Politics

Friday, May 25th 2018 - 08:23 UTC
Blow to Rajoy: 29 members of the ruling party convicted for corruption

A Spanish court has issued hefty prison sentences for politicians and business people involved in a kickbacks-for-contracts scheme that helped fund Spain’s governing party. The National Court’s decision is a major blow for Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s Partido Popular, fined 245,000 Euros because it benefited from the illegal scheme that was in place between 1999 and 2005.
Friday, May 25th 2018 - 08:15 UTC
Japan encouraging Central and South America to join the TPP trade pact

Japan is encouraging more countries from Central and South America to join the reworked Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, in hopes of both capturing the potential of these markets and pressuring the U.S. to return to a framework it left last year.
Friday, May 25th 2018 - 07:47 UTC
Falkland Islands fisheries review recommends ITQs for Illex squid

Moving the Illex fishery into the ITQ system and improved catch verification requirements are among the recommendations made by an independent review of the Individual Transferable Quota (ITQ) system published by the Falkland Islands government, FIG, this week.
Thursday, May 24th 2018 - 08:35 UTC
Six out of ten voters said UK's exit from EU increased prospect of splitting up

Most voters are in favor of the Union but believe Brexit has made the break-up of the United Kingdom more likely, polling has found. In England, 68% of adults backed the UK status quo followed by 66% in Wales, 59% in Northern Ireland and 52% in Scotland, according to the ICM research. But across the four nations, up to six out of 10 voters said Britain’s exit from the European Union had increased the prospect of the UK splitting up.
Thursday, May 24th 2018 - 07:55 UTC
Boris Johnson highlights Chile as one of the great global countries for free trade

British Foreign Secretary highlighted the close political links with Chile and commercial opportunities for UK companies during his brief visit to the country, as part of a more ambitious tour of other South American countries, Peru and Argentina.
Thursday, May 24th 2018 - 07:32 UTC
China expected to import record volumes of US oil and soy, to help ease trade tensions with the US

China will import record volumes of U.S. oil and is likely to ship more U.S. soy after Beijing signaled to state-run refiners and grains purchasers they should buy more to help ease tensions between the two top economies, trade sources said on Wednesday.
Thursday, May 24th 2018 - 07:20 UTC
Brazil lowers diesel prices 10%, but truckers' strike continues threatening grain exports

Petrobras on Wednesday temporarily cut diesel prices by 10% in order to help the Brazilian government and truck drivers resolve a protest crippling highways.
Thursday, May 24th 2018 - 07:12 UTC
May Fed minutes suggest a rate hike would soon be appropriate; next meeting in mid-June

Federal Reserve officials earlier this month suggested that another rate hike was on the way soon, while also noting several risks facing the economy, ranging from rising wage pressures to potential harm from the Trump administration's trade policies.
Thursday, May 24th 2018 - 07:03 UTC
UN denies Lula's request for emergency action against his imprisonment

The United Nations Human Rights Committee has denied a request by Brazil's ex-president Lula da Silva seeking emergency action against his imprisonment, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday. Lula, currently serving a 12-year sentence over corruption, asked the committee to impose so-called “interim measures” -- a step the UN panel only takes when there is evidence an accused person is facing grave, irreparable harm.
Thursday, May 24th 2018 - 06:49 UTC
Italian president gives his blessing to the new populist coalition government

Italy's president Sergio Mattarella accepted a political novice Giuseppe Conte, a populist coalition's candidate, as prime minister on Wednesday in a bid to forge a functioning government and end the nation's weeks-long political deadlock.