International

• Monday, May 6th 2013 - 02:53 UTC

  Spain angry with political system: protests outside the homes of elected officials

  

  Public support for Spain’s ruling centre-right party the PP has slipped following a high-level corruption scandal and ongoing recession, and Spaniards remain pessimistic about the political and economic outlook, a poll showed last Friday.

• Monday, May 6th 2013 - 01:55 UTC

  Euro-zone admits deeper recession and higher unemployment in 2013

  

  The recession in the Euro-zone will be worse than expected with unemployment remaining at record levels, says the EU in its latest economic forecast. The EU said that GDP in the 17 Euro-zone countries will shrink by 0.4% this year, better than the 0.6% for 2012 but 0.1% points worse than the EU had forecast back in February.

• Monday, May 6th 2013 - 01:49 UTC

  EU confident trade accord with Mercosur will be signed at the beginning of 2014

  

  The chairman of the European Parliament Delegation for relations with Mercosur, MEP Luis Yañez Barnuevo currently visiting Argentina and Uruguay said he was “confident the trade agreement between the Mercosur bloc and the EU will be signed at the beginning of 2014”.

• Monday, May 6th 2013 - 00:54 UTC

  Mujica wants to meet Pope Francis: social programs, housing and abortion in the agenda

  

  Uruguay has formally requested Pope Francis to receive President Jose Mujica when he travels at the end of the month to China, Spain and Italy. Mujica is an agnostic and Uruguay is one of the few Latinamerican countries in which the Catholic Church has been separated from the State for almost a century.

• Saturday, May 4th 2013 - 09:12 UTC

  Van Rompuy joins chorus of Euro zone policy makers promoting pro-growth measures

  

  European Union governments and institutions must take “immediate action” to promote growth and jobs creation as countries are tired of austerity, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said this week.

• Saturday, May 4th 2013 - 09:03 UTC

  UK minister warns waters row escalation with Spain could damage Gibraltar’s economy

  

  UK Minister for Europe David Lidington has warned that an escalation of tension with Spain in the waters row could damage Gibraltar’s prosperity and wider UK interests and pointed out that the incursions were not “an armed attack or invasion” and that the response to them must be proportionate.

• Saturday, May 4th 2013 - 08:54 UTC

  “Pepe” Grillo protest-vote syndrome emerges in UK local elections and rattles three main parties

  

  Italy’s ‘Pepe’ Grillo protest syndrome emerged in British local elections. The anti-European Union UK Independence Party made sweeping gains in these elections, siphoning support from British Prime Minister David Cameron's Conservatives in a vote that exposed a threat to his re-election chances in 2015.

• Friday, May 3rd 2013 - 05:48 UTC

  Falklands: Cristina Fernandez leads ceremony to honour 323 crewmembers from torpedoed ‘General Belgrano’

  

  Argentine president Cristina Fernandez honoured the memory of the 323 crew members from the cruiser “General Belgrano” who lost their lives during the Malvinas war, “today, 31 years ago” and described the British torpedo attack on the vessel as “a criminal and coward action”.

• Friday, May 3rd 2013 - 03:00 UTC

  Ban Ki-moon on World Press Freedom Day: “When it is safe to speak, the whole world benefits.”

  

  United Nations officials issued a call to action to ensure the safety of journalists in every country, echoing Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon who declared; “When it is safe to speak, the whole world benefits”.

• Friday, May 3rd 2013 - 02:41 UTC

  Freedom of the press in the America exposed to violence and intimidation from governments

  

  Violence, intimidation and polarization still obstruct reporting in Americas says the 2013 Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index which was released in anticipation of the World Press Freedom Day, May 3 (*). The report states that the ranking of most countries is no longer attributable to dramatic political developments and this year’s index is a better reflection of the attitudes and intentions of governments towards media freedom in the medium or long term.