Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff plans to replace a handful of ministers to streamline the cabinet when she completes a year in office in January but the shuffle does not include Finance minister Guido Mantega, according to Planalto sources.
The Falkland Islands are holding a bye election next December 15, one for each constituency, city and camp. However while the Stanley seat has several hopefuls, Ian Hansen as the only candidate for the Camp Constituency will gain his seat by default and without a clear mandate to shape his performance over the remaining course of this Government.
Brazil’s central bank cut borrowing costs by half a point for a third straight meeting as a global economic slowdown threatens with a slump in domestic demand. The bank’s board voted on Wednesday unanimously to reduce the benchmark Selic rate to 11% from 11.5%, as had been anticipated by markets.
While the economic crisis relentlessly ravages Europe and the United States, Latin American countries anxiously wait on the sidelines. The crisis could dampen the regional trend of solid growth during the past decade.
Nearly 170 visitors were evacuated Wednesday from the HMS Belfast after the gangway leading to the tourist attraction collapsed. AOL (UK) reports that London Metropolitan police have said that two men were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Overseas Territories Minister Henry Bellingham met representatives of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds on Wednesday, and received a pledge signed by almost 17,000 of their members, asking the UK Government to ensure that the valuable biodiversity of the Overseas Territories is preserved.
The Foreign Secretary, William Hague, and Norwegian Foreign Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre underlined on Wednesday their commitment to enhance UK/Norwegian cooperation in the Polar Regions.
China's central bank cut the reserve requirement ratio for its commercial lenders on Wednesday for the first time in nearly three years to ease credit strains and shore up an economy running at its weakest pace since 2009.
The main aim of the UN climate summit at Durban, which began on November 28 and finishes on December 9, is to produce an agreement about targets for emissions by developed countries, and longer term targets from developing countries.
Peruvian Prime Minister Salomon Lerner said that China’s direct investments in the country would increase between 30% and 40% in the next two years. China became this year Peru’s main trade partner.