Stories for July 15th 2015

Wednesday, July 15th 2015 - 08:10 UTC
Mercosur summit in Brasilia with a conflicting agenda; Paraguay takes chair

Mercosur will be holding its half year presidential summit in Brasilia next Thursday and Friday, an event which will expose an abundance of trade and political conflicts, discrepancies and recurrent challenges despite all its members commitment to integration. Besides full members, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Venezuela and Brazil, leaders from Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Guyana and Surinam have also been announced.
Wednesday, July 15th 2015 - 07:59 UTC
Catholic Church confirms 28.7% of Argentines live in poverty: 11.1 million

The Social Observatory from the Argentine Catholic University, UCA, has reported that poverty in Argentina during 2014, included 28,7% of the population, which is equivalent to 11.5 million people, and higher than in the previous report.
Wednesday, July 15th 2015 - 07:51 UTC
US female will take the helm of 91.000-ton Celebrity Summit in August

For the first time in the cruise industry, an American female will take the helm of a mega-ton cruise ship. At 37 years of age, San Francisco native Kate McCue will command Celebrity Summit, a 91,000-ton, 965-foot ship in the Celebrity Cruises fleet, sailing between the eastern United States and Bermuda. As Captain, she will be responsible for the navigation of the ship and the onboard experience of its 2,158 guests and 952 crew members.
Wednesday, July 15th 2015 - 07:34 UTC
Guyanese president Granger will attend Mercosur summit in Brasilia

Guyanese President David Granger and Foreign Minister Carl Greenidge plan to attend the biannual Mercosur summit in Brasilia later this next, a Foreign Ministry spokesman confirmed to the Spanish news agency EFE.
Wednesday, July 15th 2015 - 07:25 UTC
Argentina's congressional index reports 1.52% inflation in June, and 27.9% in twelve months

Inflation in Argentina clocked 1.53% in June accumulating 27.9% in the last twelve months according to the report released on Tuesday by members of the Congressional opposition based on an average from private consultants. This week Argentina's government stats office, Indec in scheduled to announce the official rate.
Wednesday, July 15th 2015 - 06:53 UTC
Exposed C24 chairman agrees to receive Gibraltar's Picardo to match a meeting with Spanish minister

Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo is in New York for a meeting with the Chairman of the UN’s Decolonization Committee of 24, ambassador Xavier Lasso Mendoza. The meeting arose from the Chief Minister’s intervention before the C24 last month, during which the Ecuadorian diplomat confirmed he had met with a Spanish government minister to discuss Gibraltar, according or a report from the Gibraltar Chronicle.
Wednesday, July 15th 2015 - 06:40 UTC
Greek parliament must vote on Wednesday Euro zone bailout conditions

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says he does not believe in a bailout offered by Euro zone leaders, but is willing to implement it. Tsipras described the deal as “harsh”, but said it was the only way for Greece to remain in the Euro.
Wednesday, July 15th 2015 - 06:33 UTC
Relief from China as economy expands 7% in second quarter from a year ago

Growth in the world's second largest economy, China, beat expectations in the second quarter, but it was still the weakest showing since the global financial crisis. The economy grew 7% from a year ago - matching growth in the first three months of the year, which was the lowest since 2009 when it fell to 6.6%.
Wednesday, July 15th 2015 - 06:25 UTC
Petrobras board member criticizes oil-exploration and local content policies

Brazil's oil-exploration and local-content policies harm Petrobras and the country as a whole, a government-appointed member of the state-run company's board said on Tuesday. The comments were made by Roberto Castello Branco, who was named earlier this year by President Dilma Rousseff's administration to be one of the government's seven representatives on Petrobras board.
Wednesday, July 15th 2015 - 05:45 UTC
Brazilian politicians' property raided by police in connection with Petrobras corruption

Brazilian police have carried out search operations across seven states amid an ongoing investigation into a major corruption scandal involving state-run company Petrobras. The police said in a statement on Tuesday that the 53 search and seizure operations took place in “residences, offices, company headquarters, law firms, and public institutions” and were aimed at saving evidence from destruction.