Bolivian president Evo Morales revealed on Friday that Pope Francis told him that there are three pending issues in the continent, Puerto Rico, Falklands/Malvinas and Bolivia's sea outlet claim. The pope has been recognized by all sides as the 'bridge' which helped bring together Cuba and the US after over half a century of mutual distancing.
Pope Francis urged Paraguay to consolidate democracy and end corruption and drug trafficking, after receiving a colorful welcome on Friday at the start of the last leg of his eight-day South American tour.
The International Monetary Fund has trimmed its forecast for global economic growth for this year to take into account the impact of recent weakness in the United States. But the global financial institution said growth prospects for next year remain undimmed, despite Greece's debt crisis and recent volatility in Chinese financial markets.
The financial crisis dealt a blow to the jobs and future prospects of many workers around the world, particularly in Europe. But while unemployment in Europe is now falling for the most part, deeper technological change is making it harder than ever for people to get out of the long-term unemployment or low-paid, insecure jobs they were plunged into by the crash, according to a new report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The International Monetary Fund on Thursday said it seemed Greece's crisis and market volatility in China would not affect when the US Federal Reserve chooses to raise interest rates. However earlier in the week the IMF suggested United States delays raising interest rates, warning that economic growth could be significantly debilitated by a soaring greenback.
Pope Francis, a champion of the poor and social justice, on Thursday called on a million faithful to reject today's consumer society, at an open-air mass in Bolivia. On the second stop of his three-nation tour of South America, the pope addressed the throng in the vast Christ the Redeemer Plaza in Santa Cruz, including many people who camped out overnight to see him.
China has become the largest importer of frozen Argentine beef, according to the latest data released by the Industry and Trade of Meat and Meat Produce Association (CICCRA). However these figures are far from neighboring Uruguay which in four months shipped to China almost 50.000 tons, that has become the country's leading market.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that a new BRICS bank would become fully operational and finance energy projects next year as emerging markets attempt to challenge the Western-dominated financial system. BRICS nations -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- which represent 40% of the world's population, agreed in 2013 to establish their own development bank, with estimated capital of $100 billion.
Pope Francis greeted Bolivia with a message of inclusion, a central theme of his three-nation tour to his home continent, as he arrived in South America's poorest nation. Landing in La Paz early in the evening, thousands of faithful -- many of whom had spent a chilly night outdoors waiting for him -- welcomed the pope as choirs sang in the indigenous Aymara language.
Russian President Vladimir Putin met on Wednesday with his Brazilian counterpart, Dilma Rousseff at the Siberian city of Ufa, where the Brics group summit is taking place. Previously, Putin had met with president Xi Jinping (China); Jacob Zuma (South Africa) and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the five countries that make up the group.