The Latin America Catholic Church Episcopal Council, Celam, sent a strong message to the political establishment saying it is painful to see so many people victims of the narcotics trade and so many young people disenchanted with institutions because of corruption. Celam held its XXXIII two-day Ordinary Assembly in Montevideo.
Greece’s credit rating was cut on Friday three levels by Fitch Ratings, which said that even a voluntary extension of its bond maturities being studied by EU policy makers would be considered a default.
Italy’s Treasury said it will “intensify” structural changes in the economy and push ahead with measures to balance the budget by 2014 after Standard & Poor’s said its debt rating is at risk of a downgrade.
British Foreign Minister William Hague raised the UK’s concerns over Spanish incursions into Gibraltar waters during a meeting with his Spanish counterpart last February, according to a response to a question in the House of Lords.
Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff's international affairs advisor Marco Aurélio García lowered the tone of the trade conflict with Argentina and said that the relationship between both countries is fine despite the trade barriers that Brazil imposed on the import of Argentine cars.
European leaders raced Saturday to nominate a successor for fallen IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn before a G8 summit in France next week, with French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde in pole position.