International

• Friday, February 22nd 2013 - 01:58 UTC

  Comic Beppe Grillo the outsider that has Italy’s political system “terrified”

  

  Comic Beppe Grillo, a political newcomer is sending shockwaves to the Italian political system ahead of national elections. Touring the country in a camper van and attracting tens of thousands to his rallies, Grillo has channeled the rage and frustration that Italians feel at the rampant waste and corruption of their political leaders.

• Friday, February 22nd 2013 - 01:53 UTC

  Berlusconi rattles election campaign claiming Monti and Bersani have “Merkel’s blessing”

  

  Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti rowed back from comments suggesting that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had expressed opposition to his political rivals on the centre-left days before an election next week.

• Friday, February 22nd 2013 - 01:22 UTC

  Brazil/Russia agree to increase trade and cooperation in agriculture and defense

  

  Brazil and Russia signed several agreements in different fields geared to increase trade and to advance in defense, energy and agriculture cooperation, including the purchase of Russian anti aircraft missile batteries on condition that Moscow agrees to transfer technology.

• Thursday, February 21st 2013 - 05:46 UTC

  Royal penguin being cared in New Zealand after stranding 2.000km from Antarctica

  

  A royal penguin is being cared for at a New Zealand zoo after being found stranded on a beach 2,000km from its Antarctic home. The young male bird, which was dehydrated and starving, is thought to be only the fourth royal penguin to wash up there in more than a century.

• Thursday, February 21st 2013 - 04:45 UTC

  Brazilian soybean farmers oppose contract with Monsanto to end royalties’ dispute

  

  Brazilian farmer groups are opposing a contract that Monsanto the world’s biggest seed company is offering farmers to end a dispute over royalty payments on its genetically modified soybean seeds. Monsanto is trying to resolve uncertainty over its ability to collect fees on its new Intacta soybeans, which it is scheduled to start selling in Brazil during the next growing season.

• Thursday, February 21st 2013 - 04:39 UTC

  Latinamerica’s achievements and challenges exposed in London before LSE

  

  The achievements of democracy in Latin America, while simultaneously warning of the challenges that remain and that must be addressed in order to avoid stagnation in the current political process the region has been following in recent years, was highlighted by OAS chief in an address to the London School of Economics, LSE.

• Thursday, February 21st 2013 - 01:47 UTC

  Nationalized airport operators demand 90 million dollars from Bolivia

  

  The Spanish infrastructure company Abertis said it was seeking 90 million dollars from Bolivia in compensation for the nationalization of its subsidiary Servicios de Aeropuertos Bolivianos (Sabsa). Abertis was also considering other possible legal claims, its chief executive Francisco Reynes said.

• Thursday, February 21st 2013 - 01:44 UTC

  Rousseff says end of poverty is close; 48 million Brazilians registered in social support programs

  

  Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff raised the monthly stipend of 2.5 million people living below the poverty line to make good on her promise to eradicate extreme poverty in Brazil. Even when announcing she has almost met her anti-poverty target halfway through her four-year term, Brazil’s last census points to 700,000 families who still live in extreme poverty but are not registered on government social programs.

• Thursday, February 21st 2013 - 01:40 UTC

  FIFA committed to goal-line technology at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil

  

  FIFA said it is committed to using goal-line technology at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and could have four systems competing for selection. FIFA said it is now seeking tenders from companies which want their system to be used at the Confederations Cup in June and next year’s World Cup.

• Thursday, February 21st 2013 - 01:37 UTC

  Japan posts huge January trade deficit: weak Yen, energy bill and dispute with China blamed

  

  Japan’s trade deficit soared to a record 17.4 billion dollars on energy imports, a weaker Yen and the territorial dispute with China, the country’s main trade partner. Exports climbed 6.4% in January from a year earlier, the first rise in eight months while imports increased 7.3%, the Finance Ministry said in Tokyo.