International

• Monday, March 24th 2014 - 06:47 UTC

  EU/Mercosur still in the cold but committed to reach an agreement in coming months

  

  The European Union and Mercosur held last Friday in Brussels the technical meeting, as was scheduled to assess the state of negotiations for a long delayed and ambitious association and trade agreement, but concluded with no calendar for the exchange of tariff reduction proposals, which is central to the discussions.

• Saturday, March 22nd 2014 - 12:12 UTC

  Putin formalizes Russia's takeover of Crimea despite US and EU sanctions

  

  With a display of fireworks in Moscow and Crimea, President Vladimir Putin has signed a law formalizing Russia's takeover of Crimea from Ukraine, despite fresh sanctions from the EU and the US. The European Union's latest measures target twelve people involved in Russia's annexation of the peninsula.

• Saturday, March 22nd 2014 - 08:01 UTC

  The Falklands/Malvinas: Brazil’s next regional headache?

  

  By Oliver Stuenkel (*) - Brazil, foreign policy observers often point out, is blessed. Contrary to many other emerging powers such as China or India, it is located in a region that rarely experiences interstate tension or war. Not only can Brazil live on a relatively small defense budget, while India is the world's largest arms importer. Brazil can also dedicate considerable time and energy towards extending its global diplomatic reach without constantly being forced to deal with trouble in its neighborhood.

• Saturday, March 22nd 2014 - 07:37 UTC

  Pope calls on the mafia to change or 'end up in hell, at annual ceremony for the mafiosi victims

  

  Pope Francis, in an annual ceremony held to remember the hundreds of innocent people murdered by the Italian mafia, made a solemn plea for mobsters to change or else “end up in hell”. The mafia continues to plague much of southern Italy: just on Monday, a four-year-old boy was shot dead, along with his mother and her boyfriend, near the southern city of Taranto in a suspected mob hit.

• Saturday, March 22nd 2014 - 07:31 UTC

  Mercosur and EU in another effort to advance in the long delayed trade agreement

  

  Mercosur and European Union chief negotiators met on Friday in Brussels to define if conditions are ready for the exchange of tariffs reductions proposals with the purpose of reaching an ambitious trade agreement which was started back in 1999 and has yet to mature.

• Saturday, March 22nd 2014 - 07:11 UTC

  Falklands' prosperity and economic boom surprises visiting Brazilian delegation

  

  Visiting Brazilian political advisor and environmentalist Eduardo Viola emphatically expressed support for the Falkland Islands’ right of self-determination during a press conference in Stanley with other visiting Brazilian colleagues, reports this week's edition of Penguin News.

• Friday, March 21st 2014 - 09:44 UTC

  Cristina Fernández ends visit to France with references to Peron and De Gaulle

  

  President Cristina Fernandez on the last day of her visit to France, and escorted by Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, inaugurated on Thursday Argentina's pavilion at the Salon du Livre in Paris, one of Europe's too cultural events, and also praised the long standing ties between the two countries and evoked leaders Juan Domingo Peron and Charles de Gaulle.

• Friday, March 21st 2014 - 09:35 UTC

  Falklands' veteran Simon Weston featured at the National Portrait Gallery

  

  The National Portrait Gallery in London and the BBC unveiled their first joint painted portrait commission – of Falklands War veteran Simon Weston by artist Nicky Philipps. Weston was voted last September by viewers of BBC One’s The One Show as the public figure who most deserved to have his picture displayed at the National Portrait Gallery.

• Friday, March 21st 2014 - 01:20 UTC

  Mujica confirms Uruguay will accept Guantanamo prisoners as 'refugees'

  

  President Jose Mujica confirmed that Uruguay has agreed with the United States to accept some prisoners held in the much-criticized detention center at the US military base of Guantanamo Bay, but he also cautioned that “everything has a bill”.

• Thursday, March 20th 2014 - 07:11 UTC

  Argentina secures French support for its ongoing litigations with hedge funds

  

  President Cristina Fernández praised the decision by France to file an 'amicus curiae' brief before the US Supreme Court, in a show of support to Argentina in its long-standing battle against speculative fund creditors, and also secured the backing of the French government to settle a 9.5bn dollars dispute with the Paris Club.