Argentine SMEs fear a wave of sackings in the coming days due to President Javier Milei's policies which may have been somewhat successful at curbing inflation but at a cost. The Industriales Pymes Argentinos (IPA) chamber released a report saying that some 17,000 jobs had been lost since Milei took office on Dec. 10, 2023, and further suspensions and layoffs appear on May's radar.
Argentina's Central Bank (BCRA) this week lowered the benchmark interest rate by another 10 percentage points to 60% annually, it was reported in Buenos Aires. It was the fourth such cut since Javier Milei took office on December 10, 2023, when the rate stood at 133%. "BCRA announces that as of 04-25-2024, the rate for 1-business-day maturity passive operations will be 60%," it said in a statement. It was also the second 10-point cut in April alone.
As President Javier Milei's Argentina deepens its allegiance to the United States, Cuba's flag carrier Cubana lifted this week its regular service between Buenos Aires and Havana after fuel suppliers announced they would no longer be serving a company blacklisted from Washington in what seems like an encore of what happened to the Emtrasur Boeing 747-300 freighter flying under the Venezuelan flag following a spell with Iran's Mahan Air.
Former Argentine President Alberto Fernández answered libertarian President Javier Milei, following remarks made by Milei during a speech at Fundación Libertad where he referred to Fernández as a “puppet”. Fernández's response, laden with irony and defiance, underscored his "commitment" to rational decision-making and dismissed allegations of being influenced by external forces.
Brazil's National Federation of Journalists (Fenaj) found that there have been 230 cases of violence against press freedom in the nine states of the Legal Amazon in the last ten years, Agencia Brasil reported. According to a study released this week, the State of Pará accounts for the largest number of violent acts against newspeople in the Amazon, with 89 cases recorded in a decade, followed by Amazonas (38), Mato Grosso (31) and Rondônia (20). The murder of English journalist... Читать дальше...
Colombia's Army this week gunned down 15 rebels from the EMC guerrillas, a dissident group from the old FARC operating in the department of Cauca that refuses to enter peace talks with Bogotá. "War is war," President Gustavo Petro argued after the latest military update, meaning that these things happen when one of the parties leaves the negotiating table. Another 12 rogue fighters were wounded, it was reported.
Brazilian authorities announced this week that new measures will be in force concerning the import of steel products. In a move to discourage such practices, goods exceeding the quota of 11 items will be charged higher taxes, Agencia Brasil reported. In other words, if the maximum volume is exceeded, the import duty, currently ranging between 9% and 14.4%, will reach 25%, the Chamber of Foreign Commerce explained. The initiative seeks to prevent unfair competition with domestic steel.
The Falkland Islands Customs and Immigration Service informed that the annual quota for applications has now been met for all Permanent Residence Permit applications (PRP).
April 25 is World Penguin Day, from the impressive 1.2m tall Emperor Penguins of the British Antarctic Territory to the smaller, agile Southern Rockhopper Penguins of the Falkland Islands – nine out of 18 penguin species breed in the UK Overseas and British Antarctic Territories. Follows a report from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, RSPB.
Anzac Day, April 25 is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand that broadly commemorates all Australians and New Zealanders “who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations” and “the contribution and suffering of all those who have served”.
One of the more than sixty different nationalities that make up the Falkland Islands community and have chosen to call the Islands is Zimbabwe, from the heart of Africa, and accordingly, the Falklands ever so grateful distinguished them at their national day at Government House.
Just one day after being labeled a "political corpse," former Argentine President (2008-2015) Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (CFK) announced her return into the limelight this coming Saturday when she will attend the opening of a gymnasium in the town of Quilmes on the outskirts of Buenos Aires which will be named after her late husband and also former head of State (2003-2008) Néstor Kirchner.
