Stories for December 2012

Wednesday, December 5th 2012 - 18:08 UTC
London Mayor presses PM Cameron on the EU calling for a referendum

London Mayor Boris Johnson heaped pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron this week by calling for a referendum on a deeply pared back British membership of the European Union.
Wednesday, December 5th 2012 - 17:20 UTC
Argentine Jewish organizations slam President Correa ‘disdainful words’ towards terrorist attacks’ victims

Argentine Jewish organizations strongly criticized Ecuador’s president, Rafael Correa after he defended the Iranian government, comparing the 85 people killed in the 1994 AMIA attacks in Buenos Aires with the victims of “NATO bombings in Libya” in 2011.
Wednesday, December 5th 2012 - 17:09 UTC
Mercosur, except for Uruguay quite a “corrupt” neighbourhood, according to TI

Mercosur and Unasur democracies did not rank very encouragingly in the latest Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2012 with all countries, except Chile and Uruguay, ranking below the score of 50, on a scale from 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 100 (perceived to be very clean).
Wednesday, December 5th 2012 - 17:04 UTC
Corruption still ravages around the world, says Transparency International

A growing outcry over corrupt governments forced several leaders from office last year, but as the dust has cleared it has become apparent that the levels of bribery, abuse of power and secret dealings are still very high in many countries.
Wednesday, December 5th 2012 - 05:26 UTC
EU and Mercosur to resume free trade talks at two events next January

The European Union and Mercosur will resume talks on a free trade agreement during a coming summit in Brazil and later at a meeting in Santiago de Chile, both in January, according to the EU chief delegate in Brazil, Ana Paula Zacarias.
Wednesday, December 5th 2012 - 05:22 UTC
Dealing with Argentina “one of the most painful problems” admits President Mujica

Uruguayan president Jose Mujica confessed that dealing with neighbouring Argentina is “one of the most painful problems” faced by his administration given the weight of the Argentine economy.
Wednesday, December 5th 2012 - 05:18 UTC
Cristina Fernandez calls for regional litigation mechanisms and blasts international bodies as ‘predators’

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez criticized international organizations which she described as ‘predators’ and called for the region to create its own mechanisms to settle litigations among South American countries.
Wednesday, December 5th 2012 - 05:15 UTC
Correa defends close links with Iran and downplays the AMIA bombing in Buenos Aires

Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa triggered a serious controversy in Argentina when he defended close links with Iran and downplayed Teheran’s alleged role in the 1994 attack on the AMIA Jewish institution in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people and left hundreds injured.
Wednesday, December 5th 2012 - 05:08 UTC
Human rights commission demands urgent investigation into killing of Paraguayan peasant leader

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) condemns the murder in Paraguay of human rights defender Vidal Vega, leader of the Campesinos sin Tierra movement (Landless Campesinos) and president of the Committee of Relatives of Victims of the Curuguaty Massacre and urges the State of Paraguay to investigate and clear up these crimes, and punish those who perpetrated and masterminded them.
Wednesday, December 5th 2012 - 00:07 UTC
US court rules in favour of Argentina: denies security deposit requested by hedge funds

US appeals court refused to order Argentina to post a security deposit of at least 250 million dollars while it seeks to overturn a lower court ruling that orders it to pay holdout investors 1.33 billion.