Time magazine named Pope Francis as its Person of the Year on Wednesday, crediting him with shifting the message of the Catholic Church while capturing the “imaginations of millions” who had become disillusioned with the Vatican.
Uruguay's decision to legalize marijuana is in violation of an international convention on drug control, the Vienna-based International Narcotics Control Board, INCB, which monitors government compliance with such treaties said on Wednesday.
Uruguay's Senate has approved ground-breaking legislation legalizing marijuana, becoming the first nation in the world to oversee the production and sale of the drug. After a marathon debate, the 16 senators from the ruling coalition out of 29 lawmakers voted Tuesday in favor of the legislation championed by President Jose Mujica, who must now sign it into law.
The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) has announced the appointment of Amanda Lynnes to the part-time position of Operations and Communications Assistant. Amanda is responsible for communicating IAATO’s key messages and will assist in the development of the environmental and operational components of the Association.
Dominica and China have signed a new 300 million dollars cooperation agreement that includes the construction of a hotel, construction of an international airport and building a new hospital. The sum involved is equivalent to a third of the small Caribbean island GDP, which could mean Beijing virtually is 'purchasing' the small territory.
Colombian state-owned oil company Ecopetrol and Canada's Talisman Energy Inc said on Monday they had discovered an estimated 1.3 billion barrels of oil in southeastern Colombia and that about a tenth of it was likely to be recoverable. The announcement was the second in a week for Ecopetrol and an important addition to the diminishing reserves the country has been urgently trying to boost. The Andean nation also expects to eventually exploit shale oil and gas.
Colombia's main leftist guerrilla group, the FARC, said today it would implement a 30-day ceasefire from December 15 while the government said it would keep pursuing the rebels after they attacked a police station killing eight.
Shocking violence at a Brazilian championship match is not an indication of what can be expected when the South American country hosts next year's World Cup, FIFA and Brazilian government officials have declared.
Directors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on Monday that they will give Argentine authorities an extended deadline in order to improve upon disputed national statistics, giving the nation until March 2014 to make the necessary changes.
With the support of the British Embassies in Peru, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica and Chile, representatives of these countries will participate in a meeting, focused on how to prevent unlawful practices in public infrastructure construction projects.