Politics

• Monday, December 11th 2017 - 19:29 UTC

  Brazilian lawmaker and professional clown won't run for reelection: he feels ashamed of his colleagues

  

  A professional clown in Brazil who ran for congress and won by a huge margin says he will not stand again in 2018. Francisco Everardo Oliveira Silva, better known as Tiririca, is coming to the end of his second term in the Chamber of Deputies.

• Monday, December 11th 2017 - 19:24 UTC

  Honduras recount of presidential votes “extremely consistent”

  

  Honduras' electoral tribunal has finished the partial recount of votes from the disputed presidential election, declaring the results are “extremely consistent” with the original count. In the partial recount of 4,753 ballot boxes, President Juan Orlando Hernandez won 50.1% of the votes, against some 31.5% for his rival Salvador Nasralla.

• Monday, December 11th 2017 - 16:02 UTC

  UK fishermen urge call for a short Brexit transition period: nine month is enough

  

  Fishermen's leaders have urged ministers to rule out a long Brexit transition as officials meet in Brussels for fish quota talks. The Scottish Fishermen's Federation (SFF) said only a nine-month transition period was needed for UK fleets to leave the Common Fisheries Policy.

• Monday, December 11th 2017 - 15:50 UTC

  US economy closer to full employment as job growth remains steady

  

  United States jobs growth was better than expected in November, with payrolls rising by 228,000. Service, health care and manufacturing firms helped to drive the gains, holding the unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%.

• Monday, December 11th 2017 - 15:36 UTC

  EU/Japan sign free trade deal comprising 30% of global GDP and reaffirm rejection of protectionism

  

  The European Union and Japan have concluded negotiations on a giant free trade deal that they said was reached while “fighting the temptation of protectionism”, a message apparently directed at U.S. President Donald Trump. The deal, which the EU called its biggest ever, must be signed and ratified by both sides.

• Monday, December 11th 2017 - 15:10 UTC

  Brazilian 2017 inflation below target for the first time in two decades

  

  Brazil's monthly inflation eased more-than-expected in November after accelerating in the previous month, mainly due to the continued fall in food prices, preliminary data from IBGE showed on Friday. The consumer price index rose 0.28% month-on-month following 0.42% in October.

• Monday, December 11th 2017 - 09:30 UTC

  Opposition parties will be barred from 2018 presidential vote, Maduro anticipates

  

  President Nicolas Maduro announced Sunday that leading opposition parties will be barred from taking part in next year's presidential vote after they boycotted mayoral polls, in a move set to further consolidate his grip on power. That includes the groups of key figures who have led street protests against his rule such as Henrique Capriles, Leopoldo Lopez and others, Maduro told reporters after casting his vote in the municipal polls.

• Monday, December 11th 2017 - 08:29 UTC

  United Nations year-long campaign to honor foundational human rights document 70th anniversary

  

  The United Nations on Sunday kicked off in Paris, France, a year-long campaign to honor the foundational human rights document, which next year marks its 70th anniversary.

• Monday, December 11th 2017 - 05:25 UTC

  Honduras opposition, backed by international observers, challenges election results and insists on full recount

  

  The challenger in Honduras' still unresolved presidential election has filed a challenge to the November 26 contest that seeks to annul the results and requests a recount. Salvador Nasralla, candidate of the opposition alliance, and his campaign team handed over the paperwork with just minutes to spare before a midnight deadline on Friday.

• Monday, December 11th 2017 - 04:57 UTC

  Mercosur/EU closer to an agreement but differences on new farm proposal remain undecided

  

  The European Union’s farm chief pressed Mercosur countries to offer market access for EU wines, spirits, olive oil and dairy goods to help seal a free-trade agreement that has been in the works for two decades.