Presidential Vote News

Pope Francis said on Friday that migrants who risk drowning at sea "must be rescued" because doing so was "a duty of humanity" and that those who impede rescues commit "a gesture of hate".Francis, 86, spoke at an inter-religious prayer service before a monument dedicated to those lost at sea. Earlier, the city's archbishop, Cardinal Jean Marc Aveline, an Algerian-born Frenchman, criticized politicians who block NGOs and their ships from saving drowning people."We cannot be resigned to seeing human beings treated as bargaining chips, imprisoned and tortured in atrocious ways," Francis said.

Sri Lanka's cabinet said on Thursday it would allow a $1.5 billion "port city" deal with China to go ahead, apparently dropping its earlier threats to cancel the project, approved by the last government. Cabinet Spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said new President Maithripala Sirisena would however discuss with Beijing controversial arangements over the freehold of land to be used, when he visited China in March. Sri Lanka's neighbour India has raised concern over security threats posed by Chinese ownership of the freehold of 20 hectares of land next to the main commercial port in Colombo, as India is a major user of Colombo as a transshipment port.

Sri Lanka's new government said on Thursday it might renegotiate a $1.5 billion "port city" deal with China Communications Construction Co Ltd, softening its pre-election threat to scrap the project. New Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, before last month's presidential vote, said he would cancel the port deal if his party came to power. Maithripala Sirisena, backed by Wickremesinghe's party, unseated ex-president Mahinda Rajapaksa at the polls. "We can renegotiate with China after reassessing the deal," Cabinet Spokesman Rajitha Senarathne told reporters. "We need to see the feasibility study. He said the current government had not seen any EIA or feasibility study of the project and it needed to be re-assessed because of impacts on coastal erosion.

Brazil's presidential vote will likely delay some investment decisions this year but spending on infrastructure is expected to remain strong, a senior government official told Reuters. Although President Dilma Rousseff is the favorite to win the Oct. 5 general election, many investors could withhold funds until the next government outlines its plans for the following four years, which could hamper the country's already slow economic growth. "It is obvious that businesses will delay some investments until after the election to have more clarity," said the official, who asked not to be named because he is not allowed to speak publicly.