Politics

• Tuesday, March 20th 2018 - 09:35 UTC

  Ex-president Sarkozy, arrested for supposed illegal financing

  

  Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been arrested on Tuesday at west of Paris as part of an investigation that revealed he received millions of euros in illegal financing from the regime of the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in 2007.

• Tuesday, March 20th 2018 - 08:16 UTC

  Lula begins tour of south Brazil and meets Mujica, but it was a bad day for both leaders

  

  Protesters interrupted the start on Monday of an election campaign tour by former Brazilian president Lula da Silva, who leads opinion polls but faces a lengthy jail sentence for corruption. Police had to intervene to separate some 150 protesting farmers and Lula's supporters in Bage, where the populist leader was starting a bus tour of southern Brazil ahead of October 7 elections.

• Tuesday, March 20th 2018 - 07:51 UTC

  Falklands: proposed second flight and stop in Argentina dominates public meeting debate

  

  A lively exchange took place during the Falkland Islands March 12 public meeting in which the proposed second commercial flight to a third country with a stop in Argentina was considered. The public was particularly interested in knowing if any “red lines” had been established and wanted confirmation that one of the stop options was not to be Buenos Aires.

• Tuesday, March 20th 2018 - 07:35 UTC

  UK/EU transition includes Gibraltar, but Spain retains veto power

  

  The UK and the European Union have agreed the terms of a transition deal that covers Gibraltar but also maintains Spain’s controversial veto, according to a report from the Gibraltar Chronicle. Gibraltar is included within the territorial scope of a draft withdrawal agreement that also sets out arrangements to smooth the UK’s departure from the bloc after March 2019.

• Monday, March 19th 2018 - 09:13 UTC

  International Court to listen arguments from Bolivia and Chile on the disputed access to the Pacific

  

  Delegates from Bolivia and Chile will head to the International Court of Justice in The Hague on Monday morning, where they will present their arguments over a disputed 380 kilometer coastline on the Pacific Ocean.

• Monday, March 19th 2018 - 09:03 UTC

  Xi Jinping has his most loyal ally, and head of anti corruption campaign, named vice-president

  

  China's parliament has endorsed Xi Jinping for a second term and appointed Wang Qishan as his vice-president. The ballot at the National People's Congress unanimously approved Mr Xi while Mr Wang received 2,969 votes in favor and only one against. Wang Qishan was previously in charge of corruption investigations in China.

• Monday, March 19th 2018 - 08:52 UTC

  Next chief of China's central bank was educated in University of Illinois

  

  US-educated economist Yi Gang has been named the next governor of China's central bank, replacing Zhou Xiaochuan. Mr Yi joined the People's Bank of China (PBOC) 20 years ago and has been its deputy governor since 2008. His appointment is being seen as one of ensured continuity as Beijing continues to try and rein in growing debt and limit risky financial practices.

• Monday, March 19th 2018 - 08:30 UTC

  Lula da Silva “ready” to go to jail and become Brazil's first political prisoner in 21st century

  

  Former Brazilian President Lula da Silva launched a book Friday in which he says he is “ready” to go to jail and serve a 12-year and one-month sentence on a corruption charge conviction.

• Sunday, March 18th 2018 - 10:36 UTC

  Ushuaia at Seatrade in Miami praised for the port services improvements

  

  The port of Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego expects to end the current 2017/18 cruise season with over 339 calls, fifty more than in the previous season, revealed governor Rosana Bertone who attended the SeaTrade International Fair in Miami, the world's major event of the industry.

• Sunday, March 18th 2018 - 10:13 UTC

  Another four years for Putin, and with a landslide

  

  By Gwynne Dyer - Vladmir Putin is going to win another six years in power by a landslide in the Russian election on March 18 — probably between 60 and 70 per cent of the popular vote. The real question is what happens after that, because he will be 72 by the end of his next term and will not legally be allowed to run for president again.