretary has urged the UK government to rule out a “no deal Brexit”, arguing that it would be “deeply damaging and disruptive”. Michael Russell was speaking ahead of a major speech by his UK government counterpart Dominic Raab.

• Thursday, August 23rd 2018 - 08:21 UTC

  Despite trade talks, US and China will impose fresh tariffs beginning Thursday

  

  United States and China are expected to impose fresh tariffs on US$ 16bn of each other's goods on Thursday as their tit-for-tat trade war rages on. The second round of tariffs will see a total of US$ 50bn worth of goods from each side that will now be taxed. Since the opening salvo in July, tensions between the world's two largest economies have escalated, hurting their companies and economies.

• Thursday, August 23rd 2018 - 06:44 UTC

  FIFA taking temporary control of the Uruguayan Football Association

  

  World football’s governing body FIFA is taking temporary control of the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) due to governance concerns. FIFA, acting on information from Conmebol, South America's football association confederation announced it will set up a “normalization committee” to run the AUF until Feb. 28 of next year.

• Wednesday, August 22nd 2018 - 09:00 UTC

  Venezuelan businesses shut down shops to protest last monetary measures

  

  Venezuela's streets were quieter than normal on Tuesday, as a currency devaluation and package of economic measures by populist president Nicolas Maduro went into effect, and the opposition asked storekeepers to shut up shop in protest. Venezuela on Monday cut five zeros from prices and pegged the country’s currency to an obscure state-backed cryptocurrency, as part of a broad set of measures meant to address hyperinflation and an economic crisis.

• Wednesday, August 22nd 2018 - 08:59 UTC

  Jeremy Corbyn’s blunder may be the straw that breaks the camel’s back

  

  It sounds like a tempest in a teapot, but it could bring down Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of Britain’s Labour Party — and that could end up meaning that Britain doesn’t leave the European Union after all.

• Wednesday, August 22nd 2018 - 06:59 UTC

  OAS Observation Mission Visits Brazil ahead of October elections

  

  The Chief of the Electoral Observation Mission of the Organization of American States (EOM/OAS) to the October 7 general elections in Brazil, the former President of Costa Rica Laura Chinchilla, arrived in Brasilia to learn about the advances made in the organization of the election. This is the first time that the OAS has observed an electoral process in Brazil.

• Wednesday, August 22nd 2018 - 06:43 UTC

  Argentines turnout to the streets to demand end to corruption and Cristina Fernandez immunity

  

  A massive demonstration concentrated in front of Argentina's congress in down town Buenos Aires to demand the removal of ex president and now Senator Cristina Fernandez immunities and the approval of a “dominium extinction” which would force “corrupt politicians” to return stolen money and assets.

• Wednesday, August 22nd 2018 - 06:31 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez anticipates a Senate vote and agrees to have her properties searched

  

  Former Argentine President Cristina Fernandez agreed on Tuesday to allow investigators to search properties belonging to her as part of a corruption case in which construction company executives have said they paid bribes for government contracts.