Politics

• Wednesday, March 15th 2017 - 06:52 UTC

  Temer moved out of the presidential palace because of “bad energy and ghosts”

  

  Brazilian president Michel Temer confessed in an interview with the leading news magazine Veja that he and his family moved out of the nation’s Alvorada Palace, the official presidential residence, over bad energy and “ghosts” that kept him and First Lady Marcela Temer from sleeping well at night.

• Wednesday, March 15th 2017 - 06:38 UTC

  Mercosur expects to sign a trade deal with the EU by year end taking advantage of Trump's isolationism

  

  Mercosur expects to sign a framework accord this year for a trade deal with the European Union as the U.S. shift to isolationism under President Donald Trump encourages it to look outside the hemisphere for opportunities, Brazil's foreign minister Aloysio Nunes said on Tuesday.

• Tuesday, March 14th 2017 - 21:28 UTC

  Is a second OPEC cut on the Cards?

  

  OPEC's coordinated effort to curtail global supply has so far managed to put a floor under oil prices, which have been sitting modestly above US$50 since the deal was announced at the end of November last year. But resurging U.S. shale has been capping the upside, and Brent has not breached US$58 per barrel. Analysts and experts are now mostly predicting that oil prices will remain below US$60 this year.

• Tuesday, March 14th 2017 - 21:23 UTC

  Mexico practices direct diplomacy with the Trump family at the White House

  

  Mexico's top diplomat was in Washington last week for meetings with the U.S. government, sidestepping the normal channels and heading straight for the White House. Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Videgaray met at the White House with President Trump's son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner, along with National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster and Gary Cohn, a top financial aid, the Mexican government announced.

• Tuesday, March 14th 2017 - 21:08 UTC

  Death toll in girls shelter in Guatemala rises to 40; allegedly they were locked in by officials

  

  The death toll from the fire at Guatemala's Virgen de la Asunción shelter for girls in the municipality of San José Pinula has risen to 40, officials said. Four of the girls hospitalized after the fire last Wednesday were flown on an airplane ambulance to the United States for treatment at the Shriners Hospital for Children of Galveston, Texas, Saturday night.

• Tuesday, March 14th 2017 - 12:08 UTC

  Macri administration feels the pressure from trade unions

  

  Argentine labor unions appear to be pressuring the government by holding marches and threatening strikes ahead of the country's key October mid-term elections, Interior Minister Rogelio Frigerio said Monday.

• Tuesday, March 14th 2017 - 12:00 UTC

  Chaotic concert in Argentina leaves two dead, a dozen injured and some teen agers still missing

  

  Two people were killed and over a dozen were injured when spectators rushed the stage at a chaotic outdoor rock concert in Argentina. The deadly crush of fans was blamed on lack of crowd control at Saturday's event featuring popular performer Indio Solari in the town of Olavarria.

• Tuesday, March 14th 2017 - 11:42 UTC

  Brexit bill expected to become law on Tuesday; process to begin end of March

  

  The British Parliament passed on Monday the Brexit bill, paving the way for the government to trigger Article 50 so the UK can leave the European Union. Peers backed down over the issues of EU residency rights and a meaningful vote on the final Brexit deal after their objections were overturned by MPs. The bill is expected to receive Royal Assent and become law on Tuesday.

• Tuesday, March 14th 2017 - 06:49 UTC

  Argentina protests with Brasilia over Falklands RAF flights calling in Brazil

  

  The Argentine government reiterated on Monday its disappointment with the UK military flights linking with the Falkland Islands and calling in Brazil. “We made a complaint to Brazil regarding flights and we have also instructed our embassy in the UK”, said Malcorra speaking to the media.

• Tuesday, March 14th 2017 - 06:36 UTC

  Scottish government plans second independence referendum in 2018/19

  

  Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed she will ask for permission to hold a second referendum on Scottish independence, and the vote would be held between the autumn of 2018 and the spring of the following year. That would coincide with the expected conclusion of the UK's Brexit negotiations.