Politics

• Monday, November 28th 2016 - 07:16 UTC

  Fillon elected conservative candidate for French presidential election in 2017

  

  Francois Fillon, a socially conservative free-market, won France’s center-right presidential primaries on Sunday, setting up a likely showdown next year with far-right leader Marine Le Pen that the pollsters expect him to win. Fillon, who went into Sunday’s second-round run-off as firm favorite, had won over 67% of the vote in a head-to-head battle with another ex-prime minister, Alain Juppe.

• Sunday, November 27th 2016 - 11:52 UTC

  Losing US presidential candidates cry electronic vote foul, seek manual recount

  

  Former Green Party presidential nominee Jill Stein has launched a campaign to recount the votes in three key states where Donald Trump seized victory. For the Republicans, it is just an “expensive political stuntt” since the Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton would need to reverse results in all three of those states to reach a different outcome.

• Sunday, November 27th 2016 - 11:06 UTC

  US actor Steven Seagal granted Russian citizenship, receives his passport from Putin himself

  

  Russian President Vladimir Putin has given a Russian passport to US action film star Steven Seagal in a moved aimed at easing relations with the United States.

• Saturday, November 26th 2016 - 13:44 UTC

  Whole world -even Palestinians- helps Israel fight fires gone beyond control

  

  Palestinian firefighters and trucks and firefighting aircraft from Turkey, Greece, Croatia and Russia joined the operation to put down the flames. For four days, Israel has fought in its entire territory dozens of fires that spread thanks to a great drought and strong winds.

• Saturday, November 26th 2016 - 13:36 UTC

  IDB US$ 60m loan to expand sewage and rainwater drainage in Montevideo

  

  Uruguay will expand sewage and rainwater drainage systems in Montevideo and improve management of City Hall's sanitation system thanks to a US$60 million loan approved by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The money represents the second stage of a line of credit that the IDB approved for investment projects in December 2006.

• Saturday, November 26th 2016 - 13:23 UTC

  Temer administration further weakened by more corruption claims: calls for impeachment

  

  A Brazilian minister resigned on Friday amid allegations that he enlisted President Michel Temer's help to pressure a fellow Cabinet member to approve a luxury apartment development project in a preservation zone. The announcement feeds a growing scandal over alleged misuse of power that threatens Temer's presidency only six months after he replaced a predecessor ousted from office by Congress — and at a time corruption investigations have tarred many senior politicians.

• Saturday, November 26th 2016 - 12:18 UTC

  Switzerland has returned US$ 2bn of illicit funds stashed in its banks by dictators

  

  With a new law to help seize and repatriate illicit wealth stashed in Swiss banks by foreign dictators and a positive – but slow - track record, Switzerland is a leader in the return of illicit dictator funds, a top Swiss official claims. Over the past 30 years Switzerland has returned almost US$ 2 billion misappropriated and deposited in Swiss banks by “politically exposed persons” (PEPs).

• Saturday, November 26th 2016 - 12:05 UTC

  Shame on the USS Navy state of the art missile destroyer breaks down in Panama canal and has to be towed

  

  The most expensive destroyer ever built for the United States Navy has suffered an engineering problem in the Panama Canal and had to be towed to port. U.S. The 3rd Fleet spokesman Commander Ryan Perry says a vice admiral has directed the USS Zumwalt to remain at ex-Naval Station Rodman in Panama to address the issues. The ship was built at Bath Iron Works in Maine.

• Saturday, November 26th 2016 - 11:46 UTC

  Trump names experienced heavyweights in national security and White House counsel

  

  President-elect Donald Trump named KT McFarland as deputy national security adviser and Donald McGahn as his White House counsel. McFarland served in three separate Republican administrations, most notably as a spokeswoman for Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger under Ronald Reagan.

• Saturday, November 26th 2016 - 11:26 UTC

  International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women

  

  By UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon - At long last, there is growing global recognition that violence against women and girls is a human rights violation, public health pandemic and serious obstacle to sustainable development. Yet there is still much more we can and must do to turn this awareness into meaningful prevention and response.