Politics

• Wednesday, July 5th 2017 - 15:28 UTC

  Icebreaker Almirante Irizar expected in Puerto Belgrano for high seas trials

  

  The emblematic Argentine navy icebreaker Almirante Irizar, responsible for the country's Antarctic effort left Buenos Aires on Tuesday for high sea trials. The Atlantic incursion was its first in ten years, since in 2007 the icebreaker suffered a major fire that almost destroyed the vessel, originally built in Finland.

• Wednesday, July 5th 2017 - 08:29 UTC

  Close ally of President Temer arrested on charges of corruption in state bank

  

  Brazilian police have arrested a close ally of President Michel Temer as part of a corruption investigation into a government-controlled bank. Geddel Vieira Lima, a former cabinet minister, had been in charge of Temer's relations with Congress.

• Wednesday, July 5th 2017 - 08:19 UTC

  City of London delegation heads to Brussels for a financial services deal: fears of losing passporting rights

  

  Business leaders from the City of London are to send a delegation to Brussels with a proposal for a post-Brexit free trade deal for financial services, it is reported. According to the Financial Times, the group will be led by former City minister Mark Hoban as banks fear the fallout from Brexit negotiations if access to EU markets is curtailed.

• Wednesday, July 5th 2017 - 08:11 UTC

  Argentine destroyer damaged as she leaves for international exercise

  

  Destroyer “La Argentina” was damaged when it rammed its bow against a jetty at the Punta Alta naval base while attempting to make it to the high seas. She is scheduled to join an international naval exercise in the Pacific and bring several helicopters on her return trip from Peru.

• Wednesday, July 5th 2017 - 07:43 UTC

  Macri expects to talk Falklands with PM May at the G20 summit in Hamburg

  

  Argentine president Mauricio Macri is scheduled to meet in Hamburg with British Prime Minister Theresa May to reinforce cooperation and joint efforts but with the “difference” resulting from the dispute over the Falklands/Malvinas Islands remaining on the table, according to government sources in Buenos Aires.

• Wednesday, July 5th 2017 - 07:30 UTC

  Britain's growth prospects downgraded because of “newly created uncertainty”

  

  Economists have downgraded Britain’s growth prospects in the wake of political uncertainty following the general election and as a prolonged Brexit drag on business investment looms. New forecasts by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) show that the UK economy will grow by just 1.3% in 2017, a substantial downward revision from an earlier forecast of 1.7%.

• Wednesday, July 5th 2017 - 07:18 UTC

  Hammond tells business leaders that jobs and prosperity are first priorities of Brexit negotiations

  

  Brexit is not a dominant issue for European Union countries, Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond acknowledged as he called for jobs and prosperity to be the first priority in the negotiations. The Chancellor told business leaders that the UK had to remember that Brexit was “just one among many challenges” facing the other EU members.

• Wednesday, July 5th 2017 - 01:15 UTC

  Macri tries to calm down Argentines as US dollar goes up

  

  Argentine President Mauricio Macri Tuesday said Argentines should “not worry about the dollar,” as the US currency rose 13 cents, closing at AR$ 17.18. It will “benefit regional economies and job creation,” he added during a radio interview.

• Tuesday, July 4th 2017 - 02:40 UTC

  MUD to hold plebiscite against Maduro's Constituent Assembly plans

  

  Venezuela's opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) announced Monday it will hold a public consultation regarding Nicolás Maduro's intention to reform the constitution by calling for an election to choose the constituent assembly.

• Tuesday, July 4th 2017 - 02:34 UTC

  Buenos Aires-Mar del Plata train runs again

  

  After two years out of service, Buenos Aires and Mar del Plata, which are 400 kilometres apart, are since Monday again linked by a train service that needs almost seven hours to reach its final destination. Buenos Aires provincial Governor María Eugenia Vidal said “It is no longer a promise - we have delivered.”