Politics

• Thursday, March 9th 2017 - 13:55 UTC

  Temer launches 55 infrastructure projects to boost private investment and create 200.000 jobs

  

  Brazil's President Michel Temer launched an infrastructure concessions program on Tuesday that he said should raise 45 billion Reais (US$14.43 billion) in investment in building and operating roads, port terminals, railways and power transmission lines. Temer said the program was key to restoring an attractive business environment as Brazil struggles to emerge from its worst-ever recession.

• Wednesday, March 8th 2017 - 12:08 UTC

  UK has made a “bad choice at a bad time” with Brexit, argues Hollande

  

  Britain will not be able to hang on to the benefits of European Union membership once it has left, French president Francois Hollande has warned. Hollande, who leaves office in May, said the UK had made a “bad choice at a bad time” in voting for Brexit.

• Wednesday, March 8th 2017 - 10:39 UTC

  Falklands' population better off, healthier and happier than when the 2012 Census

  

  The Falklands population continues to grow, is generally better off, healthier and happy with the roof over their heads, than four years ago when the last Census was conducted. Maeve Daly, Statistics and Performance Officer of FIG’s Policy Unit presented the ‘headlines’ of the latest Census, at a Public Meeting last week.

• Wednesday, March 8th 2017 - 10:32 UTC

  UK will prioritize a Brexit safety net fund in the budget, says Chancellor Hammond

  

  United Kingdom Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond has signalled he will prioritise building up a Brexit safety net fund ahead of launching a spending spree in Wednesday’s Budget.

• Wednesday, March 8th 2017 - 10:21 UTC

  Cristina Fernandez in court declares she is victim of “judicial and media prosecution”

  

  Argentina's ex-president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner fended off corruption allegations in court on Tuesday, claiming she was the victim of “judicial and media persecution” backed by economic forces, at a politically delicate time for the recession-hit country.

• Wednesday, March 8th 2017 - 10:12 UTC

  Brazil's worst-ever recession continued during 2016, GDP drops 3.6%

  

  Brazil’s economic woes continue as the country’s worst-ever recession unexpectedly deepened at the end of last year. Gross domestic product contracted by 0.9% between October and December. For all of 2016 it dropped by 3.6%; almost as bad as in 2015 with a 3.8% slump. It was the eighth straight quarter of contraction.

• Wednesday, March 8th 2017 - 09:58 UTC

  Falklands' defense renewal with Israeli sophisticated equipment triggers controversy

  

  Britain has awarded £153 million (US$ 187 million) worth of contracts to equip the Falkland Islands with a new ground-based air-defense system known as Sky Sabre, the Ministry of Defense has confirmed, according to Defense News.

• Wednesday, March 8th 2017 - 09:42 UTC

  Argentina: “The honeymoon with the Macri administration is over” warns analyst Fraga

  

  “The honey moon is over” and the government of President Mauricio Macri must rapidly reconsider its strategy since public opinion is no longer responsive to the expectations of the first fourteen months, according to Argentine political analyst Rosendo Fraga. His analysis was also supported by another political commentator Carlos Pagni, who said all opinion polls indicate a sliding drop in expectations.

• Tuesday, March 7th 2017 - 11:35 UTC

  The only black member of Trump's cabinet equates slaves with immigrants: social media explodes

  

  In his first speech as United States secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Ben Carson likened slaves forced to come to America to immigrants seeking a better life. “That’s what America is about, a land of dreams and opportunity,” Carson told hundreds of federal employees Monday.

• Tuesday, March 7th 2017 - 09:28 UTC

  Macri challenged by unions: teachers strike delay the first day of school

  

  Thousands of teachers took to the streets of Buenos Aires on Monday, delaying the first day of school for millions of children, as part of a two-day national strike demanding a wage increase to compensate for sky-high inflation last year. Only in two of twenty four provinces, the school year took off normally.