March, 2016

• 15 March

  Rousseff impeachment rally loses steam as economic reality sets in

  

  Bloomberg The rally that made Brazilian assets the world’s best performers in 2016 is losing momentum as investors’ euphoria over prospects for change in government gives way to pessimism about how hard it will be to pull the country out of an economic malaise no matter who is in power. The Ibovespa equity gauge, Brazil’s currency and its bonds have ...

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• 15 March

  Blow to US wheat crown as Argentina speeds up exports

  Bloomberg The U.S., once the world’s largest wheat exporter, is scheduled to import the grain this month from South America in the latest sign of how the country is losing its domination of the global trade. Even amid overflowing U.S. grain bins, there’s a ship destined to reach North Carolina shores this month with supplies from Argentina. Olympos, the vessel ...

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• 15 March

  Cable a La Carte is becoming a reality — outside the USA

  

  Bloomberg If you want to watch the Disney Channel or BET in the U.S., you pretty much need a costly pay-TV plan, one with hundreds of networks you couldn’t care less about. In other countries, it’s increasingly a different story. Entertainment companies led by Viacom Inc., 21st Century Fox Inc. and Walt Disney Co. are forging ahead internationally with online ...

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• 15 March

  White House hopefuls face test at make-or-break vote

  

  Youngstown / AFP Americans in five major states prepared to vote on Tuesday in make-or-break presidential nominating contests, with Donald Trump seeking to tighten his grip on the Republican mantle as rivals and critics bemoaned a weekend of campaign trail unrest. Dubbed “Super Tuesday 2” by US media, the latest major date in the run-up to November’s election will see ...

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• 15 March

  Millions in USA at risk from rising seas

  

  Paris / AFP Rising sea levels driven by climate change could upend the lives of more than 13 million Americans by the end of the century, according to a study released Monday. If global warming lifts oceans 1.8 metres (six feet) by 2100, as some scientists forecast in worst-case scenarios, 13.1 million people living in US coastal areas will become ...

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• 15 March

  Russia begins Syria withdrawal as Putin puts onus on Assad

  

  Bloomberg Russia said its forces have started leaving Syria after President Vladimir Putin ordered the military withdrawal in a surprise move that puts pressure on the regime of Bashar Al Assad and opposition groups to reach a peace deal at talks in Geneva. The first group of planes, including Su-34 bombers, have returned to bases in Russia, the Defense Ministry ...

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• 15 March

  Russia, Tajikistan hold military drills near Afghan border

  Dushanbe / AFP Russia and fragile ex-Soviet ally Tajikistan have begun large-scale military drills close to the Central Asian state’s restless border with Afghanistan, a Tajik military official confirmed Tuesday. A spokesman for Tajikistan’s defence ministry said the drills involving around 50,000 Tajik troops and 2,000 Russian troops, including paratroopers flown in from Russia. “The manoeuvres involve around a thousand ...

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• 15 March

  700 migrants held in Macedonia after crossing Greek border

  Idomeni / AFP Some 700 refugees and migrants were being held in Macedonia on Tuesday after they managed to slip across the border from Greece, a frontier that has been shut for a week. Dozens of others who failed to cross were returning to the overflowing Idomeni camp on the Greek side, where some 14,000 people are stuck in increasing ...

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• 15 March

  Historic vote gives Myanmar first civilian prez in decades

  

  Naypyidaw / AFP Myanmar’s lawmakers on Tuesday elected a close aide and longtime friend of Aung San Suu Kyi to become the first civilian president in decades, a historic moment for the formerly junta-run nation. Htin Kyaw, 69, hailed his elevation to the top post as “Suu Kyi’s victory”, a clear nod to her plan that he serve as a ...

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• 15 March

  Turkey should expect Kurdish ‘vengeance’: PKK

  London / AFP Kurdish rebel leader Cemil Bayik warned Turkey to expect payback for the deadly clashes that have raged following the collapse of a fragile truce, in an interview published in Britain’s Times daily on Tuesday. Bayik, one of the leaders of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), said to expect fighting “everywhere” and insisted its guerillas were justified ...

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